Red Sea FoodTech connect in Riyadh sees hundreds of attendees from Saudi and the GCCRed Sea FoodTech connect in Riyadh sees hundreds of attendees from Saudi and the GCC

• Dignitaries from the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture participated alongside Khaled bin Alwaleed and other respected figures of business
• Influential speakers from the entrepreneurial and investments segments participated

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: The Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture (MEWA)’s Sunbolah Program hosted the third edition of Red Sea Food Tech Connect (RSFTC). 

Sunbolah Program, a full entrepreneurial ecosystem focusing on Agriculture and Food, is owned by the Ministry, and was represented at the event by HE Eng. Mansour Mushaiti, Vice Minister MEWA, Dr Ali Alsabhan, General Manager of Entrepreneurship MEWA, and Ministry team members.

Sponsored by Jahez, participants included The National Center for Palms and Dates (NCPD), Nadec, Calo, SALIC (a PIF company). Notable speakers representing entities in Saudi included, Dr. Mohammed Alnuwairan CEO of NCPD, Dr.Sulaiman Altwaijri CEO of NADEC Food, Dr. Mazen Alzaidi General Partner at STV, Samer Alsourani SVP at SALIC. Dr. Alsabhan discussed Sunbolah and value chain, while Eng. Mushaiti discussed the place of innovation in the economy.

Serial entrepreneur Eng. Mohammed AlQurashi, Founder of RSFTC, noted that hundreds attended the third edition of the event, flying in from the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Australia, France, and further afield, to network with other guests, executing on business development, elevator pitching, and sharing growth opportunities. Eng. AlQurashi emphasized that the support and guidance from MEWA proved to be the greatest boon to the event, and bolstered the wider entrepreneurial engagement.

Headline speaker and global investor HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, took part in a moderated conversation with Abdulrahman AlJiffry, Partner, 500 Global. Under the banner of “Venture Capital View,” AlJiffry discussed Prince Khaled’s investments across several different technology segments, and his first-mover approach in backing food technology and alternative proteins, and his current interest in growth stage financing.

Guests were encouraged to submit questions for Prince Khaled on the event postings across social channels, and also onsite at the event. During his segment, Prince Khaled stressed that “Saudi is smart money – we know what we’re doing. So while we have people coming from all over; success here isn’t free. You need to invest as well, you need to have skin in the game in our ecosystem if you want to succeed.”

The third annual RSFTC took place at The Garage in Riyadh, and looks to bring together decision-makers, innovators, investors, and regulators from across the food technology landscape in Saudi Arabia and further afield.