The Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) and the National Agriculture Center have wrapped up Agriboost 2026, an intensive program designed to back agritech startups tackling the UAE’s food security and agricultural sustainability goals. The program concluded with a Demo Day where five startups presented their technology-driven solutions to investors and industry stakeholders.
Quick Facts
- Agriboost 2026 program concludes in Sharjah.
- Five UAE agritech startups pitched their solutions.
- Madiya Farms ranked first in the final cohort.
Cultivating Innovation for UAE’s Food Security
The closing ceremony, held during the Emirates Agriculture Conference & Exhibition 2026, showcased the results of a program that attracted over 100 applications. The initiative aims to find and nurture practical and scalable solutions to advance the UAE’s agricultural sector.
H.E. Sultan Al Shamsi, Director of the National Agriculture Center, stated: “Agricultural entrepreneurship is our goal… a distinguished group rose to the top, presenting practical and innovative solutions that are scalable and applicable, and that directly contribute to advancing the agricultural sector and enabling its sustainable future.”
H.E. Sara Abdelaziz Al Nuaimi, CEO of Sheraa, added: “Agriculture sits at the heart of how nations plan for the future, shaped by priorities such as sustainability, food security, and economic resilience, and enabled by the effective use of technology. Through Agriboost, we saw five startups apply this in practice, developing solutions tailored to the UAE’s environment and long-term needs.”
A Look at the Agritech Cohort
The five finalists presented distinct solutions for challenges ranging from water scarcity to supply chain inefficiencies:
- CropGuard: An integrated platform for arid climates that uses soil sensing, precision irrigation, and adaptive shading to protect high-value crops.
- Hareth: An IoT-driven solution to optimize irrigation, reduce water waste, and combat soil salinity, allowing farmers to make data-informed decisions.
- Agrotunes: An AI-powered platform for urban farming that integrates crop planning, environmental control, and harvest forecasting while connecting farms to buyers.
- INNOFarms.AI: An enterprise AI and robotics platform that unifies farms and supply chains, offering real-time traceability, supply risk visibility, and farm automation.
- Madiya Farms: A vertically integrated model combining standardized greenhouse infrastructure with AI-driven farm management and a connected supply chain to create a scalable food production system.
Madiya Farms Takes Top Spot
At the Demo Day, Madiya Farms secured first place in the pitch ranking, followed by Hareth in second and CropGuard in third. The rankings were decided by a judging panel that included Abeer Al Ameeri, Director of Ecosystem Development at Sheraa; Kamal Rasool, Chief Technology Officer at RDI; and H.E. Hamad Al Hamed, CEO of Gracia. The event highlighted the startups’ progress and their readiness to address market opportunities after weeks of mentorship and strategic guidance.
About Agriboost 2026
Agriboost is an intensive six-week program that combines an initial bootcamp on agile methodologies with a hands-on incubation phase. During the program, startups refined their business strategies, tested their solutions in real-world environments, and engaged directly with potential customers before presenting their progress at the final Demo Day.
Source: My Startup World
