Will COP28 catalyse the region’s cleantech sector?

Will COP28 catalyse the region’s cleantech sector?

COP 28 has dominated almost every headline since its arrival in the UAE this year. Funds worth billions have been announced, new accelerators and initiatives dedicated to enabling a cleantech future have been launched at COP28, which commenced in Dubai on 30 November. 

It was a similar spectacle in Egypt last year, with a vigour of pledges and vows to steer the world away from fossil fuels and towards a more sustainable future. 

Technology is always a poignant part of these discussions, it is one of the critical ways that carbon emissions can be reduced and more sustainable practices can be introduced. 

Globally, startups in this space have garnered greater attention and investment, recognised as a key player in a carbon-free future. But regionally, the importance placed on the cleantech space by the investment community has been lacklustre. 

While investment in sustainability-focused startups has risen across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), it has not attracted the same passion nor investor interest that other sectors like fintech and e-commerce have. 

In fact the bulk of the investment value in the cleantech space, which we define as any startup that has sustainability as a core tenet, be it startups in clean energy, agritech, food waste