Shuaa Capital (Shuaa), the leading asset management and investment banking platform in the region, has led a $50 million structured Sukuk for Pure Harvest Smart Farms, the world-leading, sustainable technology-enabled agribusiness based in the UAE.
Shuaa also co-invested in Pure Harvest through its managed funds as part of this funding round.
Shuaa originated, structured and placed the innovative financing solution, which comprises a $50 million 3-year sukuk with embedded warrants. Simultaneously, Pure Harvest has also raised $10 million in growth equity. This is the first time in the region that an early-stage business has been able to secure venture debt funding from capital markets, highlighting Shuaa’s unique capabilities to structure instruments which meet the objectives of the business as well as the strong investor demand for products such as for Islamic investments and ESG (green sukuks). This investment round attracted cornerstone investments from Franklin Templeton and Sancta Capital amongst others.
Jassim Alseddiqi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Shuaa, said: “Shuaa has once again demonstrated its ability to deliver innovative and compelling investment products with this first-of-its-kind investment in Pure Harvest Smart Farms. We see exciting potential in the technology space and this is a great example of how we are executing on our stated strategy to focus on this area, this time supporting a market leader in AgTech as it seeks to accelerate its growth.”