PepsiCo has announced that Okeanos, a Saudi sustainable innovation company developing technologies for cutting plastic pollution, is one of the ten companies to be selected for the first Mena edition of the Greenhouse Accelerator programme. 

 

The regional edition of PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator program, which was launched last year, received nearly 70 applications from aspiring start-ups in the region. 

 

The six-month initiative will focus on an initial grant to support operations and help launch or scale their innovation. In addition, the program seeks to enhance innovation in the sustainability space through collaboration with purpose-driven brands from the Mena start-up ecosystem that share PepsiCo’s vision for a more sustainable food system. 

 

As a longstanding investor in Saudi Arabia, PepsiCo said it is a committed partner in the kingdom’s Vision 2030 and their aim of safeguarding the environment by increasing the efficiency of waste management and establishing comprehensive recycling projects and investment in the Kingdom’s circular economy, which forms the central focus of PepsiCo’s sustainability agenda. 

 

A specially-curated selection committee comprising high-ranking PepsiCo executives ranked the start-ups across five key criteria including sustainability alignment to PepsiCo Positive (pep+), strategic synergy with PepsiCo, scalability, relevance to MENA, and the potential to be a breakthrough innovation. 

 

The others firms, which got selected following a rigorous multi-stage judging process, are from the UAE, Jordan, and Lebanon. 

 

All the ten companies will each receive an initial grant of $20,000 to support their business, along with guided mentorship from PepsiCo subject matter experts. 

 

At the end of the programme, the final winner will receive a $100,000 grant from PepsiCo and have access to a growing network of influential experts and investors, logistics facilities, and growth through capacity building.

 

PepsiCo said it was already committed to an accelerated, sustainable growth agenda in Saudi Arabia. It has placed focus on enhancing market recycling rates and triggering recycling behavioral change by placing key infrastructure in compounds, malls, schools and sports complexes across Jeddah, Dammam, Abha and Riyadh. 

 

Moreover, in 2021, PepsiCo installed 15 smart, solar-powered sorting machines to collect and sort empty plastic bottles in Makkah, placed 80 recycling stations at the race start in Jeddah of the Dakar Rally, and in 2021 Aquafina was the official hydration partner of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship in Diriyah, installing several recycling stations on-site to encourage visitors to recycle, it stated.

 

Judges in this edition looked for startups that are accelerating environmental sustainability in the food and beverage industry through disruptive technologies focused on sustainable packaging alternatives, packaging reduction, recycling processes, and sustainable recycling behavior modification. 

 

The Greenhouse Accelerator Program aims to push for solutions and innovations in the packaging space that will help not only PepsiCo, but also other industries in accelerating the change needed for a more sustainable food system. 

 

"The PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator program is an example of how we are building a positive value chain and prioritizing circularity and inclusivity through PepsiCo Positive (pep+), our strategic end-to-end transformation framework," said Aamer Sheikh, CEO, Middle East for PepsiCo. 

 

"We have received applications from an outstanding group of start-ups that are innovating in the field of sustainable packaging, and over the next six months, look forward to supporting them and contributing to helping the region as it doubles down on unleashing the potential of disruptors," he added.