KBW Ventures has invested in Egyptian climate tech startup NoorNation—its first investment in Egypt’s startup ecosystem.
Led by HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed, KBW Ventures invested an undisclosed amount in the startup, which provides technology-enabled decentralised energy and water infrastructure solutions to the off-grid sector across Egypt and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The startup’s flagship product is LifeBox, a mobile solution that delivers clean energy and safe water to rural communities, farms, and tourism businesses.
A solar-powered, self-contained, and quickly deployed unit, LifeBox, aims to contribute to the “industrial localisation movement and sustainability governance,” according to Founder and CEO Ragy Ramadan.
“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,” explained Ramadan.
The Egyptian climate tech caught the eye of the Saudi entrepreneur during its pitch at the finals of the PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator Programme: MENA Sustainability Edition, according to an AGBI interview which took place earlier this year.
“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,” said Prince Khaled.