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Egyptian clean-tech startup Tagaddod is looking to deploy the proceeds of its latest funding round, which raised $26.3 million by the end of September, to expand its regional operations in collecting used cooking oil, animal fats and non-hazardous industrial waste.
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Nour El-Assal said in an interview with Asharq channel that the funding round included investors from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Netherlands, Africa and Japan. He added that the company currently operates collection points in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, alongside a main storage and distribution hub in the Netherlands, where volumes gathered from various countries are shipped for repackaging and use in biofuel production.
He noted that the company has a pilot collection point in Vienna, as part of its plans to expand into the UAE and Africa in the coming period, stressing that current efforts are focused on improving the efficiency of the technology used in collection and processing operations, as well as developing storage and collection facilities within the region to meet rising global demand for clean fuel.
In a related development, Egypt's Ministry of Environment issued a decision in August regulating the licensing of used cooking oil trading activities, aiming to tighten oversight of the integrated management system for these oils across the collection, transport, storage and export stages, with licences to be granted only to companies possessing the necessary technical and operational capabilities.
Tagaddod was founded in Cairo in 2013 and successfully exported its first shipment of biofuel to Europe in 2016, before redirecting its efforts toward developing technology-driven solutions for collecting used cooking oil waste. El-Assal said the company has been achieving steady annual growth in both operational volume and sales.
He explained that Egypt has a distinct consumption pattern, as most residents rely on home cooking rather than dining out, which makes the proportion of recyclable oil relatively lower, estimated at around 3% to 4% of total consumption, compared with an average of between 14% and 15% in other countries. He pointed out that the main challenges facing the Egyptian market include the large number of operators involved and weak governance, given the industry's relative youth in the country.
By contrast, he noted that Gulf countries record higher rates of collectable oil, which facilitates recycling operations, affirming that the company views the Saudi market as one of the most promising in this field and is working to expand its presence there, alongside plans to enter new markets in the Middle East and Africa in the coming period.
Source: Al Mal Forum