• Winners will be announced during COP28 in Dubai and receive seed funds worth $30,000, $20,000, and $10,000 respectively

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:– PepsiCo and the Arab Youth Center (AYC) have announced three teams from Saudi Arabia for the Arab Youth Hackathon final, following a three-day bootcamp hosted by PepsiCo, PepsiCo Foundation, Plug and Play and AYC. The regional entrepreneurship program aims to create smarter solutions for climate-related issues in agriculture, circular economy, water security, and renewable energy. 

The bootcamp was the inaugural event held at the new venue of The Garage, Saudi Arabia’s go-to for entrepreneurs and young creatives, where finalists received mentorship through curated workshops from industry and subject matter experts. As Riyadh develops into a pre-eminent business hub for the Middle East, initiatives like the Arab Youth Hackathon are playing a critical role in unleashing the innovation potential of the Kingdom’s growing young population, making strides towards fulfilling the Saudi Vision 2030’s mandate to increase SME contribution to GDP from 20% to 35%.

The first day kicked off with sustainability activities and introductions to help set workshop objectives, followed by an ideation assignment to help identify the strongest ideas. Over the next two days, participants learned more about design thinking, evolving an idea into a viable product, and green communications, complete with mentor-led working sessions. This extensive training culminated in a final pitch to a judging panel of five experts across the innovation, sustainability, and business development spectrum to decide on the top three finalists from the Kingdom. The entries of the finalists were evaluated based on their sustainability alignment, ability to reduce emissions, and the magnitude of impact on areas under the four pillars of the competition (Water, Agriculture, Climate and Circular Economy).

Teams Sea Star, Crop Sense and EYAB are now set to compete against other regional finalists at COP28, as part of the Arab entrepreneurship program. The winning team's concepts included:

  • Sea Star – An underwater drone used to collect and detect microplastic in water using integrated technology.
  • EYAB – A system that helps replenish water in mosques by 400%, and the same water can be used four times over.
  • Crop sense – An AI-generated system that advises farmers on when to harvest their crops.

Aamer Sheikh, CEO – Middle East at PepsiCo said, “Through the Arab Youth Hackathon, we are advancing COP28’s goal to promote youth engagement in climate action. There is incredible innovative potential in the region, and we believe we have a role to play in creating an environment for young people’s collective action and innovation to be supported and accelerated. We’re inspired to see the caliber of young climate challengers in the region and look forward to working closely with our partners to support entrepreneurs at all business stages.”

Abdullah Al Akeel, Director, Plug and Play, Saudi Arabia said, “This initiative prioritizes youth at the forefront of transformative innovation. We aim to work together towards nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs that can rely on our support to reach their aspirations, and realize their ideas and solutions by addressing key themes such as climate change and sustainability.”

Abdullah Alshamrani, CODE General Manager, MCIT, Saudi Arabia said, “Innovation does not come from just inspiration; it comes from creating the environment where innovative ideas can be translated into useful products and services. Thus, we at MCIT are determined on establishing the best environment for innovators to innovate.”

The finals of the competition, featuring 15 finalists from the five countries, will take place during December, in Dubai. The three winners will receive an equity-free seed fund from the PepsiCo Foundation to launch their businesses, of $30,000 for the winner; $20,000 for the runner-up; and $10,000 for the second runner-up. In addition, they will participate in a one-month incubation program, led by Plug and Play, that will help them develop and scale their groundbreaking ideas and ensure long-term success.

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About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $86 billion in net revenue in 2022, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.sa

About Arab Youth Center (AYC)

Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Arab Youth Center, AYC strives to empower young Arabs across the MENA region and address their needs in many disciplines, including education, culture, technology, sustainability and more. Harnessing the power of a growing youth population, AYC focuses on implementing initiatives to help equip and build thoughtful leaders for the future.

The center offers a unique platform to develop youth capabilities and support innovation and creativity among youth. With the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the AYC implements purposeful initiatives across diverse sectors, empowering Arab Youth by cooperating with Arab governments and other influential entities. AYC specialises in organising events, research and development and impactful projects and initiatives.

For more information, visit www.arabyouthcenter.org.

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we're present in 50+ locations across five continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we've invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/.

About CODE

CODE aims to be the hub for all digital entrepreneurs across the Kingdom, by providing a set of services and expertise, such as, incubation programs, accelerators, digital challenges, digital perks, connecting with investors, and many more. CODE operates in 7 locations across Saudi to aid and support start-ups in different areas.

For more information, visit https://code.mcit.gov.sa/en

About The Garage

The Garage is the startup district that focuses on local and international emerging startups and SMEs, scouting and inviting them to join The Garage’s programs and events. The Garage aims to create a thriving startup community, greater growth opportunities, and a district for Riyadh’s startups. With a unique business model that combines business incubators, accelerators and more, we provide everything tech companies need to succeed and grow. The Garage is your place to work, to live, and to meet people that share the same interests as yours.