Startup Spotlight: UAE-Based Nadeera Is Enabling Communities Across The Region To Collectively Manage Solid Waste "Nadeera's Yalla Return is a digital platform that simplifies the recycling journey, offers rewards, and ensures cost-effective solutions through in-house developed technological solutions."

This article is part of an ongoing series covering startups that have been a part of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) accelerator program.

In February 2024, the United Nations Environment Program revealed a staggering statistic: by 2050, the amount of global municipal solid waste (i.e day-to-day waste that comes from households and businesses) could rise up to 3.8 billion tonnes; a number that was already at a worrying 2.1 billion tonnes in 2023. But there's a slightly hopeful twist to this tale- the numbers are only expected to increase by so much if urgent action isn't taken. For those of us living in the MENA region, UAE-based Nadeera has come up with a tech-driven way to incentivize those who engage in active recycling. "Nadeera is a social enterprise that was founded in 2021 and helps instill circular economy practices through technology-enabled interventions," explains Michel Mokbel, the Operations Lead at Nadeera. "We have found that up to 95% of the MENA's waste is disposed of. Driven by a linear economic mindset, MENA countries are currently challenged by increasing waste generation rates and rising socio-economic waste-related costs. Nadeera aims to alter this singular mindset through a technologically driven rewards, education, and traceability program that incentivizes positive behavioral outcomes related to waste recovery."

Nadeera has thus come up with a three-pronged approach to fulfill its mission: Yalla Return, a smart collection system placed in neighborhoods that enables residents to recycle and receive feedback and rewards for every bag that they drop off; reverse vending machines (RVMs), artificial intelligence (AI)-powered infrastructure that are placed in high-traffic areas for the collection of individual plastic bottles or cans; and level sensors, which are devices that are placed on regular trash bins across communities to monitor fill and collection trends 24/7.

"Nadeera's Yalla Return is a digital platform that simplifies the recycling journey, offers rewards, and ensures cost-effective solutions through in-house developed technological solutions," Mokbel explains. "Yalla Return has been piloted, rigorously tested, and scaled across three different geographies. The efficacy of the system was verified through an academic study by one of the most prestigious Universities in the United States, and has achieved 95% user retention rates in certain contexts. As such, Nadeera distinguishes itself from other waste management service providers by prioritizing a user-centric approach; acknowledging the common disengagement caused by complex technological solutions. Through our technological tools we have digitized and personalized the waste recovery scheme and allowed for the end-to-end traceability of recyclables from the point of their generation to the point they are recirculated back into the economy, giving positive impact creators ownership of their contributions."

Founded by Rabih El Chaar and Reem Khattar a little over three years ago, Nadeera has today grown to a team of 20 individuals. "Among them are waste management experts, business development consultants, and also an in-house tech development team!" reveals Mokbel. "We have achieved significant commercial success with over 30,000 households engaged across multiple MENA geographies (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Riyadh, and Lebanon), generating approximately US$600,000 in revenues within the past 12 months. We are also currently entering the North America market, with confirmed projects in the U.S. Plus, we are raising our next round of funding, having already acquired $488,000 in investments, and also became an ADQ-portfolio (ADQ is an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding firm) company."

Much of Nadeera's global milestones and plans have come about as a result of, first and foremost, setting a strong foundation in its base country. "Today we are in over 50 communities across the UAE alone, with most being in Dubai," Mokbel shares. "We have also been selected as a Future 100 company, won Pepsico's Greenhouse Accelerator Program at the Museum of the Future, and formed strategic partnerships with many local and international entities on projects in Dubai. The Emirate of Dubai was a launchpad for Nadeera and our success here has allowed us to scale across the region and globe as we had received wider recognition among stakeholders on our program and success."

Indeed, it has been the city of Dubai that has also offered the startup a chance to partake in the MBRIF Innovation Accelerator program. "We previously knew how reputable and well established the program is and sought to further validate our business by joining," Mokbel says. "We also sought to leverage the expertise of the mentors available at the MBRIF program to further advance our marketing and business development efforts, gain access to investors, and for key strategic partnerships."

As the Nadeera team now gears up for 2025, Mokbel notes that while the startup is heavily tech-driven, true environmental change can only be achieved by keeping the people themselves at the core of their mission. "We exist in a very fast paced industry that is being heavily geared towards automation, innovation, and technology as means to streamline and effectively recover and valorize materials," Mokbel adds. "Accordingly, we never stop advancing our technological portfolio of offerings and pivot, enhance, and augment our offerings based on user feedback and market factors; dedicating most of our profits to research and development. Nonetheless, the objective of Yalla Return is to only use technology to incentivize behavioral change among residents as, unlike other companies, we avoid highly mechanical and technologically intensive methods, that are financially unsustainable and often unreliable, to recover material. Through our incentive scheme, technological offerings, and marketing materials we ensure that it is the user who remains the central element of impact and change."