From Residues to Revenues: Unlocking the Value Chain of Green Charcoal in Uganda

In Uganda, green charcoal – briquettes made of carbonized biochar from agricultural residues – has the potential to replace wood charcoal. This can contribute to halting deforestation and reducing national carbon emissions. Yet, the acceptance of green charcoal by consumers is very slow. In this article, using Michael Porter’s value chain model, we present a comprehensive and holistic model describing the conditions for successful production and marketing of briquettes by private businesses. Based primarily on observations of production and interviews conducted with Ugandan enterprises producing green charcoal, green finance organizations, green charcoal consumers, and wood charcoal producers, we describe barriers impeding access to capital, the production of a competitive product, and the marketing of green charcoal briquettes. Since one barrier has an impact on the entire production and marketing chain, we argue that all aspects of the green charcoal enterprise must work simultaneously to successfully compete with wood charcoal. Financial institutions and governmental policies must also support the green charcoal value chain.