Egypt's agritech entrepreneurs bring the farm to the boardroom

For eight millennia the thin strip of land along the Nile, and the green fan of the Delta, supported Egypt’s growing population with bountiful harvests and herds.

Innovation came in bursts as one interloper after another introduced new ideas, but today the change is coming from within as a handful of entrepreneurs seek to use the booming technology startup scene as a platform for change.

The agricultural industry employs a quarter of the country’s workforce, and in 2012 – the latest statistic available – provided almost 15% of GDP from 3.6% of the country’s landmass.

Yet it is also threatened by a myriad of issues, such as urban expansion, climate change, and soil and water salinity. Egypt tops the ranks for desertification rates and, in November of this year, GIZ Cairo program coordinator Ariane Borgstedt told the Cairo Climate Talks there isn’t enough water for the sector to completely support the 93 million-strong population.

These anxiety-inducing stats are pushing some entrepreneurs to look away from the crowded app-making market and, with half an eye on social impact, towards solving some of these problems.

There are hydro and aquaponics startups Agrimatic Farms, Bustan Aquaponics, and Schaduf which say their technology can make water savings of 90% over traditional agricultural methods, or hardware companies Cubii Systems and Farminal which provide high-tech answers to problems in the dairy sector, and BioGas People and KarmSolar which provide renewable energy technology for agricultural purposes.

The potential for agritech startups, says MC Egypt agricultural officer Benjamin Selle, is huge. “The pipeline is full of great ideas,” he told Wamda. “There’s dozens of amazing ideas, amazing innovations, dozens of super researchers in this country.”

Original article by Rachel Williamson

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Egypt’s agritech entrepreneurs bring the farm to the boardroom