PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator
MENA
Sustainability Edition
Unlocking innovative and disruptive agricultural solutions in partnership with purpose-driven MENA start-ups
About MENA
Program
Overview
Nurturing Start-ups or entrepreneurs with transformative direct farming innovations in the following areas
- Minimizing water use and stress in the region by enhancing management of water and wastewater in agricultural activities;
- Managing efficiencies across inputs and production processes to increase sustainable practices in agriculture;
- Breakthrough products and technologies to support regional food security; and
- AI and digitization of agricultural processes to enable for sustainable reporting
Presenting our 2023 finalists
Dooda Solutions
A women-led earthworm farm that uses advanced technologies to produce a range of premium grade vermicompost products (organic fertilizers) at commercial scale.
Noor Nation
A renewable energy startup that aims to provide tech-enabled decentralized energy and water infrastructure solutions to the off-grid sector across Egypt and Sub-Saharan Africa. Their product, LifeBox, is a solar-powered, self-contained mobile unit that delivers clean energy and safe water to rural communities, farming and tourism businesses at a reasonable price.
Robocare
Promotes sustainable agriculture using precision farming tools and AI, to monitor crops, improve land efficiency, and optimize pesticide, fertilization and irrigation needs.
Smart green
Provides Agri-tech solutions to agribusinesses for Digital Transformation from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture-based on Industry 4.0 Technologies.
Smart WTI
Forward-thinking IoT/AI solutions provider dedicated to designing and manufacturing advanced water management solutions that contribute to a greener and more sustainable future.
YY ReGen
YY ReGen is an agritech and renewable energy innovator committed to transforming the way our customers’ ventures are powered, watered, and grown with a focus on a more affordable, less pollutive, and more regenerative approach – partnering with our clients in creating a sustainable future in our beloved region.
Nadeera
MENA Process
How it
Works
The 2023 PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator: MENA Sustainability Edition will select 6 startups and entrepreneurs with breakthrough sustainability agriculture innovations. Ultimately, furthering the PepsiCo Sustainability goals to reduce the carbon footprint across the agricultural space and enhance food security in the MENA region.
GRANTS
Selected innovators will receive an initial $20,000 USD grant to work on a new business initiative.
Final Prize
At the program’s closing event, a panel of judges will award one participating company with a $100,000 USD prize to help advance and scale their innovation.
Mentorship
PepsiCo and industry experts provide R&D insights, perspectives on business models, market activation, product development, regulatory practices and more.
Resources
Participants of the 6-months program will have access to subject matter experts, resources and business courses.
Eligibility
Requirements
Applications for the Greenhouse Accelerator: MENA Sustainability Edition will remain open until April 10, 2023. In order to apply, companies had to meet the following requirements.
Minimum Requirements
- $250,000 to $1M USD in sales in the last financial year OR have a validated prototype for use in the market within the next 6 months
- Be a licensed business in one of the participating MENA region countries (Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates).
- Be willing to work with PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator mentors and public relations team throughout six-month Accelerator program and attend Accelerator events.
- Agree to Terms and Conditions below.
An external third party will review all submissions and our selection committee will choose finalists based on the following criteria:
- Must include the focus areas of sustainable agriculture practices.
- Uniqueness in the market.
- A clear go-to-market strategy and plan for sustained in-market execution.
- Balanced gender and ethnic diversity of team.
- Scalable business model.
Important
Dates
February 28
2023
Applications
Open
April 10
2023
Applications
Close
June 1
2023
Program Launch Event -
Dubai
August
2023
Program Mid-point virtual event
November
2023
Winner Announcement Event - Dubai
PepsiCo's
Sustainability Strategy
In 2021, PepsiCo announced a fundamental transformation of what we do and how we do it: from sourcing ingredients and making and selling our products in a more sustainable way, to leveraging our more than one billion connections with consumers each day to drive positive impact at scale, and engage people to make choices that are better for themselves and the planet. We call this pep+ (pep Positive).
As one of the world’s most respected food and beverage companies, PepsiCo aims to use their reach and influence to help change the way society operates across the food value chain.
Critical changemakers to this transition are entrepreneurs establishing and scaling up innovations that focus on new processes, products, and technologies that are disrupting the way we operate. In support of such innovations, we’ve launched the PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator Program:
A global mentor-led initiative that aims to help entrepreneurs in the sustainability space grow through collaboration and knowledge sharing.
PepsiCo is proud to build on the positive impact and momentum generated in the first MENA edition of the Greenhouse Accelerator Program conducted in 2022 with the launch of our 2nd MENA edition of Greenhouse Accelerator Program in 2023.
Hear From Our
2022
Winner
Nadeera
The first MENA edition’s theme was sustainable packaging and recycling, and the winner was UAE-based Nadeera, a social enterprise that leverages technology to promote waste sorting at source. Through its ‘Yalla Return’ product, Nadeera drives a trash-for-cash model, providing cash rewards based on the quantity of recyclables consumers turn in.
“Participating in the Greenhouse program was very different from any other programs we partook in. An overwhelming corporate ownership was evident from the launch event until closing. PepsiCo was mobilized in its entirety to ensure start-ups are well supported and pushed beyond their limits. Also, the exposure that Nadeera received as a result of this program is overwhelming. As such, this program catapulted Nadeera to be literary at the forefront of the waste diversion industry in the GCC and we are still experiencing the effects of this momentum until now.”
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