Young Saudis are championing the cause of environmental sustainability

• EICO Arabia initiated a commercial-scale project in mass production in aquaponics and biofloc in 2017
• Young Saudis are showing an increasing interest in environmental sustainability

JEDDAH: Safeguarding the environment and natural resources is an integral part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which calls for developing “sustainable, highly efficient production systems for plants, livestock, and fishery” products. Many projects and programs under the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture seek to fulfill that objective.
Young Saudis are showing an increasing interest in environmental sustainability and many are championing this cause through establishing businesses in the field or promoting environmental awareness.
One such enthusiast and businessman is 29-year-old Albara Lutfallah Qaid, founder and general director of EICO Arabia, in Jeddah. Qaid graduated from Middlesex University in London with a master’s degree in financial management. During his stay in the UK he became more aware and increasingly concerned about global warming and other alarming environmental issues, and that heavily influenced his thinking.
With his entrepreneurial mindset and background in finance, he followed the finance principle “Impact Investment” and, he said, “decided to create a business that will hopefully have a positive impact on people’s lives as well as the environment.”
After three years of planning, conducting thorough research and successful experiments on a domestic scale, EICO Arabia initiated a commercial-scale project in mass production in aquaponics and biofloc in 2017.
“The world has great advancements in this field. It’s about time someone here provides the know-how, but with integrity, honesty and social engagement!” Qaid told Arab News.
He said his company’s project was initiated in an attempt to meet some of the growing demands from health-conscious customers who struggle to find organic fresh food at an affordable price.
Qaid said that he hoped that “after fulfilling their operations, we would share our experience with the local community, and start a social empowerment project in collaboration with authorities, to align with Saudi Vision 2030.”
Another young champion of the environment is 24-year-old Alia Al-Sadat, a CAD engineer and architect at FalconViz in Jeddah. Al-Sadat graduated from Effat University in architecture and has felt strongly about the environment since her childhood.
“I have been concerned about the environment and the safety and wellbeing of animals from a very young age and hope to have a positive impact on my passion.”
Her passion for green design led Al-Sadat to win the Saudi Green Building Award at the Saudi Green Building Forum for her project “Jeddah Science and Technology Center” in June 2016.