Abu Dhabi aims to boost food production with incentives to firms specialised in agriculture technology. Courtesy: Pure Harvest Smart Farms
Abu Dhabi aims to boost food production with incentives to firms specialised in agriculture technology. Courtesy: Pure Harvest Smart Farms
Abu Dhabi aims to boost food production with incentives to firms specialised in agriculture technology. Courtesy: Pure Harvest Smart Farms
Abu Dhabi aims to boost food production with incentives to firms specialised in agriculture technology. Courtesy: Pure Harvest Smart Farms

India's FreshToHome start up gets backing from Abu Dhabi


Fareed Rahman
  • English
  • Arabic

Bengaluru-based start-up FreshToHome said it is receiving financial and non-financial incentives from Abu Dhabi Investment Office, to develop projects that boost food production in the emirate.

“We intend to bring our US patent pending, AI-powered virtual commodities exchange technology, our e-grocery platform and our nano farm aquaculture technology to Abu Dhabi, enhancing food production and distribution for the region,” Shan Kadavil, chief executive and co-founder of FreshToHome, said.

The start-up sells fresh fish, meat and vegetables to customers by sourcing directly from fishermen and farmers. Business boomed during the pandemic with FreshToHome currently processing about 1.5 million orders per month. The company has $85m in sales annually and also operates in the UAE.

The company recently raised $121 million in funding with the backing of a number of investors including the Investment Corporation of Dubai, Bahrain's Investcorp as well as DFC, the US government's development finance institution.

CE Ventures, the corporate venture capital platform of Crescent Enterprises has also provided backing to the company in the UAE.

“The rapid growth of Abu Dhabi’s AgTech ecosystem is giving rise to new technologies supporting the advancement of the agriculture sector in the emirate, region and beyond," Tariq Bin Hendi, director general of ADIO said. "We have created an environment where innovators are supported to turn their ideas into reality."

Abu Dhabi is offering more than Dh110m in financial incentives to agricultural technology companies looking to set up operations in the emirate.

The incentive programme, set up under the government's Dh50 billion Ghadan 21 accelerator initiative, includes both financial and non-financial benefits, Adio said in September.

Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

Venom

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Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed

Rating: 1.5/5

Day 2, stumps

Pakistan 482

Australia 30/0 (13 ov)

Australia trail by 452 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the innings

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

MATCH INFO

Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')

Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')

Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:

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Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate

Final: June 1, Madrid

'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra

Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa

Rating: 4/5

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDual%20permanently%20excited%20synchronous%20motors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E516hp%20or%20400Kw%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E858Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E485km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh699%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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While you're here
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month

- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Two out of five stars 

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Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood

Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.

RESULT

Brazil 2 Croatia 0
Brazil: 
Neymar (69'), Firmino (90' 3)    

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

How to help

Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.

Account name: Dar Al Ber Society

Account Number: 11 530 734

IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734

Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae