Doha: Revive, a startup founded by Qatar University (QU) students Kateba Al Ghazali, Sumaya Yusuf, and Nosheen Zehra, was previously shortlisted for attending the international Hult Prize competition, which is the world’s largest startup programme aimed at creating social impact.
42 teams worldwide competed for a $1,000,000 seed capital award given by President Bill Clinton at the United Nations Headquarters. The final phase of their world-class Accelerator programme was hosted at Ashridge Castle, United Kingdom, where all teams went through an intensive five-week challenge to take their startups off the ground.
Revive beat the odds, outperforming a record number of 350,000 programme participants who began their journey this past fall. They were able to progress through multiple stages until the Global Accelerator Program. At the Accelerator, they met and learned from world-class experts, engaged with startups from different countries, built strong foundations for their own business, and gained valuable insights and lifelong lessons.
The Accelerator phase was divided into Digital and in-person stages. Revive was listed in the Top 3 teams for three out 4 Pitch Friday competitions and was number one for two consecutive weeks in the Digital Accelerator Phase, among 75 teams making them progress to the in-person phase at the Ashridge Castle.
This year’s 2021 Hult Prize Challenge asks entrepreneurs to rethink food and food systems and build the foundations of a venture that will create jobs, stimulate economies, reimagine supply chains and improve the overall outcome for 10,000,000 people by 2030. Revive does that by preserving surplus food by bringing new technology to Qatar and redistributing it to those in need, which will help raise nutrition, reduce surplus food and increase food security in Qatar.
Dr. Tahra El Obeid, the Head of the Human Nutrition Department, noted that this project is crucial both nutritionally and economically. Food production necessitates the use of many natural resources; hence food waste or loss wastes resources and has significant environmental consequences. This initiative is critical because it decreases food loss and waste, resulting in more efficient resource usage.
Furthermore, improperly treated or reclaimed food waste can have a variety of detrimental environmental implications. Through the outstanding educative program at QU, this project broadens the perspectives of future graduates, encouraging them to look for new ways to attain their goals and help the world.
Hult team Kateba Al Ghazali, Sumaya Yusuf, and Nosheen Zehra stated, “It has been an incredible journey, one which would not have been possible without the tremendous support and motivation we have received. We would like to thank Qatar University, Nama Center for Social Development and Entrepreneurship, MBK Holdings, Innovation Cafe, and all the experts and mentors we have met along the way for their unconditional support. We hope we can take Revive much forward and bring the change we wish to see in the world.”
Hult Prize Accelerator Program has a history of being a life-changing experience for attendees. It brings together a community of people with an outlook of changing the world through business. This year saw 42 shortlisted teams from different countries, including Mexico, Jordan, Taiwan, Palestine, Lebanon, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, USA, India, and more — with Qatar being on the list for the very first time. These teams have created startups that solve this year’s UN-issued food challenge.
