The third edition of the UAE FoodTech Challenge, a global competition to identify and scale up the world’s most promising agritech innovations, has concluded with the announcement of four winning startups at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
Out of 1,215 entries from 113 countries, 10 finalists made it to the final stage of the competition, where they presented their agritech solutions in a live pitch to an international jury.
The four teams will share a $2 million prize and be invited to scale their solutions in the UAE. There, they will receive tailored in-kind support, including pilot opportunities, access to research facilities, market entry guidance, mentorship, and introductions to investors through an extensive network of local and international partners.
The winners will build on this foundation and work to deploy and scale their solutions across key markets in the Global South to support more resilient and sustainable food systems.
Driving agritech innovation across the food system
This year’s Food Tech Challenge is hosted by the UAE Presidential Court’s Office of International Affairs and Tamkeen in collaboration with the Gates Foundation, ne’ma (National Food Loss and Waste Initiative), and Cyral.
The group of finalists represents a diverse range of approaches to food system innovation, including post-harvest preservation, waste-to-value conversion, precision agriculture, and advanced agricultural technology innovations for resource-efficient food production.
Rima Al Mokharab, Chairman of Tamkeen and Co-Chairman of Foodtech Challenge, commented:
“The latest winners of the UAE FoodTech Challenge join a growing community of past winners, who have since raised more than $48 million in follow-on funding and launched more than 50 pilot projects in the UAE and other markets.”
4 winners in 2 categories
Winners in each award category represent key sectors of the food industry that are driving agritech innovation for the world’s food future. they are:
Climate-friendly food production
Permia Sensing: Monitor tree health using AI, bioacoustic sensors, and drone imaging. Already covering more than 15,000 hectares of palm plantations in Sri Lanka, the technology enables early detection of stressors such as dehydration and pest infestation, allowing farmers to increase yields and reduce waste. HyveGeo: Turns agricultural waste into carbon-rich biochar and enriches it with microorganisms to create a high-performance soil amendment.
Reducing food loss and waste
Akorn Technology: Produces natural edible coatings on fruits and vegetables, including vegetable proteins to slow ripening, waxes to reduce water loss, and vegetable oils to maintain color. Fly Box: Uses black soldier fly larvae to convert agricultural byproducts into high-quality protein and fertilizer, reducing waste sent to landfills.
Supporting long-term food security goals
The UAE FoodTech Challenge identifies and accelerates agri-food technology solutions that boost food production and reduce food loss and waste in increasingly dry and climate-stressed environments.
Attracting technology-driven innovations that can be refined within the UAE and scaled internationally, the competition directly supports the UAE’s long-term food security ambitions and contributes to the resilience of the global food system.
“Through the UAE FoodTech Challenge, winning startups will be integrated into a proven development ecosystem where advanced technology, policy leadership and global expertise work together to accelerate solutions from trial to scale,” concluded Fatema Almullah, Senior Expert Development, International Affairs Department, UAE Presidential Court.
“This is how innovation is translated into measurable impact, from the UAE to climate-sensitive regions around the world.”
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