Right Farm, a UAE agriculture technology start-up that sources fresh produce for the food and retail sector, raised $2.8 million in a seed funding round led by DisruptAD, the venture capital platform of Abu Dhabi’s holding company ADQ, and Enhance Ventures, a VC studio for Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey (MENAPT).
The funds will be used to support the company’s technology development and growth plans in the region, Right Farm said in a statement on Monday.
The investment from DisruptAD and Enhance Ventures will help accelerate our start-up journey and unlock access to ADQ’s growing food and agriculture portfolio
Elie Skaf,
co-founder and chief executive of Right Farm
“The investment from DisruptAD and Enhance Ventures will help accelerate our start-up journey and unlock access to ADQ’s growing food and agriculture portfolio,” Elie Skaf, co-founder and chief executive of Right Farm, said.
“We have established product-market fit and are developing technology to modernise the fresh produce industry while maximising operational efficiency and enabling scale across markets.”
Start-ups in Mena registered record VC funding worth $2.6 billion last year through 590 transactions, according to a report by data platform Magnitt. About 35 start-ups announced exits in 2021, indicating a maturity in the region’s start-up landscape.
UAE start-ups accounted for 26 per cent of all deals closed across the region and 45 per cent of all funding raised in 2021, Magnitt said.
Founded in 2021, Right Farm is developing technology that optimises the sourcing and procurement of fresh produce for businesses, the company said.
ADQ, which has a broad portfolio of investments spanning sectors such as energy, utilities, health care, mobility and logistics, is boosting its food and agriculture portfolio.
It has investments in Louis Dreyfus, a vertically integrated company dealing in food, feed, fibres and ingredients, as well as Abu Dhabi-based fresh produce and Agritech company Silal, agribusiness firm Al Dahra Holding and Agthia Group.
Right Farm aims to create a more sustainable supply chain, while addressing food security by increasing operational and financial efficiencies across the fresh produce value chain, the company said.
The business-to-business Agritech company operates from a cold-storage facility in the UAE’s fruit and vegetable market. The venture provides access to more than 1,000 fruits, vegetables and microgreens, enabling businesses to place orders and receive delivery within 12 hours, it said.
“With demand for fresh food on the rise, Right Farm is an attractive investment proposition that we seek to build into a household name for farmers and the food industry,” Alper Celen, founder of Enhance Ventures, said.
Right Farm’s founders, including chief executive Mr Skaf, chief operating officer Mazen Mourad and chief technology officer Mohammad Ajamieh, lead a team of more than 30 employees.
The UAE, embarking on the National Food Security Strategy 2051, has been investing heavily to generate sustainable local food production to reduce imports and is adopting technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics to meet long-term market demands.
Abu Dhabi has launched a number of initiatives, including $41m in grants and incentives worth $545m, to support high-growth areas.
In August last year, aquaculture company Pure Salmon partnered with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office to set up its global headquarters in Abu Dhabi, which was part of Adio’s Dh2bn ($545m) innovation programme. Later that month, ADQ announced plans to start a new venture in Al Ain, aiming to boost the production of fresh fruits and vegetables in the UAE.
DisruptAD offers incubation, investment and commercial scaling opportunities for tech start-ups, according to the statement.
Headquartered in Dubai and Riyadh, Enhance Ventures builds and invests in companies involved in the future of finance and commerce.
Its portfolio includes online gifting platform Joi Gifts, SME digitisation and payment platform Clevr and conscious commerce marketplace Blue Terra.
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
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The biog
Name: Mariam Ketait
Emirate: Dubai
Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language
Favourite quote: "Be the change you wish to see" - unknown
Favourite activity: Connecting with different cultures
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates
Honeymoonish
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
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- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
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Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage
3/5 stars
The biog
Name: Samar Frost
Born: Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: Singing, music and socialising with friends
Favourite singer: Adele
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1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Mercedes V250 Avantgarde specs
Engine: 2.0-litre in-line four-cylinder turbo
Gearbox: 7-speed automatic
Power: 211hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.0 l/100 km
Price: Dh235,000
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
