Saudi Arabian sustainable agtech firm Red Sea Farms has attracted $10 million in investment from UAE and Saudi investors for its farming ventures that reduces freshwater consumption by 85 to 90 percent.

The company received funding from Aramco’s entrepreneurship arm Wa’ed, the non-profit foundation Future Investment Initiative Institute, KAUST and Global Ventures, a UAE venture capital group.

Red Sea Farms, established in 2018, mainly uses salt water in its farming endeavours to cut fresh-water consumption by 85 to 90 percent. The company uses new solar and growth monitoring technologies and utilises salt water to replace the fresh water typically used to cool greenhouses and irrigate crops.

The company is initially using its technology to grow and sell tomatoes in Saudi Arabia, with plans to sell entire turn-key growing systems globally.

Red Sea Farms currently operates a salt-water pilot greenhouse at the KAUST Research & Technology Park, at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in the governate of Jeddah. It is planning to use the funding to build and retrofit more than six hectares of commercial farming operations in central and western Saudi Arabia, it said in a statement.

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Red Sea Farms’ Mahmoud Abduljawad, general manager, Mark Tester, co-founder and chief scientist, Ryan Lefers, co-founder and CEO, Derya Baran, chief engineer. Image courtesy Red Sea Farms

Ryan Lefers, CEO and co-founder said: “We are proud to have designed, developed and delivered one of the world’s most sustainable agricultural systems from our base in Saudi Arabia.

“The investment from our new partners will help us improve global food security while reducing the carbon and fresh-water footprint.”

Wassim Basrawi, managing director of Wa’ed, said: “The Red Sea Farms investment reflects our decade-long commitment to the Saudi start-up sector, where Wa’ed has deployed more than $100 million in venture capital investments and loans to more than 100 entrepreneurs.

“Red Sea Farms is a good example of a game-changing start-up whose innovations not only can transform markets but improve life for everyone in the Kingdom.”

(Writing by Imogen Lillywhite, editing by Daniel Luiz)

(imogen.lillywhite@refinitiv.com)

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