Kita

CEO Natalia Dorfman has a background in law and business development, including leading the climate risk strategy at Clyde & Co. CTO Dr. Paul Young has over two decades of experience in data-science-driven hedge funds and founded a startup acquired by Nasdaq. CPO Thomas Merriman has extensive experience in FinTech product management at firms like Bloomberg and Nasdaq and holds a degree in climate change science.

The company's core business revolves around removing risk for buyers and sellers of carbon credits, thereby increasing trust and enabling more capital to flow into carbon removal solutions. As a Managing General Agent (MGA) and a Lloyd's of London coverholder, Kita develops and underwrites insurance products backed by partners such as Chaucer Group, Munich Re, RenaissanceRe, and Tokio Marine Kiln. Kita's business model is centered on offering insurance policies and risk advisory services. Claims can be paid in cash or through replacement carbon credits.

Kita offers several products, with its flagship being the 'Carbon Purchase Protection Cover', which protects buyers of forward-purchased carbon credits against under-delivery. Other products include 'Carbon Political Risk Cover', which mitigates risks like license cancellation and political violence, and insurance for Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) projects. The company uses sophisticated data modeling to assess risks and determine insurability, which helps in building confidence in the market. Kita serves a global client base, including investors and carbon credit buyers in the UK, US, Canada, EU, and Singapore.

Since its founding, Kita has achieved significant milestones, including securing a £4 million seed funding round led by Octopus Ventures in early 2023, following a £350k pre-seed round in 2022. The company has received regulatory approval from the FCA and has been nominated for the Earthshot Prize. It continues to expand its underwriting capacity and product portfolio to meet the growing demand in the carbon market, which is projected to require significant insurance coverage by 2030.