ⓘ Featured image: Khadija Hasan, founder & CEO of KRISPR; Credits: Supplied
UAE-based KRISPR, an urban indoor vertical farming company yesterday announced that the company has raised $600K in a Pre-Seed round led by KAIZEN FZCO, a family office based in Dubai. The company will deploy the funds to pilot its indoor vertical farming in Dubai Investment Park.
Through its aeroponic vertical farming approach, the company addresses a significant gap in the region’s local fresh food supply chain, where harsh climate conditions, water scarcity, and non-arable land have rendered conventional agriculture challenging. Given over 80 percent of fresh produce in the UAE is imported. KRISPR’s localised urban indoor vertical farms will go a long way towards providing clean and nutritious food while working towards achieving food self-sufficiency not just in the region but across the world.
The pilot will commercially test baby greens, herbs, tomatoes, and strawberries in an aeroponic indoor controlled environment – growing high quality, beyond organic, fresh fruits and vegetables sustainably, without the use of pesticides and herbicides, initially for sale to the Dubai market.
Commenting on the investment round and plans moving forward, Khadija Hasan, founder & CEO of KRISPR in a statement said,
“The post-COVID-19 environment has clearly demonstrated the need for localized supply chains, especially for essential goods and services, and KRISPR is committed to tackling the GCC region’s food security challenges head-on. While we address a critical consumer need for clean and nutritious food, we are also excited to partner with hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets across the GCC region to deliver high-quality, fresh, and beyond organic produce locally”
Adding to that, Ameer Hamza Hassan, KAIZEN Chairman said,
“It may sound a bit grandiose to talk of providing fresh, clean and chemical-free food everywhere in the world, but then clean and nutritious food is a real challenge and we all must have the courage to recognize it for what it is and also have the courage to dream the big dream and then make it happen. I strongly believe that KRISPR and others like it are going to meet this challenge and we on our part have an obligation to support this effort”
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