Edited and Translated by: Hayat Hernández

Amongst the numerous problems we are facing on our planet is food security dilemma, and food waste is considered one of the most critical causes of it.

MENA countries are the most prodigal according to the recent article published by Wamda, which has highlighted the case of food waste in the Arab region, as the GCC are among the most wasteful countries internationally.

Governmental Efforts

Middle Eastern governments are trying to put their tangible force to confront this problem. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have pledged to cut down 50 per cent of their food waste and loss by 2030, aligning their policies with the United Nations’ 12.3 Sustainable Development Goal, according to the mentioned article.

Startups innovative role

Wamda has illustrated the innovative solutions conducted by new startups in MENA, inciting their determination to deal with the local food system inefficiencies.

The illustration bellow demonstrates the allocation of recent startups specialized in addressing food wastage in Arab countries.

The role of biotechnology regarding food waste

Using biotechnology, to repurpose the damaged and imperfect crops is becoming a very effective way to produce fuel or fertilizer besides composting. As well as applying technology that uses plant derivatives to extend product shelf life.

Food preservation startup Uvera is operating with these methods by using FDA-approved UV light exposure to extend the shelf life of meat, baked goods, and fresh produce by 20-60 per cent.

As stated by Wamda, the startup plans to raise a second fundraising round in May this year and officially launch in 2022.

Awareness

Cultural awareness is very significant when it comes to food waste, and sustainable food-tech startups are determined to tackle the issue concentrating on redistributing excess food and change consumer habits.

TeKeya founded in 2019, is a good example for this matter, it is a social enterprise that offers restaurants two options for the redistribution of their surplus food. It offers either selling healthy imperfect food with a 50% discount or donate them to charities in need of this food through an application.

Obstacles and challenges

Despite of the governments concrete effort and startups innovative activity, in the less developed startup ecosystems, many obstacles are still faced regarding food waste.

Fooddeals, founded in 2020 in Morocco is still encountering challenges considering local VCs are limited in the northwest African region.

Nevertheless the app offers two solutions to reduce the amount of food loss either by a discount on surplus food for local food providers or donating them to NGOs.

Although there has been a positive change regarding food waste in MENA region thanks to the recent innovative startups, effective steps to fight the issue require heavier partnerships between foodtech businesses, regulatory authorities, and every participant in the food supply chain.