KBW Ventures, founded by Khaled bin Alwaleed, announced its investment in NoorNation, an Egyptian climate technology startup. Founded by Ragy Ramadan and Mohamed Khaled, NoorNation provides technology-enabled decentralized energy and water infrastructure solutions to the off-grid sector across Egypt and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The company’s flagship product, LifeBox, delivers clean energy and safe water to rural communities, farms, and tourism businesses at a reasonable price. An innovative mobile solution for green infrastructure delivering clean energy and safe water at an affordable price, LifeBox is designed and manufactured in Egypt.
In an interview with AGBI, Prince Khaled said that he “saw NoorNation’s potential immediately,” during its pitch at the finals of the PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator Program: MENA Sustainability Edition. The finals, staged in Dubai, UAE, followed a rigorous multistage selection process and six months of mentorship.
Prince Khaled added that “the need and relevance for what they are doing is a win-win. Their business model fits squarely in our wheelhouse- a sweet spot of climate technology. During the final judging round, NoorNation was examined through the lens of three criteria: social need, geographic scalability, speed to market and efficiency. We use these same metrics as part of our own due diligence process at KBW Ventures, alongside a number of others.”
“This is the first startup from Egypt that we have invested in. I did a fact-finding visit to Egypt five-six years ago – mostly thinking about the sustainability and energy potential there but nothing tangible came to fruition until I saw NoorNation pitch,” said Prince Khaled.
Recently named the Best Green Tech Startup of the Year across Northern Africa by the Global Startup Awards 2024, NoorNation was chosen from more than 180 applicants, and showcased LifeBox to various stakeholders and investors over the course of the program.
“LifeBox is solar-powered, self-contained, and quickly deployed unit that directly contributes to the industrial localization movement and sustainability governance. It gives peace of mind to our customers, farming and tourism businesses, and rural communities to achieve their triple bottom lines: social, financial, and environmental growth,” said Ragy Ramadan, founder and CEO, NoorNation.
All startups that participated in the program received an initial grant of US$20,000 and one-on-one mentorship from PepsiCo and external partners over a six-month span, who guided them on everything from R&D to business models, marketing, and fundraising.
The second iteration of PepsiCo’s Greenhouse Accelerator Program: MENA Sustainability Edition was held in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) and Food Tech Valley (FTV).
Related: Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed addresses climate finance at ADFW 2023
