🚁 Heli view: African phones top US in carbon footprint

Microsoft saw the potential of greening African telecoms long before incumbent players. 

• Eight years ago it funded Kenyan startup Mawingu to power data networks using solar panels. The company keeps expanding, having raised $9 million last year.

Catching up: Now the rest of the continent’s telecoms sector is starting to pay attention. 

• A week ago, Vantage Capital invested $66 million in Camusat, the telco service provider, to “boost telecom infrastructure and green solutions in Africa”.

Why it matters: The carbon footprint of African smartphones exceeds that of the US (see chart). 

• This is based on an estimated 63 kg of CO2 over a phone’s lifecycle, including manufacturing, use and disposal in Africa, versus 85 kg in developed countries.

• Africa’s largest economies rank only just below the top European nations in terms of CO2 from phones.