The companies work across recycling, sustainable materials, climate solutions and the circular economy, with funding supporting their growth and investment in production assets.
Nahdet El Mahrousa and Germany’s development agency GIZ have showcased 12 Egyptian green scaleups at the GreenShift Summit 2026, following their participation in a programme that provided acceleration support and a total of EGP 57.5 million in investment.
Held in Cairo on October 27, the summit brought together more than 150 industry leaders, policymakers, investors, development partners and entrepreneurs to discuss how green businesses can commercialise their solutions and scale. The GreenShift Program is implemented by Nahdet El Mahrousa in partnership with GIZ and co-funded by the European Union and the German Federal Government.
The 12 participating companies operate across climate action, waste management, recycling and the circular economy:
- TileGreen Tech: Converts hard-to-recycle plastic waste into durable building materials.
- Tilestic: Turns single-use plastic into tiles, paving stones and roof tiles.
- Green Cycle for Waste Management: Processes post-consumer plastic into raw materials for local manufacturers.
- EGYMAG Biotechnology: Uses black soldier fly larvae to convert organic waste into protein, oil and fertiliser.
- Extractor Co.: Produces essential oils through a process that returns plant residues to the soil.
- Mycelium: Uses mushroom-based technology to turn agricultural waste into mushrooms and alternatives to plastic for packaging and construction.
- Up-Fuse: Makes everyday products from discarded plastic and textiles.
- ZEE: Produces circular footwear using discarded shoes and other waste materials.
- Yadawee: Produces and exports handmade Egyptian crafts made by local and refugee artisans.
- Mrkoon: Runs a B2B marketplace for verified buyers and sellers of scrap and surplus materials.
- PLANQ Electronics: Develops upgradable computers using recycled materials and repurposed laptop batteries.
- VeryNile: Works on Nile clean-up, recycling, environmental education and community development.
Supporting green businesses to scale
The programme received 1,353 applications and trained 46 fellows through approximately 160 hours of training, consultations and a retreat. It also provided EGP 1.3 million in productive assets to 18 fellows and helped eight of the 12 funded scaleups formalise and license their businesses.
According to GIZ private sector advisor Mostafa Ashraf, the high upfront cost of equipment is a major obstacle for growing green businesses. Financing machinery can help companies expand operations and improve production processes.
Nahdet El Mahrousa Managing Director Jackie Kameel said the programme aims to help green enterprises at different stages of development commercialise solutions and scale their environmental and economic impact.
Source: Nahdet El Mahrousa
