The I-TEC Impact Certificate Pilot

The majority of end-of-life IT equipment that reaches Sub-Saharan Africa is processed by informal or semi-formal facilities operating without the capital, the technical capacity, or the certification to meet international environmental and social standards. The consequences — environmental contamination, worker exposure, lost materials value — are well documented. The financing mechanisms to address them, at scale and sustainably, are not.

Certification programmes exist. Verification standards exist. Corporate buyers with ESG obligations and supply chain exposure exist. What has been missing is a programme structure that connects all three and closes the capital loop without depending on grants.

The I-TEC Impact Pilot operates across three e-waste processors in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria. Blended finance — combining concessional capital with forward purchase commitments from corporate buyers — funds the formalisation of each facility, their pathway to E-Stewards certification, and the development of a social impact measurement framework calibrated to each processor's capacity.

As processors reach certification milestones, verified I-TEC Impact Certificates are issued through the Bloom ESG registry. These certificates are purchased by corporate buyers as auditable evidence of environmental and social impact in their IT supply chains. Certificate revenues cover the full cost of the programme.

The I-TEC Impact Certificate is a verified impact instrument issued through the Bloom ESG registry. Each certificate represents independently audited environmental and social outcomes generated by a certified e-waste processor — combining avoided environmental harm with measurable improvements in worker welfare and community livelihoods.

For corporate buyers, the I-TEC Impact Certificate provides an auditable, SDG-aligned impact claim directly traceable to their IT asset lifecycle. For investors, it represents the revenue mechanism that repays programme capital.

The I-TEC Impact Certificate is a new category of instrument. There is no direct precedent in the IT sector.