Agtech Red Sea Farms completes $18.5m fund raise

Red Sea Farms, the Saudi Arabia-based agtech company has announced a strategic fund raise worth $18.5m.

The fund raise was co-led by Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, and The Savola Group, the strategic investment holding group in MENA food and retail, through their corporate venture capital programme.

KAUST Innovation Fund, one of Red Sea Farms’ original investors, has also participated along with OlsonUbben, an investment entity.

Proceeds will support Red Sea Farms’ global and regional expansion plans, including the expansion of its fresh produce business in the GCC.  Global expansion is focused on technology development, and productisation – with first generation product sales expected by Q4 2022.

Red Sea Farms announced its expansion into the US in January. It has also completed a new commercial-scale six-hectare technology retrofit site near Riyadh and an R&D facility at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal.

Red Sea Farms also announced the appointment of a new global COO and regional CEO for the Middle East, Simon Roopchand, who has previously worked as CEO with Lorne Stewart.

Ryan Lefers, CEO of Red Sea Farms, said: “We are delighted to complete this $18.5m fund raise and build on our impressive start to 2022. To have such esteemed investors believe in our vision is hugely validating and testament to our business model and strategy.

“We’re excited to continue on our mission to address the reliance on freshwater consumption in food production and improve food security with their support and guidance. The appointment of Simon Roopchand as COO and regional CEO for the Middle East is another key milestone cementing our position as an innovative market leader and maximising our impact across the region.”

Fahad Alidi, MD at Wa’ed, commented: “Red Sea Farms has developed a truly innovative and sustainable business model that not only addresses a global issue around food security and limited agricultural resources, but one that is also regionally relevant. Wa’ed is proud to be one of the early supporters to back the pioneering team at Red Sea Farms as they tackle an emerging Agtech industry with decades long interdisciplinary research.”

In recent news, Wa’ed Ventures, and UK-based equity investment platform, Maydan Capital, have signed an MoU to provide ethically-focused fintech startups with visibility and access to investment in Saudi Arabia.

Read: Wa’ed Ventures and Maydan Capital to fund ‘ethical’ fintechs in Saudi