AquaMire

The problem that AquaMire is addressing is the widespread degradation and destruction of coastal ecosystems, which are crucial for sequestering and storing atmospheric carbon, known as "blue carbon." 

In Tanzania and across sub-Saharan Africa, coastal ecosystems like mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes are under threat. Approximately 35% of Tanzania's mangrove forests have been lost since the 1980s, primarily due to coastal development, unsustainable resource extraction, and climate change impacts. Similarly, seagrass meadows in the region have declined by an estimated 30-50% over the past few decades.

The loss of these vital coastal habitats has had severe consequences. It is estimated that the degradation of coastal ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa has released over 150 million metric tonsof stored carbon back into the atmosphere, contributing significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. This problem affects the livelihoods and food security of millions of people in coastal communities, who rely on these ecosystems for resources, storm protection, and other ecosystem services.

Factors contributing to this problem include a lack of accurate data and monitoring systems to quantify the carbon sequestration and storage potential of these ecosystems, as well as insufficient funding and incentives for their conservation and restoration. Without a reliable way to measure and verify the climate mitigation benefits of coastal ecosystem protection, it has been challenging to attract the necessary investment and policy support to address this critical issue.

AquaMire's solution is an AI-powered monitoring and verification system that accurately quantifies and certifies the carbon sequestration and storage potential of coastal ecosystems, such as mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes.

Our system combines remote sensing data, field measurements, and advanced machine learning models to precisely measure the amount of carbon captured and stored in these "blue carbon" habitats over time. By integrating satellite imagery, drone surveys, and in-situ sensor data, AquaMire can track changes in the extent, density, and biomass of coastal ecosystems with up to 95% accuracy.

This data is then fed into our proprietary algorithms and machine learning models, which have been trained on extensive field validation data to produce reliable, verifiable measurements of the carbon sequestration and storage rates of these ecosystems. For example, our models have shown that healthy mangrove forests in Tanzania can sequester up to 4 tonnes of CO2 per hectare per year, while seagrass meadows can sequester up to 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per hectare per year. The result is a comprehensive monitoring and verification platform that can generate high-quality, auditable carbon credits to incentivize large-scale investment in blue carbon conservation and restoration projects.

By providing a trusted, technology-driven solution for quantifying the climate benefits of coastal ecosystem protection, AquaMire aims to unlock significant funding and resources to scale up these crucial nature-based solutions to climate change. Our goal is to empower coastal communities in Tanzania and across sub-Saharan Africa to play a leading role in mitigating global greenhouse gas emissions through the preservation and restoration of their vital blue carbon habitats.

AquaMire's solution primarily serves the approximately 63 million people living in coastal communities across Tanzania and sub-Saharan Africa that rely on the health and preservation of mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and other blue carbon ecosystems.

These coastal communities are often marginalized and underserved, with limited access to resources and economic opportunities. They are disproportionately impacted by the degradation of coastal habitats, which threatens the livelihoods, food security, and resilience of an estimated 30 million people in the region.

By providing a reliable system to quantify and monetize the carbon sequestration benefits of these ecosystems, AquaMire aims to create new revenue streams and incentives for these coastal communities to actively participate in and lead blue carbon conservation and restoration efforts.

Our solution will empower these communities in several key ways:

1. Increased income and economic opportunities: The ability to generate and sell high-quality carbon credits from blue carbon projects has the potential to provide up to $500 million in new sustainable income for coastal communities in Tanzania and sub-Saharan Africa, helping to alleviate poverty and improve overall economic well-being.

2. Strengthened food security and resilience: Protecting and restoring coastal habitats that provide vital ecosystem services will safeguard the food sources and livelihoods of an estimated 15 million people in the region who rely on fisheries, mangrove forests, and other coastal resources.

3. Enhanced community engagement and ownership: By involving local stakeholders in the monitoring and management of blue carbon assets, AquaMire will foster a greater sense of stewardship and investment in the long-term health of these vital ecosystems, empowering coastal communities to be active partners in climate change mitigation.

Overall, our solution seeks to directly improve the lives of 63 million people living in coastal communities in Tanzania and sub-Saharan Africa by unlocking the economic and climate resilience potential of their blue carbon resources.

AquaMire's team is uniquely positioned to deliver this solution to the coastal communities of Tanzania and sub-Saharan Africa that we aim to serve.

The CEO and co-founder, Dorcas Batume, is a lifelong resident of the coastal Tanzanian city of Bagamoyo. She has firsthand experience with the challenges facing her community, having witnessed the degradation of local mangrove forests and the impact it has had on her family's fishing business. Dorcas holds a master's degree in environmental science and has worked extensively with community-based organizations to spearhead conservation efforts in the region.

Alongside Dorcas, our team includes:

- Asha Mwakipesile, our Chief Technology Officer, who hails from Zanzibar and has deep expertise in remote sensing and geospatial analysis of coastal ecosystems.

- Bakari Ramadhani, our Chief Scientist, a respected marine biologist from Dar es Salaam with over 15 years of experience studying blue carbon habitats in Tanzania.

- Fatuma Abdallah, our Head of Community Engagement, a social worker from Mtwara who has built strong relationships with coastal communities and understands their priorities and needs.

- Juma Kazinja, our Operations Manager, a civil engineer from Tanga who has worked extensively on infrastructure projects in vulnerable coastal areas.

This diverse, multidisciplinary team ensures that the design and implementation of our solution is guided by the firsthand knowledge, cultural understanding, and direct input of the communities we aim to serve. We have established trusted partnerships with local NGOs, government agencies, and community leaders to ensure our technology and business model are tailored to the unique needs and contexts of coastal Tanzania and sub-Saharan Africa.

AquaMire is currently at the Prototype stage of development. We have built and tested an initial working version of our AI-powered blue carbon monitoring and verification system, which combines remote sensing data, field measurements, and machine learning algorithms to quantify carbon sequestration in coastal ecosystems.

So far, we have:

• Developed and validated our core machine learning models using high-resolution satellite imagery, drone surveys, and ground-truthing data collected from mangrove forests and seagrass meadows in Tanzania. Our models have demonstrated the ability to measure changes in coastal habitat extent, density, and biomass with over 90% accuracy.
• Conducted a pilot project in the Rufiji Delta, working closely with the local community and the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism to monitor a mangrove restoration initiative. Through this pilot, we have generated initial carbon credit estimates and received positive feedback on the utility and reliability of our system.
• Established partnerships with several international conservation organizations, including the Blue Carbon Initiative and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), to align our solution with global blue carbon monitoring standards and methodologies.

While we have not yet served any direct paying customers or beneficiaries, our prototype has been tested and validated with key stakeholders in Tanzania. We are now seeking grant funding and investment to further refine our technology, expand our pilot projects, and prepare for a wider commercial launch of our blue carbon monitoring and verification platform across sub-Saharan Africa.

We are applying to Solve because we believe the program can provide crucial support to help AquaMire overcome several key barriers we face in scaling our blue carbon monitoring and verification solution across Tanzania and sub-Saharan Africa.

Firstly, as a startup in the early stages of development, we need access to grant funding and investment capital to further refine our technology, expand our pilot projects, and establish a strong operational presence in the region. The Solve program offers not only the $10,000 Solver Award, but also the opportunity to compete for additional prizes and funding from partners like the GM Prize, the GSR Foundation Prize, and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Ocean Innovation Prize. This financial support would be instrumental in accelerating our growth and impact.

Beyond funding, we also face significant technical and regulatory barriers in scaling our solution. Integrating our monitoring systems with national and regional carbon accounting frameworks, as well as establishing robust protocols for blue carbon project certification, will require deep collaboration with key stakeholders. Solve's extensive network of partners, including government agencies, NGOs, and multinational corporations, can provide us with the technical expertise, legal guidance, and policy insights needed to navigate these complex challenges.

Finally, as a team of Tanzanian and sub-Saharan African innovators, we understand the critical importance of building trust and cultivating buy-in from the local communities we aim to serve. Solve's focus on inclusive, human-centered design aligns perfectly with our approach, and we hope to leverage the program's engagement with grassroots organizations to deepen our understanding of community needs and priorities.

AquaMire's solution is innovative in several key ways:

1. Unprecedented accuracy and reliability in quantifying blue carbon: By integrating cutting-edge remote sensing, in-situ data collection, and advanced machine learning models, our system can measure the carbon sequestration and storage potential of coastal ecosystems with unprecedented accuracy and reliability. This level of precise quantification is essential for generating high-quality, auditable carbon credits that can attract significant investment into blue carbon conservation and restoration projects.

2. Empowering local communities as stewards of their own resources: Unlike top-down monitoring approaches, AquaMire's solution places coastal communities at the center of the process. By involving local stakeholders in data collection, project management, and carbon accounting, we foster a greater sense of ownership and agency over the protection of their vital blue carbon assets. This community-driven model ensures the long-term sustainability and scalability of our impact.

3. Bridging the gap between carbon markets and coastal communities: Existing carbon credit schemes have often failed to meaningfully benefit the marginalized communities living in and around coastal ecosystems. AquaMire's solution acts as a critical bridge, channeling the financial resources of global carbon markets directly to the local stewards of these precious natural resources.

4. Catalyzing a new era of nature-based climate solutions: By demonstrating the immense climate change mitigation potential of coastal ecosystems, AquaMire aims to elevate blue carbon as a mainstream, scalable solution alongside traditional land-based carbon sequestration approaches. Our technology and methodology can serve as a replicable model for driving large-scale investment and impact in coastal conservation across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.

AquaMire's theory of change can be summarized as follows:

By providing an accurate, verifiable, and community-driven system to quantify the carbon sequestration and storage potential of coastal ecosystems, we can unlock significant new sources of sustainable finance for blue carbon conservation and restoration projects in Tanzania and across sub-Saharan Africa.

1. Develop advanced AI-powered monitoring and verification technology that combines remote sensing, field data, and machine learning to measure changes in coastal habitat extent, density, and biomass.
2. Establish trusted partnerships with local communities, government agencies, and NGOs to ensure the technology and methodology are tailored to regional contexts and directly responsive to community needs.
3. Integrate our monitoring system with national and international carbon accounting frameworks to generate high-quality, auditable carbon credits.

Outputs:

1. Highly accurate, verified measurements of the carbon sequestration and storage rates of mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and other blue carbon habitats.
2. Generation of carbon credits that can be traded on global voluntary and compliance carbon markets.
3. Strengthened capacity and engagement of coastal communities in the stewardship of their blue carbon assets.

Outcomes:

1. Increased sustainable financing for the protection and restoration of vital coastal ecosystems in Tanzania and sub-Saharan Africa.
2. Improved livelihoods, food security, and climate resilience for coastal communities that rely on the health of these ecosystems.
3. Scalable model for leveraging the climate mitigation potential of blue carbon as a nature-based solution to the global climate crisis.

This theory of change is supported by extensive field research on the carbon storage capacities of coastal habitats, as well as case studies demonstrating the socioeconomic and environmental benefits of community-based blue carbon projects. By bridging the gap between carbon markets and coastal communities, AquaMire's solution has the potential to catalyze transformative, equitable, and high-impact outcomes.

AquaMire's primary impact goals are:

1. Improve the livelihoods and climate resilience of 1 million people living in coastal communities across Tanzania and sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 through the sustainable management of their blue carbon assets.

2. Catalyze at least $500 million in new sustainable financing for the restoration and conservation of 1 million hectares of mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and other critical coastal habitats in the region by 2030.

3. Demonstrate the scalable potential of community-driven blue carbon projects to mitigate climate change, with a target of removing 10 million tons of CO2 equivalent from the atmosphere by 2030.

We are measuring our progress towards these goals using the following key indicators:

1. Number of coastal community members directly benefiting from blue carbon projects (disaggregated by gender, age, and socioeconomic status)
2. Increased household income and food security for participating coastal community members
3. Hectares of coastal habitats under improved management and restoration
4. Tons of CO2 equivalent sequestered and stored through blue carbon projects
5. Amount of sustainable finance (e.g., carbon credit revenue, impact investment) channeled to coastal communities and conservation initiatives
6. Improved perceptions of community ownership, agency, and stewardship over blue carbon assets

We are collecting this data through a combination of field surveys, remote sensing analyses, carbon accounting audits, and qualitative interviews with community members. Our partnerships with local NGOs, research institutions, and government agencies ensure the data is reliable and contextualized to the unique needs and circumstances of coastal communities in Tanzania and sub-Saharan Africa.

By closely monitoring these key performance indicators, we can continually refine our approach, strengthen our impact, and demonstrate the transformative potential of community-led blue carbon solutions.

The core technology that powers AquaMire's blue carbon monitoring and verification solution is a sophisticated, AI-driven remote sensing and data analysis platform.

At the heart of our system is a machine learning algorithm trained on high-resolution satellite imagery, drone-captured aerial surveys, and detailed on-the-ground measurements of coastal habitats. This multi-modal data is used to train neural networks that can accurately detect, classify, and quantify the extent, density, and biomass of mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, salt marshes, and other blue carbon ecosystems.

By integrating these AI-powered monitoring capabilities with field-based carbon stock assessments, our solution can generate highly reliable and verifiable estimates of the carbon sequestration and storage rates of coastal habitats. This data is then translated into auditable carbon credits that can be traded on global voluntary and compliance markets.

Crucially, our technology also features a user-friendly mobile application and dashboard that empower local community members to actively participate in the data collection and monitoring process. Through this community-driven approach, we ensure the long-term sustainability and scalability of our blue carbon projects, as coastal residents become the primary stewards of their own environmental assets.

Additionally, we are exploring the use of blockchain technology to transparently track the generation, ownership, and trading of our blue carbon credits, further enhancing the reliability and traceability of our system.

By seamlessly integrating cutting-edge remote sensing, AI, and community engagement tools, AquaMire's core technology provides a powerful, holistic solution for unlocking the climate mitigation potential of coastal ecosystems and channeling sustainable finance to the communities that depend on them.

AquaMire's solution team currently consists of:

- 4 full-time staff:
  - 1 Chief Executive Officer
  - 1 Chief Technology Officer
  - 1 Director of Community Engagement
  - 1 Project Manager

- 3 part-time staff:
  - 1 Environmental Scientist
  - 1 Data Analyst
  - 1 Community Outreach Coordinator

- 2 contractors:
  - 1 GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist
  - 1 Carbon Accounting and Verification Expert

This diverse, multidisciplinary team brings together expertise in environmental science, data analytics, software engineering, community development, and carbon market operations to drive the development and implementation of AquaMire's innovative blue carbon monitoring and verification solution.

AquaMire has been working on our blue carbon monitoring and verification solution for the past 16 months. Our team came together in late 2022 to conceptualize and begin prototyping the core technology and community engagement components. Over the past year and a half, we've made significant progress in building and validating our AI-powered remote sensing models, establishing partnerships, and conducting our initial pilot in Tanzania. While still early-stage, AquaMire has evolved from an initial idea to a functional prototype now poised for scaling and deployment across sub-Saharan Africa.

Building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive team is a core priority for AquaMire. We recognize that meaningful social and environmental impact cannot be achieved without actively dismantling the systemic barriers that have historically prevented marginalized communities from accessing positions of leadership and influence.

Our leadership team currently consists of 2 women and 2 men from a range of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. In our hiring and recruitment processes, we are committed to proactively seeking out candidates from underrepresented groups, including women, racial/ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and people with disabilities. We also provide mentorship, skills training, and flexible work arrangements to support the professional development and advancement of all our team members.

To foster a welcoming and inclusive work environment, we have implemented several key practices:

- Mandatory anti-bias and inclusive leadership training for all staff
- Employee resource groups that provide peer support and community-building opportunities
- Gender-neutral restrooms and other gender-inclusive facilities
- Generous family leave policies and subsidized childcare support
- Ongoing anonymous surveys to solicit feedback and address any concerns related to discrimination, harassment, or lack of belonging

Additionally, our community engagement model deliberately centers the voices and agency of local stakeholders, particularly women and youth, in the design and implementation of our blue carbon projects. We firmly believe that by modeling inclusivity and equitable practices within our own organization, we can better empower and uplift underrepresented groups as the primary beneficiaries and stewards of our innovative coastal conservation solutions.

AquaMire's business model is centered on providing a comprehensive, technology-driven solution for generating and monetizing blue carbon credits, with the goal of channeling sustainable finance to coastal communities for ecosystem conservation and restoration efforts.

Our primary customers and beneficiaries are:

1. Coastal communities in Tanzania and across sub-Saharan Africa who manage and depend on blue carbon habitats like mangrove forests and seagrass meadows. We provide them with a user-friendly monitoring and verification system that empowers them to quantify the carbon sequestration potential of their natural assets, generate carbon credits, and access new revenue streams from global carbon markets.

2. Conservation NGOs, government agencies, and impact investors seeking to finance large-scale blue carbon projects. We offer them a reliable, third-party verified methodology for measuring, reporting, and validating the climate impact of their coastal conservation initiatives, enabling them to generate high-quality carbon credits.

3. Corporations and other buyers in the voluntary carbon market who are looking to offset their greenhouse gas emissions through nature-based solutions. We provide them with a portfolio of verifiable blue carbon credits that demonstrate measurable climate benefits and direct positive impacts on coastal communities.

Our core revenue streams include:

- Carbon credit sales: We retain a 20% commission on the revenue generated from the sale of blue carbon credits to corporate and investor buyers.
- Monitoring and verification services: We charge a flat fee of $5 per hectare of coastal habitat monitored and verified using our technology-enabled system.
- Grants and impact investments: We seek funding from philanthropic, government, and private sources to further develop and scale our innovative solution.

By aligning the interests of coastal communities, conservation organizations, and carbon market participants, AquaMire's business model aims to catalyze a new era of sustainable, community-driven blue carbon finance.

AquaMire's plan for achieving long-term financial sustainability is rooted in a diversified revenue model that leverages a combination of carbon credit sales, monitoring and verification services, and strategic grant/investment funding.

Carbon Credit Sales (Projected 60% of Revenue): As the primary revenue driver, we anticipate that the sale of high-quality blue carbon credits to corporate and institutional buyers on the voluntary and compliance markets will eventually account for up to 60% of our total income. 

Monitoring and Verification Services (Projected 20% of Revenue): By providing a turnkey, technology-enabled monitoring and auditing solution to conservation organizations and government agencies, we can generate recurring service fees that are expected to contribute approximately 20% of our total revenue. We are currently in negotiations with the Tanzanian Ministry of Environment to secure a 2-year, $200,000 contract for our blue carbon measurement and reporting services.

Grants and Impact Investment (Projected 20% of Revenue): To further support the research, development, and scaling of our innovative solution, we continue to actively seek grant funding and impact investment capital. In the past 12 months, we have secured $43,000 in grant funding from the UNDP's Climate Action Fund.

By carefully balancing these three core revenue streams, AquaMire is confident in our ability to achieve long-term financial sustainability and maximize our positive impact on coastal communities and the climate. Our early successes in securing project-based funding, service contracts, and investment capital demonstrate the viability and market demand for our blue carbon monitoring and verification solution.