The Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman Alfadley on Thursday sponsored the launch of Namya, a startup established as part of a strategic partnership between the ministry and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), with private-sector participation.
The company aims to turn research and development (R&D) outputs into innovative, market-ready solutions and technologies that can be deployed and scaled, supporting Saudi Arabia's goals for food and water security while promoting the sustainable use of natural resources.
The launch took place on the sidelines of the fourth meeting of the Strategic Partnership Steering Committee between the Environment, Water and Agriculture ecosystem and KAUST. The meeting was chaired by Alfadley and KAUST President Sir Edward Byrne.
The committee reviewed progress across the partnership's portfolio, including joint research and innovation projects and their key outcomes in several priority areas.
The partnership portfolio currently includes 60 projects valued at more than 448 million Riyals. Twelve projects have been completed, 32 are currently underway and 16 are in preparation, highlighting the partnership's expanding role in supporting R&D and innovation across Saudi Arabia's environment, water and agriculture sectors.
Namya is one of the key outcomes of the strategic partnership. The startup is designed to commercialize innovative products and technologies and move R&D breakthroughs from the research environment into practical applications capable of growing in the market.
The company will also benefit from ministry programs aimed at supporting and testing promising technologies, helping accelerate the transfer of knowledge from research institutions to real-world applications and advancing the Kingdom's objectives in food and water security and resource sustainability.
Through its strategic partnership with KAUST, the ministry continues to support research and innovation and the development of practical solutions across the environment, water, and agriculture sectors. The partnership also seeks to maximize the impact of joint research and innovation projects and improve the efficiency and sustainability of these sectors as Saudi Arabia prepares to address future challenges.
The partnership emphasized the importance of continuing efforts to translate research and innovation into practical, high-impact solutions in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. It also aims to strengthen the role of R&D and innovation in advancing water and food security and sustainable resource management, and creating opportunities for promising technologies to evolve into market-ready products and scalable companies.