Middle Eastern environmental startups get on the right side of the green line
In recent years, the tech sector around the world has come to recognize the importance, the urgent necessity even, of going green.
The Middle East is no stranger to such initiatives, with governments, business leaders, and startups adopting more environmentally friendly solutions by the day, and correspondingly switching to clean energy sources. Just last year, the region collectively tripled its renewable investments, and this past spring, the UAE launched the Middle East’s first green bond, raising over $500 million.
As desertification claims more arable land, countries in the Middle East and North Africa are increasingly likely to face water shortages. Today, nearly half of the world’s most water-stressed countries are located in MENA.
Investing in alternative solutions now is essential for the region as the rich oil reserves that have served as economic engines are dwindling, with many estimates projecting that they will run out in the next 50 or so years. To tackle these two pressing matters, green companies are both lightening their ecological footprint and generating successful new businesses that can help propel the region into the cleantech leaderboards.
CIFOR