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The MENA region faces massive environmental challenges in energy, water, agriculture and waste

Waste

Agriculture

Water

EnergyBy 2050, MENA's demand for energy will increase by 114%1 despite an estimated

28 million people in the region that currently lack access to reliable electricity.2

Already, 15 of the top 25 water stressed countries in the world are in MENA.3 By

2050, per capita water availability will be cut in half in the region.4

MENA is one of the least secure regions in the world for access to food5 and the

UNFAO suggests increasing R&D to eliminate inefficient agricultural practices.6

By 2025, the region’s waste production will increase from 63 to 135 million tons

per annum, outpacing comparable economies in South Asia and Africa.7

1. World Energy Council, World Energy Scenarios: Composing energy futures to 2050, World Energy Council Regency House, 2013.

2. World Bank, Middle East & North Africa, Energy in MENA Background

3. Luo, T., R. Young, P. Reig. Aqueduct Projected Water Stress Country Rankings.World Resources Institute. 2015

4. World Bank Development Indicators Database, Resources Overview- Water Scarcity, World Bank, 2007.

5. Center for International and Regional Studies. Food Security and Food Sovereignty in the Middle East. Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, 2012.

6. Koppeser, Adam. “Food security an ‘enormous challenge’ for MENA countries: FAO”. Egypt Daily News, 2014.

7. World Bank, Urban Development Series- Knowledge Papers ch.3, Waste Generation.

Several cleantech startups are addressing these challenges

Agriculture Waste

WaterEnergy

Generation StorageEfficiency

Egypt is the most active MENA country in terms of cleantech startup activity, followed by Jordan

Distribution of MENA’s cleantech startups by country

9%

33%

7%

7%

1%

20%

9%

2%

9%Morocco

Algeria

Tunisia

Egypt

Palestine

Lebanon

Saudi Arabia

Yemen

Oman

UAE

Qatar

Kuwait

Iraq

Syria

Jordan

Bahrain

Some notable cleantech success stories are emerging

Saphon Energy

(2012, Tunisia)

NOMADD Desert

Solar Solutions

(2013, Saudi Arabia)

SatchNet Electronic

Systems (2003,

Jordan)

Saphon Energy offers a wind energy technology called the Saphonian Zero-

Blade, designed to convert the kinetic force of the wind into electrical

power

After establishing a corporate partnership with Microsoft, the company is

now entering the commercial manufacturing stage of its development with a

patent pending in over 70 countries

Satchnet Electronic Systems provides intelligent systems integration services

for energy optimization in infrastructure

SatchNet’s projects include Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport and

Abu Dhabi’s Sea Palace

NOMADD stands for “No Water Mechanical Automated Dusting Device”- a

robotic machine used to clean solar panels in the desert. It was created at

the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST)

The NOMADD team had access to world-class laboratory facilities and spent

nearly five years researching and developing their solution to clean dust off

of photovoltaic panels

Numerous stakeholders provide critical support to cleantech startups

Example of cleantech stakeholders in MENA

Egypt

Lebanon

Jordan

Oman

UAE

Small pool of investment

resources

Gaps in availability of

talent

Lack of specialized

mentors

Limited R&D resources

Limited cleantech

awareness

Few entrepreneurs venture into cleantech

Consumer buy-in for cleantech is minimal

The market size for cleantech is reduced

Entrepreneurs mostly use self-funding, awards, family & friends as seed

investment (43% of the startups interviewed in this study are self-funded

and fewer than 30% obtained VC or angel funding)

Students rarely pursue specialized cleantech degrees

Talent with R&D experience is scarce, which means recruiting from outside

MENA

Aspiring cleantech entrepreneurs look outside MENA for role-models

Entrepreneurs consider existing technologies instead of pursuing

“moonshot” innovation

Barriers to

Cleantech Startups

“Investors in the region, especially banks, can be risk averse and need collateral. We had to spend a lot of

time and effort into finding the right investor to help us scale” – Antoine Saab (Energy24 , Lebanon)

However, startups are facing multiple barriers which hinder their efforts to scale

CIVIL

SOCIETY

ORGS.

UNIVERSITIES

CORPORATIONS

GOVERNMENT

MEDIA

TECHNICAL

MENTORS

PRE-

INCUBATORS

INVESTORSINCUBATORS /

ACCELERATORS

FAB LABS AND

HACKERSPACES

R&D

CENTERS

BUSINESS PLAN

COMPETITIONS

Cleantech

Entrepreneurs

MENA’s cleantech ecosystem also suffers from several gaps which exacerbate these barriers

Awareness of the need

for cleantech is not

widespread

University R&D findings

are often not accessible

to entrepreneurs

VC investors offering

patient capital are rare

Investment in R&D is

limited; number of green

patents is low

Corporate-startup

partnerships are rare

Only two cleantech pre-

incubators currently

operate in MENA

Energy prices are not on

par with international

standards

There are no specialized

cleantech incubators

Finding experienced

technical mentors is

difficult

In addition, MENA countries have belatedly acknowledged the urgency of the problem

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

World MENA

Fossil Fuels Nuclear Renewables

Forecast: Additions to Power Capacity until 20209

World vs MENA Region

1.The World Bank: World Development Indicators, Electricity production, sources, and access

2. Philibert, Cédric. “Renewables in the MENA region”. Renewable Energy Division, International Energy Agency, December 2015.

Percentage of electricity production from renewable

sources out of total slectricity production8

0% 100%

1%

59%

39%

59%

58%39%

25%

15%22%

17%

8%

12%7%

9%

15%

2%

Improve investment

resources

Ensure availability of

talent

Provide specialized

mentors

Expand R&D resources

Increase cleantech

awareness

Implement progressive policies and a favorable regulatory environment for

startups

Offer environmental studies as a cross cutting topic in universities’ curricula

Host open community workshops focused on developing environmental awareness

Offer public funding instruments that lower risk for private sector investments in

cleantech

Create university-managed funds for faculty and students with ambitions to

commercialize cleantech solutions

Develop curricula to combine disciplines such as mechanical and environmental

engineering degrees with fabrication and design courses

Promote specialization in cleantech related fields to address the talent gap

Host cleantech workshops for aspiring and early stage cleantech entrepreneurs

Partner with experienced local, regional and international cleantech investors

and successful cleantech entrepreneurs to create a mentorship network

Create capacity within universities to support R&D partnerships with incubators,

investors, and corporations that can facilitate commercialization

Earmark a governmental budget for SME loans and research institutions that are

pursuing R&D for cleantech solutions

In the future, accelerating the growth of cleantechstartups will require action on several fronts

Possible Initiatives

“One of the big opportunities in MENA right now is for energy efficiency solutions that incorporate

information and communication technology” – Georg Eitelhuber, (NOMADD , Saudi Arabia)

Cleantech opportunity in focus: Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom has undertaken a series of initiatives to build its

cleantech industry:

– By 2030, Saudi Arabia will have more renewable energy

capacity than any other country in MENA (9.5 GW) and is aiming

to be a global renewables powerhouse

– The Saudi Government predicts to spend USD109Bn on solar

energy infrastructure by 2040

– Since 1945, Saudi Arabia has the largest installed desalinization

capacity in MENA and currently is building a utility scale solar

powered desalinization plant.

Startups should seek and be encouraged to contribute to Saudi

Arabia’s cleantech sector. For example, they can help mitigate the

Kingdom’s energy consumption challenges by targeting the energy

efficiency sectors (e.g., smart home energy management, industrial

internet)

1

2

3

Authors: William Altman and Jamil Wyne

Contributor: Edmond Gaspard, Ian Lever and Teeb Assaf

Acknowledgements: A large thanks is due to Habib Haddad, Elias Boustani, Rachel Williamson, Maya Rahal, and Lucy Knight for their helpful feedback and peer review. Rania Rostom, and Kirsten Colombier, from GE also provided valuable guidance and support.

The Wamda Research Lab is Wamda’s research program that produces studies on

entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and seeks to foster

thought leadership in this field. Its agenda is to inform investors, policymakers, and

other stakeholders on the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the MENA region and

the potential solutions for overcoming them. Visit us at research.wamda.com

GE is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-

defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is

organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each

business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect.

Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors.

With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers

by speaking the language of industry. Experience more at ge.com/menat

The WRL would like to thank the following individuals for lending their time, insights and expertise to help us to better understand the

ecosystem surrounding cleantech entrepreneurship in MENA. Collectively, they represent a large body of important knowledge on how to

improve conditions for entrepreneurship in this field.

Acknowledgments

Abed Shamlawi

Abeer Jabaji

Adam Molyneux-Berry

Adam Pringle

Ahmed Huzayyin

Ahmed Moukhtar

Albert Solé

Amal Aboulhassan

Amine Chouaieb

Anas Abdullah

Antonie Saab

Anwar Majali

Asal Ibrahim

Ayah Alfawaris

Ayoub Abu-dayyeh

Aysha Abdel Moteleb

Charles Blaschke IV

Cyril Rollinde

Dimitris Drakopoulos

Dr. Fahad Abdulaziz Al-Sulaiman

Dr. Yasser Al-Saleh

El Mostafa Jamea

Elliot Gansner

Eman Hassan

Ennis Rimawi

Essam Maged

Fadi Quran

Farida Kamel

Firas Obeidat

Georg Eitelhuber

H.E. Khaled Irani

Hani Sewilam

Hanna Zaghloul

Hany Elkhodary

Hassine Labaied

Hossam El Zayat

Issa Azar

Jackie Kameel

Jihad Hammoucha

Kamal Hendi

Kaoutar Abbahaddou

Karim Amr

Khaled El Bahtity

Khaled Mouats

Lama El Hatow

Lamia Ben Dahmane

Louay Otba

Louise Sarant

Luke Hutchinson

Maher Oudira

Maher Yousef Maymoun

Mahmoud Galal

Mahmoud Shattel

Mariam Afifi

Marton Kocsev

Mahmoud Taher

Mohamed Elsherif

Mohammad T. Asfour

Mohammad Al-Azraq

Mokhtar Abulata

Mostafa Hemdan

Mustapha Lakhdari

Naji Chamieh

Omar Asfour

Omar Sati

Omnia ElSaadany

Osama Badr

Oualid Triki

Qais al-Khonji

Ralph Stephen

Robert E. Dressen

Ruba Al-Zu'bi

Şahin Çağlayan

Sean Miller

Sherif Kinawy

Shukri Halaby

Steve Hayley

Suha Shouqar

Tala Nassraween

Tarek Ahmed

Tomoo Machiba

Wael El-Nashar

Walid Nasr

Wissam Otaky

Yassine Ettayal

Yumna Madi

Yuritzi Acosta

Ziad Abichaker

• World Bank, Middle East & North Africa, Energy in MENA Background

• Luo, T., R. Young, P. Reig. Aqueduct Projected Water Stress Country Rankings.World Resources Institute. 2015.

• World Bank Development Indicators Database, Resources Overview- Water Scarcity, World Bank, 2007.

• Center for International and Regional Studies. Food Security and Food Sovereignty in the Middle East. Georgetown University School of

Foreign Service in Qatar, 2012.

• Koppeser, Adam. “Food security an ‘enormous challenge’ for MENA countries: FAO”. Egypt Daily News, 2014.

• World Bank, Urban Development Series- Knowledge Papers ch.3, Waste Generation.

• The World Bank: World Development Indicators, Electricity production, sources, and access

• Philibert, Cédric. “Renewables in the MENA region”. Renewable Energy Division, International Energy Agency, December 2015.

• Rihai Lily. MENA Renewables Status Report. REN21 Secretariat, 2013.

• Ayre, James. “Saudi Arabia Investing $109 Billion Into Solar Energy, Wants 1/3 Of Electricity From Solar By 2032”. Cleantechnica, 2012.

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