Derrick Dao, WealthGreen CEO and founder / Photo credit: WealthGreen

Carbon trading is generally reserved for institutions and elite investors. For example, the Singapore Exchange launched Climate Impact X, a carbon credit exchange for businesses, in 2021. The platform, which is a joint venture with Temasek, DBS, and Standard Chartered, has since grown to offer a marketplace and spot trading platform for carbon credits.

But this seems to be shifting as carbon trading becomes more accessible to the public. Among the companies pioneering the change is Singapore-based WealthGreen, which is set to launch an app that allows retail investors to invest in carbon credits.

The startup plans to roll out the platform in the fourth quarter of 2023, initially in Singapore and Indonesia. It will follow up with launches in other markets in Southeast Asia as well as Hong Kong and Australia.

CEO and founder Derrick Dao tells Tech in Asia that WealthGreen wants to onboard at least 30,000 users by the end of the year.

Traditionally, consumers could only purchase carbon credits to offset their emissions. However, WealthGreen is allowing consumers to buy and hold these credits for potential resale as market forecasts predict rising demand and prices. It charges a US$0.75 fixed transaction fee per order.

According to Dao, the global market for carbon credits is projected to grow significantly in the next few years, with estimates ranging from US$50 billion to US$250 billion by 2030. The industry’s current value is around US$2 billion.

WealthGreen also says that each carbon credit on its platform is verified by third-party agencies like Sylvera and BeZero and comes from real forests or jungles.

The startup is targeting young people with its services. This enables the newer generation, which has been “largely left out of traditional asset classes” to make financial gains while contributing to the environment, explains Dao.

WealthGreen aims to prove that “you can actually profit with purpose” – there’s no need “to choose between the two,” he says.

The CEO adds that WealthGreen is a well-funded business and is raising another round of funding to accelerate its market expansion. Its team is spread across Singapore and London.

See also: Making the case for solar as a service in Southeast Asia