Egypt’s Morpho invests in growing berries under Saudi sun

Egypt’s Morpho Investments is betting on Saudi Arabia as a promising environment for cultivating blackberries, raspberries and other fruits, despite its desert soils and blazing sun.

The new private equity firm founded by Ayman Soliman, former CEO of Egypt’s sovereign wealth fund, has raised $55 million to fund initiatives in agriculture and healthcare that include the berry-farming project, Bloomberg reports.

Some of the capital has gone to specialist company Agriventures to help secure an exclusive license to grow, sell and market berries in Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Saudi farmers use drip irrigation and hydroponics to overcome the climate’s challenging conditions. Saudi Arabia has set a goal to localize 85% of its food industry by 2030, while Oman recently unveiled a multibillion-dollar plan to develop three agricultural cities.