Natufia, a Saudi Arabia-based agri-technology provider that enables the growth of fresh plants and herbs all year round, has emerged winner of the KPMG Private Enterprise Tech Innovator in Saudi Arabia competition for 2021.
Natufia now joins the winning tech innovators from 20 countries worldwide to qualify for the inaugural KPMG Global Tech Innovator finals at the Web Summit 2021 conference in Lisbon, Portugal, in November.
Natufia, which goes beyond farm-to-fork to provide herbs and plants from kitchen-to-table since its founding in 2014, was up against other tech startups in a closely contested competition from BRAQ Aerospace, Juleb, Digital Pharma Company, Mawidy and Tarjama, who were shortlisted from 22 applicants in this inaugural edition.
The Natufia Smart Kitchen Garden is an innovative automated garden for every home, offering 100 percent nutritious herbs and vegetables without GMO or pesticides.
A panel of four KPMG judges — Dr. Samer Abdallah, head of ICT sector; Fuad Chapra, head of private enterprise and family business; Mazhar Hussain, Digital Lighthouse leader; and Buthainah Albaity, associate director private enterprise and family business — chose the final winner after intense deliberations based on six equally weighted categories, including innovation and disruption, market potential, customer adoption, marketing traction, long-term potential, and quality of their pitch.
Abdallah said: “The response to the KPMG Private Enterprise Tech Innovator competition was astounding. The competition was pretty intense and demonstrated the thriving and flourishing technology community in Saudi Arabia. Amid innovative ideas and strong pitches from all contestants, Natufia was chosen the winner.”
“We are excited to be named KPMG Private Enterprise Tech Innovator in Saudi Arabia. We thank KPMG for the opportunity and support received throughout the process. We are all set to head to the Web Summit to share our concept with a global audience,” said Duaa Albalawi, chief botanical officer at Natufia.
The award was presented by KPMG in Saudi Arabia Chairman Dr. Abdullah Al-Fozan.
The KPMG Global Tech Innovator competition is hosted in more than 20 countries around the world. The finalist in each country will represent their country on the world stage at Web Summit 2021, where they have the opportunity to be recognized as the global winner.
