What ReSpek Nature does

ReSpek Nature NPC is a South African registered Non-Profit Company (2022/504581/08), NPO (277-893) and Public Benefit Organisation (PBO 930075917) that operates a web-based carbon-offsetting platform built around the planting of spekboom (Portulacaria afra) in the Karoo. Founded in late 2020 and based in Johannesburg, with planting and nursery operations anchored through partner Jobs for Carbon in Vanwyksdorp and project sites in the Western Cape (Danielskraal near Calitzdorp) and Eastern Cape (Giant Flag near Graaff-Reinet), the company has to date restored roughly 41.81 hectares, planted approximately 88,080 spekboom, and captured an estimated 4,308 tonnes of CO2.

The platform offers three subscription tiers — Personal (R150–R525/month), Family (R525–R2,250/month) and Corporate (R3,000–R15,000/month) — plus one-time spekboom purchases at R15 each, gift purchases (including CSV bulk-gifting), and GPS-coordinate certificates on a roughly one-hectare grid that allow donors to locate their individual plants. For businesses, ReSpek Nature ships a native Shopify app and integration plugins (or a custom API) for WooCommerce, WordPress, Magento, PrestaShop and Wix that embed a spekboom checkbox at checkout; merchant partners include GeeWiz, SoPure, Seeds for Africa, Trail Tribe, Wilde Natural Oils, Halo Dish Covers, spazastore.com and Gush Valley. Donation processing is handled via Peach Payments, PayPal and PayFast.

Revenue mechanics mix recurring subscriptions, one-time purchases (the R15/spekboom retail and gift lines), and transaction-fee-style offset sales flowing through merchant integrations. Scientific and operational credibility is supported through partnerships with the Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve and Rhodes Restoration Research Group, while the Section 18A tax-deduction status enables South African donors to claim up to 10% off taxable income on contributions. The model’s primary risk is concentration of plantings and on-the-ground execution in a single biome, with growth dependent on merchant and corporate subscriber acquisition in a small (1–10 person) non-profit organisation.

Name

ReSpek Nature

Legal name

ReSpek Nature NPC

Website

https://respeknature.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ReSpek Nature is a South African non-profit carbon-offset platform that lets individuals, families, corporations, and e-commerce merchants fund Karoo restoration by purchasing and subscribing to spekboom (Portulacaria afra) plantings, with merchant checkout integrations and Section 18A tax-deductible receipts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Carbon Offset Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Forest Nurseries and Gathering of Forest Products (1132), Environmental Consulting Services (541620)

SIC

Forestry (800), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Afforestation, Reforestation & Revegetation (ARR) (EUABABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Carbon Forestry Project Development & Origination (Afforestation/Reforestation/IFM) (IMAMAJAD), Forestry & Reforestation (BPAGAGAD), Soil & Biomass Carbon Measurement (Soil Sampling, Forest Inventory, Blue Carbon) (EUABACAH)

Keywords

• Carbon offset services
• Spekboom reforestation
• Ecological restoration
• Carbon credit subscriptions
• Merchant sustainability integration

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. One-Time Spekboom Purchase: Individual consumers purchase individual spekboom plants at R15 per unit via the ReSpek Nature website cart. The transaction is one-time, with no recurring commitment. Donors can purchase spekboom for themselves or as a gift, with an option to upload a CSV of recipients for bulk gifting.
2. Subscription Plans (Personal, Family, Corporate): ReSpek Nature offers monthly subscription plans where spekboom are planted on the subscriber's behalf each month. Personal plans range from R150/month (Lite, 10 spekboom) to R525/month (Loaded, 35 spekboom). Family plans range from R525/month to R2,250/month. Corporate plans range from R3,000/month (Lite, 200 spekboom) to R15,000/month (Loaded, 1,000 spekboom). All plans are billed monthly on a subscription basis.
3. Merchant E-Commerce Integration (R15/spekboom): E-commerce merchants integrate ReSpek Nature's app into their checkout, charging R15 per spekboom purchased by their customers at point of sale. Revenue flows through the merchant's transaction at R15 per spekboom planted, with ReSpek Nature acting as the underlying service provider for the carbon offset delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ReSpek Nature is a web-based carbon offsetting platform that sells individual spekboom plantings and recurring spekboom planting subscriptions (Personal, Family, Corporate plans) and provides a Shopify and multi-platform e-commerce checkout integration that lets merchants offer customers the option to add a spekboom (R15) to their cart to offset purchase-related CO2. Each donation plants Portulacaria afra in the South African Karoo through implementation partner Jobs for Carbon and is accompanied by a GPS-tagged digital certificate.

Product overview

ReSpek Nature is a carbon offset platform that allows individuals, families, and organizations to offset their carbon emissions by planting spekboom (Portulacaria afra) in the South African Karoo. The platform operates a tiered subscription model comprising Personal Plan, Family Plan, and Corporate Plan for recurring monthly offsets, alongside individual one-time spekboom purchases. For e-commerce merchants, the platform offers a white-label checkout integration (Supporting Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, Magento, PrestaShop, Wix, and custom API) that lets customers add carbon offsets at purchase. The platform manages multiple restoration projects including Danielskraal and Giant Flag, provides GPS-tagged certificates for planted spekboom, and enables Section 18A tax deductions for South African donors. A real-time spekboom counter displays cumulative planting progress across all projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Personal Plan Monthly subscription plan for individuals to offset personal carbon footprint via monthly spekboom planting. Available in Lite (R150/month, 10 spekboom), Medium (R225/month, 15 spekboom), and Loaded (R525/month, 35 spekboom) tiers with disclosed CO2-equivalent km driven/flown per tier.
• Family Plan Monthly subscription plan for families to collectively offset household carbon footprint through monthly spekboom planting. Available in Lite (R525/month), Medium (R1,125/month, 75 spekboom), and Loaded (R2,250/month, 150 spekboom) tiers with disclosed CO2-equivalent km driven per tier.
• Corporate Plan Monthly subscription plan for organisations to offset their team's carbon footprint through spekboom planting. Available in Lite (R3,000/month, 200 spekboom), Medium (R7,500/month, 500 spekboom), and Loaded (R15,000/month, 1,000 spekboom) tiers with disclosed CO2-equivalent km driven/flown per tier.
• Merchant E-commerce Integration Integration product for online merchants (Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, Magento, PrestaShop, Wix, and custom API) that displays a pop-up or checkbox at checkout, allowing customers to add a spekboom (R15) to their cart to offset purchase-related carbon emissions.
• Individual Spekboom Purchase One-time purchase of individual spekboom plants at R15 each via the ReSpek Nature website. Customers can buy spekboom for personal carbon offsetting or as gifts (with bulk CSV-based gifting supported). Each purchase plants a spekboom in the Karoo and is accompanied by a GPS-tagged digital certificate accurate to one hectare.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 hectare of spekboom captures 8.5-10 tonnes CO2 per year — equivalent to driving 48,875 km in an average car
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and major.

• Jobs for CarboncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Jobs for Carbon was established in 2014 in Vanwyksdorp and is the on-the-ground implementation partner for ReSpek Nature's spekboom planting operations. The team operates a nursery in Vanwyksdorp where spekboom cuttings are propagated until rooted, then planted in degraded areas of the Karoo (including near Calitzdorp and Graaff-Reinet). Jobs for Carbon stimulates veld improvement, environmental restoration, and rural employment — creating 12+ jobs with a demographic split of 12/14 youth and women at the Danielskraal project alone.
• Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve (GCBR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGCBR is a biosphere reserve partner that provides staff of advisors including botanists and environmentalists who ensure ReSpek Nature is implementing best practices in ecological restoration. GCBR and ReSpek Nature collaborate on ensuring scientific rigour in the spekboom planting methodology and monitoring.
• Rhodes Restoration Research Group (Rhodes University)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRhodes Restoration Research Group, based in Grahamstown (Makhanda), provides expert botanical guidance to ReSpek Nature and South African National Parks (SANParks) on specific spekboom planting approaches. The group contributes scientific oversight to ensure planting methodologies align with ecological restoration best practices.
• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationReSpek Nature operates a Shopify app that allows Shopify-powered e-commerce merchants to integrate spekboom carbon offsetting into their checkout. The app displays a pop-up or checkbox at point of purchase, enabling customers to add a spekboom to their order. The ReSpek Nature app is listed on the Shopify App Store and promotes its integration on the /plans/merchant page.
• GeeWizmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGeeWiz is a South African online retailer specialising in electronics and gadgets. It is a merchant partner of ReSpek Nature, integrating the spekboom offset option into its checkout. GeeWiz has contributed significantly to the Giant Flag project with 32.84 ha of spekboom, 120,648 spekboom planted, and 1,093.85 t CO2 offset through its customers' purchases.
• Trail TribesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerTrail Tribe is a South African trail running community and events organiser that partners with ReSpek Nature to offer carbon offsetting to participants. By partnering with ReSpek Nature, Trail Tribe integrates environmental restoration into its community events, extending ReSpek Nature's reach to outdoor enthusiasts.
• Seeds for AfricasupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSeeds for Africa is a privately owned South African seed company (formed 2011) with over 2,600 seed varieties. At checkout on their website, customers can purchase a spekboom to offset the carbon emissions of their order. Seeds for Africa matches customer contributions spekboom for spekboom, effectively doubling the environmental impact of each transaction.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Pachama: Tech-enabled carbon credit marketplace focused on nature-based solutions and forestry credits. Overlaps with ReSpek Nature in nature-based carbon credit origination and in using technology to drive transparency and accessibility.
• Fairatmos: Carbon offset platform connecting businesses to nature-based carbon projects, with a focus on Southeast Asia. Comparable emerging player operating in a single region with similar merchant/business integration model and carbon credit sales focus.

Direct peers

• Klima: Consumer-facing carbon offsetting app and platform offering subscriptions to offset personal carbon footprints through certified climate projects. Directly comparable in targeting individuals via subscription tiers with transparent impact tracking.
• Treeapp: Carbon offsetting platform that plants trees for individuals and businesses through partner projects. Directly comparable in the consumer subscription model and partnership-led project portfolio approach.
• Plant-for-the-Planet: Global non-profit enabling individuals and businesses to plant trees and offset carbon. Comparable as a mission-driven non-profit using subscriptions and donations to fund large-scale tree-planting restoration.
• Ecologi: Subscription and e-commerce-integrated carbon offsetting platform that plants trees and funds climate projects globally. Directly comparable business model combining individual subscriptions, B2B offerings, and merchant/ecommerce integrations — competing head-to-head for the same consumer and merchant customers.
• Tree-Nation: Reforestation platform that lets individuals and companies plant trees across global projects and track impact. Comparable in providing tree-planting offset subscriptions, individual purchases, and corporate B2B offerings.
• Wren: Subscription-based carbon offsetting platform focused on individual subscribers funding high-quality reforestation and carbon removal projects. Comparable in targeting personal/family subscription tiers and offering project-level transparency.
• Cloverly: API-based carbon offsetting infrastructure for e-commerce merchants and enterprises, enabling purchase-time carbon offsets via integration. Closely comparable to ReSpek Nature's Shopify/e-commerce checkout integration strategy.

Broad incumbents

• South Pole Group: Global carbon project developer and climate consultancy developing and selling nature-based and tech-based carbon credits at scale. A larger incumbent operating in the same voluntary carbon market with comparable nature-based project portfolios.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/respeknature
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/respek-nature
• Instagraminstagram.com/respek_nature
• Xx.com/Respek_Nature

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ReSpek Nature