Cairo-based Tagaddod, a leading renewable feedstocks platform, has successfully raised $26.3 million in Series A funding to address the growing global shortage of materials necessary for biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This investment round is among the largest for a climate tech company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and marks a significant step forward in the company’s mission to support the energy transition through sustainable raw material supply chains.
The funding round was spearheaded by The Arab Energy Fund (TAEF), a prominent multilateral impact financial institution. Other key participants in the round include the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO, pan-African venture capital firm Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV), and regional VC A15. Notably, early investors also chose to reinvest in this latest round, demonstrating confidence in the company’s trajectory. For TAEF, this marks its first direct venture into the biofuel feedstocks sector, signaling a growing recognition of the importance of sustainable raw material infrastructure within the broader circular economy.
The Rising Demand for Biofuels and SAF
The global demand for biofuels and SAF is skyrocketing, spurred by ambitious decarbonization targets and increasingly stringent climate regulations. The aviation industry, in particular, is a major driver of this demand. However, this surge in demand has created a bottleneck: a critical shortage of certified, traceable, and sustainable raw materials required for biofuel production. These materials, such as Used Cooking Oil (UCO), acid oils, and animal fats, are essential for biofuel refineries. However, sourcing them is no simple task. These materials often come from fragmented networks of small collectors, including restaurants, households, and food manufacturers, creating significant challenges in aggregation, logistics, and quality control.
Tagaddod is working to resolve this issue by transforming the waste feedstock supply chain, making it more reliable, efficient, and scalable. The company’s innovative approach focuses on digitizing waste collection to improve the entire process of gathering, tracing, and managing these valuable feedstocks.
Digitizing Waste Collection for a Cleaner Future
Tagaddod has developed a robust tech platform designed to streamline the collection, aggregation, and tracing of waste-based feedstocks. The platform works with a wide range of suppliers—from individual households and local restaurants to large-scale food manufacturers—across its operating markets. Using advanced technology, including AI-powered logistics and predictive analytics, Tagaddod is able to bring order to what has traditionally been an informal and highly fragmented supply chain.
This digitized approach enables the company to provide refineries and global off-takers with a consistent and certified supply of export-grade renewable feedstocks. The company has already established regional hubs in Egypt, Jordan, and the Netherlands, and is expanding into Saudi Arabia. The new funding will support Tagaddod’s ambitious plans for growth, including:
- Accelerating its expansion into new and existing markets across Africa, Asia, and Europe.
- Enhancing its technology stack with a focus on increasing automation and improving traceability.
- Scaling up operational capacity to handle larger volumes of feedstock, which is crucial to meeting the growing demand.
As Nour El Assal, the Co-Founder and CEO of Tagaddod, explains, “This is more than just a funding milestone — it’s a strategic partnership that empowers us to take bold steps toward building the infrastructure, technology, and supply chains needed to support a cleaner energy future.”
A Strategic Investment in Circular Economy Infrastructure
Tagaddod’s successful Series A funding highlights a key theme within the climate tech sector: the importance of investing in the foundational infrastructure required for the energy transition. While much of the focus is often placed on the end products, such as SAF, the sourcing and processing of the raw materials required to make these products are where the most significant logistical challenges exist. Tagaddod is working to overcome these hurdles by creating a scalable, efficient, and traceable supply chain for biofuel feedstocks.
For TAEF, this investment represents a strategic move into a critical and underserved segment of the alternative energy market. As Maheur Mouradi, Chief Investment Officer of The Arab Energy Fund, states, “Tagaddod’s platform reflects our commitment to backing scalable, sustainable infrastructure that accelerates the region’s transition to alternative energy, resource efficiency, and circular economic models.”
Tagaddod’s approach not only helps address the feedstock supply issue but also contributes to the decarbonization of the transport sector by professionalizing and digitizing waste collection. As the company builds its global supply network, it is not just creating a valuable commodity but also laying the groundwork for a cleaner, more sustainable future. According to Tagaddod’s CFO, the company is focused on profitability and long-term value, positioning itself for sustainable growth rather than adopting a short-term, cash-burning model. This strategy suggests that Tagaddod is poised to become a long-term player in the global clean energy ecosystem.
