Egypt-born cleantech company Tagaddod has secured $26.3 million in Series A financing to scale a technology platform that sources and certifies renewable, waste-based feedstocks for the biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industries. The round was led by The Arab Energy Fund (TAEF) and joined by existing backers including FMO, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV), and A15—an investor mix that blends impact capital, development finance, and mainstream venture funding.
Founded in 2013 by Nour El Assal and Ahmed ElFarnawany, Tagaddod built its business around a stubborn bottleneck in the energy transition: dependable, traceable feedstock. Its platform digitizes the collection and movement of materials like used cooking oil, acid oils, and animal fats from a fragmented base of households, restaurants, food processors, and independent collectors. Each consignment is tracked and certified to meet export-grade standards demanded by global refiners.
The company already operates regional hubs in Egypt, Jordan, and the Netherlands and is expanding across Africa, Asia, and Europe with a growing footprint in Gulf markets such as Saudi Arabia. The new capital will be directed toward three priorities: opening new markets, upgrading the AI-driven logistics and compliance stack, and expanding on-the-ground infrastructure to handle larger volumes with tighter traceability. That includes route optimization for collections, predictive supply planning, and automated documentation to align with international sustainability certifications.
For airlines and fuel blenders racing to hit decarbonization targets, feedstock reliability is no longer a nice-to-have—it is the rate limiter. As SAF mandates take hold and renewable diesel capacity surges, competition for certified input materials has intensified. Tagaddod’s pitch is that marrying last-mile sourcing with digital verification and compliance creates a bankable supply chain that can scale without sacrificing quality or transparency.
Strategically, the raise does more than pad a balance sheet. TAEF’s involvement links Tagaddod to a regional agenda around energy security and circular economy outcomes, while FMO and A15 reinforce the company’s developmental and growth bona fides. VKAV’s participation underscores the continental opportunity: formalizing waste streams improves urban sanitation and incomes even as it feeds a global decarbonization market.
Leadership emphasizes disciplined growth. The company says the funds are intended to scale a profitable operating model rather than subsidize burn, with an emphasis on partnerships that anchor long-term supply contracts. That approach matters in a sector where certification costs, export logistics, and working capital can erode margins if not tightly managed.
Looking ahead, Tagaddod plans to deepen its presence in current territories, expand selectively into new ones, and continue investing in the people and processes that convert informal waste networks into auditable industrial inputs. If successful, it will do more than aggregate oil—it will stitch together a cross-border backbone for renewable feedstocks in emerging markets, bringing transparency to a messy corner of the energy transition and positioning African and Middle Eastern supply into the heart of global SAF and renewable diesel value chains.
