Three UAE food startups solving for hunger and waste make it to the Foodtech Challenge

Three UAE startups, focussed on solving the hunger and food waste problems, are in the final round of the Foodtech Challenge, which was launched in September 2019 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Water Security Office and Tamkeen, the Abu Dhabi-based company.

Over 650 contestants from across 79 countries signed up to participate in the Foodtech Challenge. The winners will be announced in 2023 and will share a prize money of $2 million. The other finalists are from Saudi Arabia, Israel, Netherlands, Spain, Singapore, the US, and the UK.

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The three startups are:

Food ATM Card

Founded by Ayesha Khan, Food ATM aims to provide healthy meals to the less privileged. Launched in March 2019, the startup has three facilities, one in Sharjah, and two in Ajman. The startup is setting up the fourth one in Ras Al Khaimah, according to a report in The National News.

The startup provides workers with a food voucher resembling an ATM card, that can be used to buy a significantly subsidised meal. The report stated that Ayesha had sold her property in India to start this project.

Circa Biotech

This startup is an agritech company that uses food waste to turn it into animal feed. Circa Biotech, the National News reports, uses black soldier fly larvae to metabolise food waste into fats and proteins, which in turn can be used to feed animals.

The startup is based out of Masdar City Tech Park, and aims to produce over 1.5 tonnes of organic fertiliser per month. The founder, Haythem Riahi, stated in the report that this requires low amounts of water, a small area, and has almost zero greenhouse emissions. The team plans to process over 200 tonnes of food waste per day and produce over 22,000 tonnes of animal feed per year.

Revoltech

This startup is reducing food waste with freezing technology. Roman Bagiev, Founder and CEO, stated in The National News, freezing is the most widely and oldest methods of food preservation, and new technologies can be used to help retain texture, taste, and nutritional value.

Revoltech uses electrostatic freezing that helps reduce the damage caused by freezing food. Food frozen with Revoltech's technology remains good for six months to a year, without any change in nutrition or taste. The technology currently is patent pending.