This policy paper analyses the status of the African carbon market. It contains a quantitative analysis of the African Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) pipeline and a look at the status of support measures for it. It aims to give more information on the buyer’s perspective and provides findings from a quantitative analysis and telephone interviews with buyer representatives. The paper concludes that it is possible to foster development of CDM projects in specific regions through respective provisions on the demand side. Findings are taken to show that significant progress has been made in the establishment of CDM capacities in Africa, despite limited capacities being one of the main challenges for carbon market activities. Three types of financial support for African CDM activities are proposed.