• Tunisia-based agritech Beekeeper Tech, has raised $640,000 in Seed round funding, led by 216 Capital Ventures, with participation from business angels including Ibrahim Al-Rashid, co-founder of Saudi Arabia-based Resorts Holding, and Bridging Angels. Dammam BioTech Valley, Startup Tunisia, TAQADAM and OQAL Angel Investors Network, have also provided investment, grants, and mentoring. 
• Founded in 2021 by Khaled Bouchoucha, Beekeeper helps beekeepers increase the production of their hives through its tech-enabled equipment.
• These funds will allow Beekeeper to accelerate its deployment in new regions and expand its position in Mena.

Press release:

Beekeeper Tech, a Tunisian-based precision beekeeping start-up, has announced that it has secured $640.000 in a Seed round of funding to further its development of cutting-edge beehive tracking, monitoring, and breeding technologies. 

The round is led by 216 Capital Ventures, with significant participation from notable business angels such as Mr Ibrahim Al-Rashid and Bridging Angels. Dammam BioTech Valley, Startup Tunisia, TAQADAM and OQAL Angel Investors Network, have also provided investment, grants, and mentoring. 

Beekeeper Tech has developed the SmartBee device, which records and transmits data about the hive such as temperature, humidity, GPS location, buzzing noise levels, and honey production. 

For a low monthly fee, beekeepers can gain access to a suite of notifications, insights, and recommendations that will help them monitor their hives' health, safety, and honey productivity.

"Honeybees provide one of every three bites of food we consume. Climate change, pesticides, and mites are causing massive losses for beekeepers all over the world, and no strategy can be devised without accurate data. 

As the first step in a long-term strategy, gathering data and providing insights via our monitoring beekeeping technologies is absolutely essential." said Khaled Bouchoucha, CEO 

The company invested significantly in R&D to develop its own genetic breeding models for the purpose of naturally selecting the most resilient colonies. 

Over 1100 hives were connected by Beekeeper Tech, primarily in Tunisia, but also in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, and Libya. 

To build on the success of this first deployment, the funds will be used to strengthen the company's position as a market leader in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as to develop its genetic breeding program. 

Over 40 million hives can be found in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) without the use of any technology. This funding round is essential to our launch into this untapped market.