HyveGeo’s approach to restoring degraded land stands out at the FoodTech Challenge
Updated
February 7, 2026 2:18 PM
Clusters of sandstone buttes in Monument Valley, Colorado Plateau. PHOTO: UNSPLASH
HyveGeo, a climate-focused startup, has been named one of the global winners of the FoodTech Challenge, an international competition designed to surface practical technologies that strengthen food systems in arid and climate-stressed regions.
The FoodTech Challenge (FTC) is based in the UAE and brings together governments, foundations and agri-food institutions to identify early-stage solutions that address food production, land degradation and resource efficiency. Each year, hundreds of startups apply from around the world. In 2026, more than 1,200 teams from 113 countries submitted entries. Only four were selected.
HyveGeo stood out for its approach to one of agriculture’s hardest problems: how to make desert soil usable again. Founded in 2023 by a group of scientists and researchers, the Abu Dhabi-based company focuses on regenerating degraded land using a process built around biochar, a carbon-rich material made from agricultural waste, enhanced with microalgae. The aim is to accelerate soil recovery in environments where water is limited and land has been heavily stressed.
What caught the judges’ attention was not just the technology itself, but the way it links several challenges at once. The system turns waste into a usable soil input, reduces the time it takes for land to become productive and locks carbon into the ground instead of releasing it into the atmosphere. In short, it addresses land degradation, food production and climate pressure through a single framework.
As a winner of the FoodTech Challenge, HyveGeo will share a US$2 million prize with the other selected startups. Beyond funding, the company will also receive support from the UAE’s innovation ecosystem, including research backing, pilot projects, market access and incubation services to help move from testing into wider deployment.
The team’s plans focus on scaling within the UAE first. HyveGeo aims to work across Abu Dhabi’s network of farms and gradually expand into other arid and climate-stressed regions. Its longer-term target is to restore thousands of hectares of degraded land and contribute to carbon removal through soil-based methods.
Placed in a broader context, HyveGeo’s win reflects a shift in how food and climate technologies are being evaluated. Instead of chasing dramatic breakthroughs, competitions like the FTC are increasingly backing systems that connect waste, land, water and carbon into something usable on the ground. Not futuristic agriculture, but practical repair work for environments that can no longer rely on old farming assumptions. If that direction continues, the next wave of food innovation may be less about spectacle and more about quiet, scalable fixes for places where growing food has become hardest.
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A closer look at PMMI’s FastTrack initiative and why it matters for growing manufacturing firms
Updated
February 13, 2026 10:44 AM
Cardboard boxes in a warehouse. PHOTO: UNSPLASH
Large trade shows are built for scale. But for small and medium-sized manufacturers, that scale often creates distance between what’s on display and what they can actually use. Too many options, too little time, and very few tools designed for companies that are still growing. That mismatch is what PMMI is trying to correct with its new SMB FastTrack Program at PACK EXPO East 2026.
That is the problem PMMI is trying to address with its new SMB FastTrack Program, launching at PACK EXPO East 2026 in Philadelphia.
PMMI — the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies — is the industry body behind the PACK EXPO trade shows and a central organization in the global packaging and processing sector. Through FastTrack, it has created a program (not an app or a product) designed to help small and mid-sized companies navigate the show more efficiently and connect with solutions that fit their scale.
The idea behind SMB FastTrack is simple: reduce friction. Instead of asking smaller firms to sort through hundreds of exhibitors and sessions on their own, the program curates what is most relevant to them. Exhibitors that offer flexible pricing, right-sized machinery, or SMB-focused services are clearly identified with visual icons in both the online directory and on the show floor. That way, a small manufacturer can quickly distinguish between enterprise-only vendors and partners that are realistically accessible.
The same logic carries into education. Rather than treating all attendees the same, PACK EXPO East 2026 will include a learning track specifically built around SMB realities. These sessions focus on issues that smaller teams actually face—how to hire and train workers, use AI without over-investing, improve food safety, cut operating costs, and adopt technology in stages. The goal is not inspiration, but applicability: content that reflects real constraints, not ideal scenarios.
Planning, too, is built into the structure of the program. Through a dedicated FastTrack landing page, participants can access curated supplier lists, recommended sessions, and planning tools that help organize their time before they ever step onto the show floor. Tools like category search and sustainability finders are meant to narrow choices quickly, turning a massive event into something manageable.
Seen together, these elements point to a broader intention. PMMI is not simply adding features—it is reshaping how smaller manufacturers experience a major industry event. Instead of competing for attention in a space built for scale, SMBs are given clearer paths to the people, tools, and knowledge that match where they actually are in their growth cycle.
What makes SMB FastTrack notable is not the technology behind it, but the intention behind it. PMMI is recognizing that progress for small and mid-sized manufacturers depends less on spectacle and more on fit—solutions that are accessible, affordable, and adaptable. The program is designed to help companies move with purpose, not pressure.
In an industry where visibility often follows size, SMB FastTrack represents a structural shift. It treats small and medium-sized manufacturers not as a subset of the audience, but as a distinct group with distinct needs. By doing so, PMMI is quietly redefining what a trade show can be: not just a marketplace of innovation, but a usable platform for companies still building their next stage of growth.