Company Insights Pure Harvest Smart Farms Agriculture Pure Harvest Smart Farms Overview Pure Harvest Smart Farms is an agricultural tech company created by former US private equity investor Sky Kurtz and based in Abu Dhabi. Pure Harvest says its hydroponic greenhouses are seven times more efficient than a typical greenhouse farm in the UAE and 30 times more efficient than field farming. It also says 85 percent of the water used leaves the farm in its fruit and vegetables. Pure Harvest runs collaborations and partnerships with governments, schools and research institutions to lead sustainable agriculture advancements. In 2023 Pure Harvest bought RedSea’s six-hectare controlled-environment agriculture facility near Riyadh. It has also formed a $150 million partnership with the Richel Group to deploy high-tech hybrid smart farms growing fruit and vegetables across the Middle East and Asia. Pure Harvest Smart Farms News Banking & Finance VC firm Shorooq focuses on AI, biotech and gaming Venture capital company Shorooq Partners will target companies specialising in sectors such as artificial intelligence, biotech and gaming, a senior executive told AGBI. Shorooq is based in Abu Dhabi and manages about $350 million in assets and invests in startups in the Middle East and North Africa and beyond. It is focused on on fintech […] February 20, 2024 Sustainability Investment in Mena climate tech hits record $270m in 2022 Venture capital funding into climate tech startups across the Middle East, North Africa (Mena) and Turkey reached a record $270 million in 2022, although investments have been lower in the year to date, a study shows. Climate tech VC in the region was up 50 percent annually compared to 2021, said the report by CE […] October 31, 2023 Exclusive Banking & Finance Dubai’s Tarabut points way for open banking in GCC The new chief financial officer of open banking platform Tarabut Gateway sees “exciting times ahead” as the company focuses on expansion in Saudi Arabia. It is also hoping to enter other Middle East markets. Open banking allows for financial data to be shared between banks and third-party service providers through the use of applications. Similar […] August 10, 2023 Tech AeroFarms: the US business growing up (and up) in the Gulf Agtech giant AeroFarms is seeding its indoor vertical farms all over the Gulf, launching significant ventures in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The US company is set to play a pivotal role in tackling problems of farming in the desert-climate region, which has historically imported around 90 percent of its food requirements. AeroFarms claims […] March 1, 2023 Tech The vertical farms stacking up across the UAE Food security is a top priority in the UAE government’s development goals outlined in its National Strategy for Food Security. Political will and private sector innovation are combining, and the result is an unprecedented wave of agricultural technology initiatives that aim to improve food self-sufficiency. Across the Gulf, the vast majority of food requirements have […] March 1, 2023 Tech Top 10 agtech innovators shaping the Mena market Lush plains criss-crossed by fresh water lakes and grasslands where hippos and elephants roamed. This was the Arabian peninsula in prehistoric times, according to archaeologists who have uncovered traces of fertile landscapes beneath the desert sands. Today the terrain looks very different, as the region’s governments race to confront food scarcity on a warming planet. […] March 1, 2023 Tech Farming tech startup moves HQ from Europe to UAE A Finnish tech startup is swapping the green countryside of Northern Europe for the Arabian desert as it looks to grow its urban farming business. iFarm was invited in November to join the incentive programme of Abu Dhabi’s Hub71, the technology project led by Mubadala Investment Company and backed by the Government of Abu Dhabi. […] February 1, 2023 Analysis Tech Abu Dhabi backs women-led food security startups in Mena Dana Global, an Abu Dhabi-based venture builder and investment platform that supports women-led startups in agricultural technology (agtech) and water solutions, has announced a new partnership to tackle the food security situation in the Middle East and North Africa. Its agreement with Silal, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s $110 billion state holding company ADQ, focused […] December 14, 2022 Food & Drink GMG-Silal deal aims to dish up customers for 1,100 UAE farms More locally grown food is set to be sold in UAE supermarkets under a link-up between retailer GMG and agri-food business Silal, a subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund ADQ. Under the deal, which was signed at last week’s Abu Dhabi International Food Exhibition, up to 1,100 UAE farms contracted to Silal will be supported to […] December 12, 2022 Exclusive Tech Irish aviation tycoon to help grow Gulf agtech startup Irish entrepreneur Dómhnal Slattery, best known for scaling companies in the aviation sector, has been appointed a special adviser to one of the Gulf’s biggest startups, and is open to more potential investments in the region. Pure Harvest Smart Farms, the agtech startup based in Abu Dhabi, in July raised $180 million in funding from […] December 12, 2022 Posts navigation 1 2 Next
Banking & Finance VC firm Shorooq focuses on AI, biotech and gaming Venture capital company Shorooq Partners will target companies specialising in sectors such as artificial intelligence, biotech and gaming, a senior executive told AGBI. Shorooq is based in Abu Dhabi and manages about $350 million in assets and invests in startups in the Middle East and North Africa and beyond. It is focused on on fintech […] February 20, 2024
Sustainability Investment in Mena climate tech hits record $270m in 2022 Venture capital funding into climate tech startups across the Middle East, North Africa (Mena) and Turkey reached a record $270 million in 2022, although investments have been lower in the year to date, a study shows. Climate tech VC in the region was up 50 percent annually compared to 2021, said the report by CE […] October 31, 2023
Exclusive Banking & Finance Dubai’s Tarabut points way for open banking in GCC The new chief financial officer of open banking platform Tarabut Gateway sees “exciting times ahead” as the company focuses on expansion in Saudi Arabia. It is also hoping to enter other Middle East markets. Open banking allows for financial data to be shared between banks and third-party service providers through the use of applications. Similar […] August 10, 2023
Tech AeroFarms: the US business growing up (and up) in the Gulf Agtech giant AeroFarms is seeding its indoor vertical farms all over the Gulf, launching significant ventures in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The US company is set to play a pivotal role in tackling problems of farming in the desert-climate region, which has historically imported around 90 percent of its food requirements. AeroFarms claims […] March 1, 2023
Tech The vertical farms stacking up across the UAE Food security is a top priority in the UAE government’s development goals outlined in its National Strategy for Food Security. Political will and private sector innovation are combining, and the result is an unprecedented wave of agricultural technology initiatives that aim to improve food self-sufficiency. Across the Gulf, the vast majority of food requirements have […] March 1, 2023
Tech Top 10 agtech innovators shaping the Mena market Lush plains criss-crossed by fresh water lakes and grasslands where hippos and elephants roamed. This was the Arabian peninsula in prehistoric times, according to archaeologists who have uncovered traces of fertile landscapes beneath the desert sands. Today the terrain looks very different, as the region’s governments race to confront food scarcity on a warming planet. […] March 1, 2023
Tech Farming tech startup moves HQ from Europe to UAE A Finnish tech startup is swapping the green countryside of Northern Europe for the Arabian desert as it looks to grow its urban farming business. iFarm was invited in November to join the incentive programme of Abu Dhabi’s Hub71, the technology project led by Mubadala Investment Company and backed by the Government of Abu Dhabi. […] February 1, 2023
Analysis Tech Abu Dhabi backs women-led food security startups in Mena Dana Global, an Abu Dhabi-based venture builder and investment platform that supports women-led startups in agricultural technology (agtech) and water solutions, has announced a new partnership to tackle the food security situation in the Middle East and North Africa. Its agreement with Silal, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s $110 billion state holding company ADQ, focused […] December 14, 2022
Food & Drink GMG-Silal deal aims to dish up customers for 1,100 UAE farms More locally grown food is set to be sold in UAE supermarkets under a link-up between retailer GMG and agri-food business Silal, a subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund ADQ. Under the deal, which was signed at last week’s Abu Dhabi International Food Exhibition, up to 1,100 UAE farms contracted to Silal will be supported to […] December 12, 2022
Exclusive Tech Irish aviation tycoon to help grow Gulf agtech startup Irish entrepreneur Dómhnal Slattery, best known for scaling companies in the aviation sector, has been appointed a special adviser to one of the Gulf’s biggest startups, and is open to more potential investments in the region. Pure Harvest Smart Farms, the agtech startup based in Abu Dhabi, in July raised $180 million in funding from […] December 12, 2022