July 5, 2022

photo credit: Pure Harvest Smart Farms

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

UAE-based sustainable, tech-driven agribusiness Pure Harvest Smart Farms (Pure Harvest) continues to be the one of the best-funded startups in the MEASA (Middle East, Africa, and South Asia) region, announcing it has secured $180.5 million through its latest growth funding round to bring total funding to-date to $387.1 million. 

Behind this fundraise was a diverse consortium of global investors including UK-based Metric Capital Partners, Korea-based  IMM Investment Corp. and Saudi Arabia’s Olayan Group, along with several existing investors and management contributors.

“We are humbled by this investment from an esteemed group of global investors, backing our mission: to harness the wonders of science, the power of nature, and the passions of people to provide tasty, affordable, sustainably-grown fresh produce anywhere,” said Sky Kurtz, co-founder and CEO, Pure Harvest.

Co-founded in the United Arab Emirates by Silicon Valley private equity investor Sky Kurtz and his Emirati business partner Mahmoud Adi on the premise that the region needs local, sustainable food sources, Pure Harvest leverages innovative growing technologies and horticultural best practices for the production of affordable, pesticide-free, and locally grown fresh produce.

Pure Harvest’s business model and success has proven that the MENA region, with its vast land bank, abundant sunlight, affordable labor and electricity, and ample CO2 can indeed be a valuable agricultural production region through leveraging these benefits to offset the cost of comparable imported fresh produce. This, in turn, strengthens the region’s food security, creates jobs, and generates novel and lucrative investment opportunities for investors.

Not only can high-tech systems like Pure Harvest’s reverse the water withdrawal connected with traditional agricultural production while also addressing food security and sustainability, it can also create possible export opportunities for the region while adding a measure of diversification to widely oil-dependent economies.

Today, Pure Harvest has secured the leadership position as the pioneer of CEA in harsh climates, and is widely recognized for its trusted produce brand. Building upon its successes and reputation, Pure Harvest stated it will use the capital from this round, together with various forms of debt financing, to invest in R&D, to expand its footprint across the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), and to expand into new markets in Asia.

Kurtz commented, “At Pure Harvest we have demonstrated we can reliably deploy our high-tech farming solutions across the GCC. Now it is time to enter new markets that share similar challenges to our own – fast-growing populations, seasonal import-dependence, and an awareness of the crippling effects that short-term crises (e.g. COVID-19, Russia-Ukraine conflict), and climate change, are having on our global food system. The future of farming is here… now, we have the resources to bring our solution to the world.”

Significantly oversubscribed, this round, which represents the largest-ever convertible financing in the MEASA region, was co-led by London-based pan-European private equity investor Metric Capital Partners.

“We are delighted to support the continued growth of Pure Harvest,” said Bjørn Tessiore, partner, Metric Capital Partners. “It’s clear that controlled-environment agriculture is becoming increasingly important as a solution to food security issues while also mitigating the environmental impact of food production.”

“We believe Pure Harvest is extremely well positioned to thrive in this growing market driven by its excellent team, innovative approach, and proven track record of building and operating at scale in a region characterized by difficult climatic conditions for agriculture.”

Another key investor, IMM Investment Corp., is returning after initially committing $50 million to the company in October 2021. Hyun-Chan Cho, partner, IMM Investment noted, “Due to our longstanding successful investment in Farm8 (PlanTFarm), we knew the CEA space well. With Pure Harvest, we saw a complementary solution that let us double-down on an investment thesis that we continue to believe in, and that tangibly contributes to global food security, water conservation, economic diversification, and sustainability objectives. We are proud to actively support Pure Harvest as it brings its solution to Asian markets.”

Together with the sizable incentives secured from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office in 2020 to back its R&D initiatives, this funding will enable Pure Harvest to pursue and accelerate its strategic growth plans including investing in a number of new growth channels including product extensions and water-efficient CEA solutions for fodder production.

“Pure Harvest’s character aligns closely to our own,” said a spokesperson from the Olayan Financing Company – a Saudi company holding and managing the Olayan Group’s Middle Eastern assets, and a key investor in this round. “They saw an impending global food security crisis and have taken an important step to solve it. The climate and water challenges Pure Harvest works to overcome are vital to the global economy.”

Continuing, the spokesperson concluded, “Pure Harvest has proven its ability to deliver incredibly high-quality, safe, sustainable products at affordable prices, and they’ve shown an openness to partner with others to achieve their mission. I believe this funding will allow them to unleash significant potential, and to meet growing food demands in many new markets. We are pleased to be joining the company at this critical point in their journey, transitioning from a regional leader to a global one.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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