PepsiCo has announced UAE-based start-up Nadeera, as the winner of the first iteration of its Greenhouse Accelerator Program: MENA Sustainability Edition following a rigorous judging process, and a six-month PepsiCo mentorship program. Nadeera will receive a grant of $100,000, as well as a host of other benefits to scale their sustainable packaging solution and grow their business.
Nadeera is a social enterprise that leverages technology to promote waste sorting at source. It’s product ‘Yalla Return’, is the first Trash for Cash system in the MENA region which gives customers cash rewards based on the quantity of recyclables they turn in. The concept provides resident-centric, technology-enabled waste management solutions for municipalities and waste management authorities. In their presentation to the judges, Nadeera demonstrated consistent revenue growth since participating in the program and a strong pipeline to scalability in their concept within the next six months.
The winner was announced at the closing event held at Museum of the Future following pitches and a product showcase by each start-up. In attendance was Her Excellency Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Aamer Sheikh, PepsiCo Middle East CEO, as well as an esteemed judging panel including Medea Nocentini, the Senior partner and COO of Global Ventures, Dr. Lina Prada, Director of Application Development & Industry Solutions within the Technology & Innovation Department at SABIC, Tammer Qaddumi, Co-Founder of VentureSouq, Mohamed AlHosani, Chief Sustainability Officer at BEEAH Group, Yasmin Fansa, Sustainability Lead for PepsiCo MENA and Butti Almuhairi, Member of the Arab Youth Council for Climate Change.
In addition to the prize fund, the winner will receive an annual family Viya Fitness and Leisure pass courtesy of Food Tech Valley to enjoy once the program concludes, as well as inclusion in the Arab Youth Startup Marketplace cohort and access to Arab Youth Council partners. All start-ups that participated in the program received a grant of $20,000 and one-on-one mentorship from PepsiCo and Food Tech Valley executives over six months, who guided them on everything from research and development to business models, marketing, and fundraising.
The Greenhouse Accelerator Program is a global, mentor-led accelerator program that launched in MENA in November 2021. The first iteration, in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and Food Tech Valley, sought to identify regional start-ups with innovative solutions focused on sustainable packaging and recycling, driving forward PepsiCo Positive (pep+) goals to help build a circular and inclusive value chain.
“We’re beyond excited to have been selected as the winners of PepsiCo’s Greenhouse Accelerator Program. We recognize we were up against a pool of exceptional regional start-ups with a similar goal, passion, and capabilities, and are very grateful for this recognition. The financial support as well as the mentorship from the last several months will help us grow our business in ways we couldn’t have envisioned before the program. As a start-up in the sustainability sector, we are trying to overcome many hurdles. From changing consumer mindsets to overcoming challenges related to capital, resources, and network – we have a long way to go. Thanks to the nature of the start-up ecosystem in the region there is potential for more unicorns and the regulatory environment is more supportive than ever before. Multinational companies, the public sector, and start-ups have a lot to gain from each other, and we hope more programs like PepsiCo’s Greenhouse Accelerator can bring us together and help foster a nurturing environment for groundbreaking innovation,” said Rabih El Chaar, CEO & Co-founder – Nadeera.
