Saudi Arabia-based Mirai Solar, a Saudi-based solar-powered shade system out of KAUST, received the $30,000 second place prize.
Omar Elboghdady, co-founder and CEO of Viridia Tech.
Egypt-based agritech Viridia Tech has been named the overall winner of the 2024 Mega Green Accelerator, awarded the $100,000 grand prize in Saudi Arabia for their impactful data analytics platform, which helps farmers grow crops more sustainably and efficiently.
Viridia Tech has been named the overall winner of the 2024 Mega Green Accelerator, following an exciting industry Demo Day held in Riyadh where eight startups from across the Middle East and North Africa region showcased innovative solutions addressing food security, clean energy transitions, and the circular economy.
Read more: Red Sea farms from KAUST grows food with brackish water
The Mega Green Accelerator, launched in 2023 by PepsiCo, SABIC, AstroLabs, and eleven other strategic partners, received over 350 submissions. The eight selected startups participated in a six-month programme of trainings and workshops, mentorship from business leaders, and opportunities to network, scale their businesses, and gain access to investors.
“PepsiCo has been a key partner in the region for 70 years, and we remain committed to supporting progress and empowering the next generation. Through MENA Innovates, we are focused on driving meaningful change by backing startups and advancing broader initiatives that promote innovation across the region. We look forward to seeing how the startups will contribute to a more sustainable future,” said Wael Ismail, Vice President of Corporate Affairs, PepsiCo AMESA (Africa, Middle East, and South Asia).
At the Demo Day, Egypt-based Viridia Tech was awarded the $100,000 grand prize for their artificial intelligence and data analytics platform, which provides real-time insights and recommendations to help farmers grow crops more efficiently and sustainably and forecast yields accurately.
Foreign-founded but Saudi Arabia-based Mirai Solar out of KAUST produces an innovative solar-powered shade system, received the $30,000 second place prize.
Mirai solar for carparks
The Mega Green Accelerator is part of PepsiCo’s MENA Innovates programs, which champion entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability through a series of events and initiatives that celebrate groundbreaking ideas and inspire future leaders.
Eight startups, including Mrüna and The Surpluss (UAE), AHYA TECHNOLOGIES (KSA), YY ReGen (Lebanon), P-VITA (Egypt), and Kumulus (Tunisia), were selected for this year’s edition of the Accelerator, led by PepsiCo, SABIC, AstroLabs, and eleven strategic partners.
Mega Green Accelerator entry requirements
None of the companies in the competition included submissions from Israel – a proven, global leader in agtech, solar and water tech. Green Prophet calls on Saudi Arabia aiming to be a global tourism and business hub by 2030 to fight antisemitism in all its forms, including the exclusion of Jewish candidates from MENA prizes and exhibitions. It is common for the Arab world to circumvent antisemitism by inviting “Palestinians” who can be Arab Israelis, without letting the Jewish Israeli members of the MENA region participate. Decades of quiet antisemitism are no longer acceptable in contests and calls to actions by EU-funded, UN-funded and privately-funded contests.
A few leading cleantech inventions from Israel include CropX, Ormat Geothermal, and SolarEdge, solar energy technology.
About the start-ups participating in the 2024 edition
| UAE | Mrüna, inspired by the Arabic word for resilience, is a consulting and distribution company dedicated to developing innovative urban solutions. Their flagship product, BiomWeb, is a nature-based solution that utilizes emerging technologies to treat and manage wastewater for reuse. |
| The Surpluss is a US-patented award-winning climate technology start up that helps SMEs reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, profitably, through resource sharing through a digital sustainability exchange. | |
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Saudi Arabia |
Mirai Solar expands the utilization of solar energy beyond conventional applications via its proprietary Mirai Screen – a lightweight and foldable electricity generating shade screen. Mirai’s solutions dramatically improve the energy use efficiency of food production and smart buildings for a sustainable future. |
| AHYA TECHNOLOGIES is a climate software and AI start-up building a unified platform for scaling climate action across the Middle East North Africa & Pakistan. Ahya has two core products in AhyaOS – AI powered greenhouse gas emissions operating system and Tawazun – omni-channel voluntary carbon marketplace. | |
| Lebanon | YY ReGen is an innovator in agritech and renewable energy committed to transforming the way customers’ ventures are powered, watered, and grown. They focus on a more affordable, less pollutive, and regenerative approach to create a sustainable future. |
| Egypt | Viridia Tech offers a platform enabling crop analytics at scale for industrial agricultural companies offering unprecedented monitoring capabilities and refined recommendations resulting in double digit improvements in yield, unit economics and sustainability metrics. |
| P-VITA is a pioneer biotechnology hub that specializes in producing natural raw materials for the cosmetics, and food & beverage industries through innovative and patented processes with utilizing AI and IoT technologies to reduce carbon footprint through automated processes. | |
| Tunisia | Kumulus a water tech startup that turns air into fresh drinking water through innovative AWG machines. Their machines make drinking water more accessible, sustainable, and economical for hotels and businesses across MENA and southern European regions. |
Curious to know more about this accelerator hosted by PepsiCo, click here for last year’s winners which include companies from Lebanon, Jordan, and the UAE.
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist and publisher that founded Green Prophet to unite a prosperous Middle East. She shows through her work that positive, inspiring dialogue creates action that impacts people, business and planet. She has published in thought-leading newspapers and magazines globally, owns an IoT tech chip patent, and is part of teams that build world-changing products to make agriculture and our planet more sustainable. Reach out directly to [email protected]
