Ghada Ismail

As the construction industry faces growing pressure to reduce its environmental footprint, innovative material technologies are creating new opportunities to address both industrial emissions and the mounting plastic waste problem. Egyptian startup TileGreen is working at the intersection of these challenges, developing manufacturing solutions that turn difficult-to-recycle plastic waste into sustainable building materials.

In this interview with Sharikat Mubasher, conducted on the sidelines of the Green Shift Summit 2026 in Cairo, Khaled Raafat, CTO and Co-founder of TileGreen, explains how the company uses machine learning to improve manufacturing consistency, what differentiates its products from conventional building materials, and why Saudi Arabia represents an important market for its technology licensing model. He also shares his perspective on the fundraising challenges facing green startups and the growing role of AI in making sustainability commercially viable.

Could you tell us a little about yourself and the problem your company is trying to solve?

I am Khaled Raafat, CTO and co-founder of TileGreen, a material technology company specializing in developing manufacturing technologies that transform difficult-to-recycle plastic waste into sustainable building materials.

We are addressing two major challenges. The first is plastic waste, as only around 10% of plastic waste globally is recycled, while the remainder is typically landfilled, incinerated, or openly dumped.

The second is the construction industry's significant carbon footprint. As one of the most carbon-intensive industries, it faces major decarbonization commitments for 2030 and 2050. However, the solutions currently available are not sufficient to meet these targets.

What differentiates TileGreen's approach from existing solutions, and what gives the company a competitive edge?

Green solutions are often perceived as involving trade-offs, whether in terms of pricing, technical specifications, or other parameters.

At TileGreen, our technology platform enables us to develop more than 100 applications for indoor and outdoor non-structural building materials using plastic waste, without cement or chemicals. We achieve this through a thermomechanical, machine learning-based technology.

The resulting materials offer higher technical specifications than conventional concrete applications. Beyond their environmental benefits, they are also cost-competitive, generating savings in upfront costs, installation, and throughout their lifecycle.

What has been the biggest challenge in turning your idea into a scalable business, and how have you addressed it?

One of our biggest challenges has been penetrating the construction market, which is both large and traditionally slow to adopt innovation.

The dynamics of established industries can make introducing new solutions particularly challenging. Convincing customers to test and eventually adopt an unfamiliar product requires considerable effort and time.

I believe this stage represents a critical turning point for any startup, marking the transition from the idea stage to pilot projects and early commercialization. Successfully navigating this transition is essential to building a scalable business.

How are you leveraging artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to improve your manufacturing processes and product quality?

Technology is at the core of our manufacturing process. Our system is based on machine learning because one of the biggest challenges facing recycling and other green solutions is maintaining consistent product quality despite variations in raw materials.

To address this, we developed what we call the Material Intelligence Model, a material science-based machine learning model capable of characterizing feedstock in real time.

We consider it the brain of our technology platform. Rather than relying on fixed operating parameters and manual adjustments, the model determines how the production line should operate based on the characteristics of the incoming materials.

This allows us to operate more efficiently and maintain product quality despite variations in feedstock. With this model, we have achieved more than 95% production consistency, significantly reducing the risks of inconsistent output and machine downtime.

What are your main growth priorities, and are you exploring new partnerships or expansion opportunities in the GCC, particularly Saudi Arabia?

We have evolved from being solely a green building materials provider into a technology provider. We realized that scaling these solutions requires reliable manufacturing technologies that can consistently deliver high-quality products. Since we could not find off-the-shelf technologies that met our requirements, we decided to develop our own.

Our primary business model is now based on turnkey technology licensing for existing building materials manufacturers across different markets. Instead of simply supplying the finished building materials, we provide manufacturers with the technology, factory setup, know-how, and standard operating procedures needed to produce them.

This approach allows us to expand into different markets through a scalable licensing model.

We have recently been working to strengthen our presence in the GCC, particularly Saudi Arabia. We have secured two licensing memorandums of understanding worth a combined $7 million and are close to finalizing our first licensing agreement in the Kingdom.

Our corporate structure includes a company incorporated in Delaware, alongside companies in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, with plans to establish a presence in China. Egypt remains our main operational base, while Saudi Arabia represents an important market for commercializing our technology through licensing, with potential for further strategic expansion.

What are the biggest challenges green startups face when raising capital compared with startups in more established sectors?

Green startups, particularly those working in hardware and deep technology, are not necessarily a suitable fit for every investor. One of the biggest challenges is finding enough angel investors and venture capital firms that understand the development journey of hard-tech startups and have the right expectations.

Founders also need to educate investors about their business models and demonstrate why these ventures require a different investment approach. Naturally, the conversion rate when approaching investors may be lower than that of fintech or e-commerce startups.

The growth journey is also different. The exponential growth curves often associated with traditional startups do not necessarily apply to hard-tech companies. Their development tends to be more gradual and incremental, requiring patience and sustained investment.

Finding investors who believe in the technology is particularly important during the early stages, when a company may not yet be considered bankable. Accessing grants can also be challenging because of the processes and paperwork involved.

It is certainly a demanding journey, but finding the right investors who understand and support the business can make all the difference.

How can artificial intelligence help green startups turn sustainability goals into commercially viable solutions that attract investors?

One of the major challenges facing sustainability-focused startups is measuring and reporting their environmental impact. Impact that cannot be properly demonstrated risks being perceived as greenwashing.

AI tools can make it easier to measure, consolidate, and report impact-related data, helping companies provide more credible evidence of their sustainability performance.

In our case, AI is not simply a complementary tool that supports business growth or daily operations. It is an integral part of our manufacturing technology.

I would emphasize that any founder developing a hard-tech startup or manufacturing technology should explore the potential of AI. It enables capabilities and solutions that were previously difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.

Ghada Ismail

Imagine running a business without knowing how much you spent last month, which customers still owe you money, or whether your sales are actually covering your expenses? Making sound financial decisions under these circumstances would be difficult, if not impossible. Bookkeeping helps businesses avoid this uncertainty by providing an organized record of their financial activities and giving owners a clearer picture of where their money comes from and where it goes.

Whether a business is a small startup or a large corporation, keeping accurate financial records is essential for managing daily operations and supporting long-term growth.

What Is Bookkeeping?

Bookkeeping is the process of recording, organizing, and maintaining a business's financial transactions. These transactions include sales, purchases, payments, receipts, expenses, and other financial activities.

Its main purpose is to ensure that every financial transaction is documented accurately and systematically. This gives business owners a clear picture of their income and expenses over a specific period.

For example, when a startup purchases office equipment, receives a payment from a customer, or pays its employees, each transaction must be recorded in its financial records. Over time, these records help the business track its cash flow, monitor expenses, and assess its financial performance.

Why Is Bookkeeping Important for Businesses?

Maintaining accurate financial records is not simply an administrative task. It plays an important role in helping businesses operate efficiently and remain financially stable.

One of its main benefits is financial visibility. By tracking income and expenses, business owners can understand how much their companies generate and identify areas where costs could be reduced.

Bookkeeping also supports cash flow management by helping businesses monitor incoming and outgoing payments. This is particularly important for startups and small businesses, which may face financial pressure when customer payments are delayed or operating expenses increase.

Another benefit is tax preparation and compliance. Organized financial records make it easier to calculate taxable income, prepare financial statements, and meet applicable reporting requirements.

Furthermore, reliable bookkeeping helps businesses make informed decisions about budgeting, hiring, expansion, and investment. It also provides investors and lenders with a clearer understanding of a company's financial position.

What Are the Main Bookkeeping Tasks?

Bookkeeping involves several recurring activities that keep a company's financial records accurate and up to date.

These include:

• Recording transactions: Documenting all financial activities, including sales, purchases, payments, and receipts.
• Managing invoices: Tracking invoices issued to customers and payments owed to suppliers.
• Reconciling bank accounts: Comparing financial records with bank statements to identify discrepancies and missing transactions.
• Tracking expenses: Categorizing business spending to monitor operating costs and identify unnecessary expenses.
• Maintaining payroll records: Recording employee salaries, wages, deductions, and related payments.
• Preparing financial reports: Organizing transaction data to support the preparation of reports such as income statements and balance sheets.

Together, these activities provide the financial information needed for effective business management and more detailed accounting analysis.

What Is the Difference Between Bookkeeping and Accounting?

Although bookkeeping and accounting are closely related, they serve different purposes.

Bookkeeping focuses primarily on recording and organizing financial transactions. Accounting takes this information further by analyzing, interpreting, and reporting financial data to evaluate business performance.

For instance, a bookkeeper may record a company's monthly sales and expenses, while an accountant uses those records to prepare financial statements, assess profitability, and provide financial guidance.

In simple terms, bookkeeping creates the financial records, while accounting uses those records to understand what they mean.

Should Businesses Use Bookkeeping Software?

As businesses grow, managing financial transactions manually can become time-consuming and increase the risk of errors. Bookkeeping software offers a more efficient way to organize financial information.

These tools can automate tasks such as recording transactions, generating invoices, tracking expenses, and reconciling bank accounts. Some platforms also provide real-time financial dashboards, allowing business owners to monitor their financial position more easily.

However, choosing between manual bookkeeping, software, or professional bookkeeping services depends on the company's size, transaction volume, and operational needs.

To Wrap Things Up…

Bookkeeping is a basic yet essential part of running a successful business. By maintaining accurate and organized financial records, companies can monitor their financial health, manage cash flow, meet reporting obligations, and make better business decisions.

For startups and established businesses alike, effective bookkeeping provides the financial foundation needed to manage daily operations and support sustainable growth.

Noha Gad

Many investors look for a simple, direct way to grow their money in the long term without spending a long time finding individual companies or trying to predict market changes. This is the reason why some investors choose passive investing, a long-term, buy-and-hold investing approach that focuses on a wide selection of investments and holding them over time, rather than trying to outperform the market through frequent trading. What makes this approach appealing to new and seasoned investors is that it offers diversification, simplicity, and potentially lower costs.

Many passive investors use investments like index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) designed to track a market benchmark's performance. Compared to active investing, passive investing is typically lower cost, requires less day-to-day management, and is often used by investors focused on long-term growth.

How does the passive investing strategy work?

As a long-term strategy, passive investing focuses on buying and holding investments over a long time. Its goal is to build wealth gradually over time by buying and holding a diverse investment portfolio. Instead of frequently buying and selling investments to try to beat the market, passive investors buy and hold an investment portfolio that may steadily increase in value over time, based on historical market returns.

Index investing is the most common type of passive investing, often through index funds and ETFs. In this approach, investors invest in a portfolio of stocks, bonds, or other assets that mirrors a specific market index.

Passive vs. active investing

Passive and active investing are two different ways of managing investment portfolios. Both are different from each other in:

• Goal. Passive investing aims to match the market index’s performance, while active investing aims to outperform it through investment choices made by a fund manager.
• The way investments are selected. Passive investors usually buy index funds or ETFs that track a broad group of securities, while active investors choose individual securities and decide when to buy or sell them, based on research and market analysis.
• Costs. Passive funds usually have lower management costs because managers do not need to select individual securities or rely as heavily on research teams. In contrast, active funds have higher costs because of research, analysis, and more frequent trading.
• Flexibility. Passive funds have limited flexibility because they generally continue to follow the securities and weights of their index, while Active funds are more flexible as they reduce exposure to certain securities or sectors.
• Performance. Passive investing aims to earn returns close to the overall market return, while active investing targets returns higher than the market.
•  Risks. Passive funds can lose value when the market or asset class they track declines, while active funds may underperform their benchmark if the manager’s investment decisions do not produce the expected results.

Passive investing offers several advantages for long-term investors, but it also has limitations that investors should understand before choosing this approach. 

Pros

• Requiring lower costs to manage, as managers do not need to select individual securities or rely as heavily on research analysts.
• Offering a clear and transparent view of which assets are in an index fund
• Giving investors access to many securities in one investment, thereby reducing the impact of poor performance by a single company.
• Supporting long-term investments, as passive funds generally buy and sell securities less often.
• Offering a clear investment objective, as they are designed to track a specific market index.

Cons

• Losing value when the securities in the index they track decline in value.
• Limited ability to react to price declines in the securities it holds because it generally continues to follow the index.
• Passive funds may have lower earnings than the index they follow.
• Passive funds are not expected to outperform the market they track.
• Although passive funds have lower costs, investors should compare fees because some index funds may be more expensive than actively managed funds.

Finally, passive investing is a long-term strategy that helps investors build a diversified portfolio through index funds and ETFs rather than trying to select individual securities or time the market. However, they are not risk-free. Investors may still experience losses when the market or asset class they track declines, and fund returns may differ from the index because of fees, trading costs, and tracking error. Thus, investors should compare fund fees, understand the risks of the index they are investing in, and choose investments that match their financial goals and time horizon.

Roudny Nahed, Partnership Manager at MusicGrid 

Across the Middle East, a new generation of brands is emerging, driven by ambitious national visions, digital innovation, and a growing focus on customer experience. As the region continues to redefine its position on the global stage, sound is becoming an increasingly valuable way for businesses to express their identity, connect with audiences, and build lasting recognition. 

The Middle East is undergoing a transformation that extends beyond infrastructure, technology, and economic diversification. It is changing how brands are created, experienced, and remembered. 

Across the GCC, new industries are emerging, established organizations are reinventing their customer experiences, and homegrown brands are increasingly expanding their ambitions beyond regional markets. 

This transformation raises an important question: as the way people interact with brands evolves, shouldn't the way brands express their identities evolve as well? 

Sound has an increasingly important role to play in answering that question. 

The Experience Economy Is Changing the Role of Sound 

Saudi Arabia offers a compelling example of this evolution. 

The Kingdom's tourism strategy targets 150 million visits by 2030, while its financial sector development ambitions include expanding the fintech ecosystem to 525 companies by the same year. 

These ambitions represent more than economic growth. They signal an expanding landscape of customer interactions across aviation, hospitality, financial services, entertainment, and digital platforms. 

An airline's identity is experienced throughout the passenger journey. A bank's relationship with customers increasingly develops through its mobile application. A hospitality brand communicates its personality through the atmosphere it creates. 

In each case, sound can reinforce recognition, communicate emotion, and connect different moments into a consistent brand experience. 

As the region invests in more sophisticated customer journeys, sonic branding has an opportunity to evolve from a creative element into part of a brand's infrastructure. 

From Musical Identity to Brand Infrastructure 

One of the most important shifts in sonic branding is the move from creating individual audio assets to developing connected sonic ecosystems. 

A sonic logo may be the most recognizable element, but its strategic value grows when integrated across advertising, digital interfaces, customer service, and physical environments. 

In 2020, Mastercard and Network International announced an initiative in the UAE to integrate Mastercard's sonic identity into payment terminals, allowing customers to hear a recognizable confirmation sound when completing transactions. 

This demonstrates how sound can serve both a functional purpose and a branding objective. 

For businesses across the Middle East, the opportunity is to design sonic branding into the customer journey rather than introduce it as an afterthought. 

Cultural Intelligence: The Region's Creative Advantage 

The Middle East possesses another significant advantage: its rich and diverse musical heritage. 

From distinctive rhythmic structures to melodic traditions and regional instrumentation, sound carries cultural associations shaped by history and collective experience. 

However, creating an authentic regional sonic identity requires more than incorporating traditional instruments. 

A contemporary Saudi financial institution, for example, does not necessarily need traditional melodies to express its cultural roots. Authenticity can emerge through rhythmic character, melodic movement, and emotional associations that reflect the brand's personality. 

This is where ethnomusicology, cultural understanding, and brand strategy intersect. 

For Middle Eastern brands with international ambitions, the ability to balance cultural authenticity with contemporary creativity can become a meaningful competitive advantage. 

Recognition Must Be Built, Not Assumed 

The business value of sonic branding extends beyond creating memorable music. 

Research from Ipsos highlights the effectiveness of distinctive brand assets, including sonic cues, in strengthening advertising recognition and performance. 

However, recognition does not develop through composition alone. It requires consistent exposure, meaningful associations, and disciplined implementation. 

A sonic identity used only during a launch campaign has limited opportunities to build long-term familiarity. 

Organizations must therefore consider where sound appears, how it adapts across different markets, and how consistently its recognizable elements are maintained. 

The objective is not simply to create a sound people enjoy, but to develop an identity they can recognize and associate with the brand over time. 

The Opportunity for Regional Leadership 

The Middle East is experiencing a powerful convergence of economic diversification, digital transformation, cultural investment, and creative ambition. 

Together, these developments are creating an environment where sonic branding can play an increasingly strategic role. 

The opportunity is not simply to adopt international practices, but to develop regional expertise in creating culturally intelligent, technologically integrated, and globally recognizable sonic identities. 

The Middle East is building a new generation of brands. The next opportunity is to give those brands a distinctive sound that the world can recognize. 

Noha Gad

Saudi Arabia’s event management industry is experiencing a period of remarkable growth, driven by Vision 2030’s agenda and its ambition to transform the Kingdom into a leading global destination for business, culture, entertainment, and sport. Analysts believe the growth in the event management market is largely attributed to substantial investments in venues and groundbreaking infrastructure.

According to a recent report released by Research and Markets, the event management market in Saudi Arabia is expected to grow from $2.59 billion in 2025 to reach $3.92 billion by 2031, making a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.14%. In addition, the IMARC Group estimated the market to reach $21.1 billion by 2034, exhibiting a CAGR of 8.08% between 2026 and 2034. This growth, the group said, is driven by rising tourism, government initiatives, increased corporate spending, and growing demand for entertainment and cultural experiences, as well as developments in event technology and social media integration.

The growing role of technology in shaping the Saudi event management industry encouraged organizers and emerging companies to use digital tools to improve planning, communication, guest management, and post-event analysis, thereby delivering larger, safer, and more personalized experiences.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a key tool organizers and event management companies use to understand attendee preferences, recommend relevant sessions or exhibitors, answer guest questions through chatbots, and translate content for international audiences.

Data analytics is another driver behind the transformation that the event management market is witnessing. It helps organizers and event-tech companies to benefit from digital registration systems, mobile applications, and smart badges to collect information about attendance, movement, engagement, and feedback. Analyzing these data responsibly could help organizers measure the success of an event more accurately and improve future editions. Sponsors and exhibitors can also understand audience behavior, generate qualified leads, and demonstrate return on investment.

Automation is another tool that simplifies many routine tasks that previously required significant manual work, such as sending invitations, registration confirmations, reminders, check-in processes, surveys, and post-event reports. This will reduce administrative burdens, lower the risk of human error, and allow event managers to focus more on creativity, guest experience, and strategic planning.

Also, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), interactive screens, and holographic displays can make exhibitions, brand activations, and entertainment events more engaging.

Together, these advanced technologies are not replacing event managers; they are redefining their role. The most successful companies in Saudi Arabia’s event management market will be those combining strong local knowledge and operational expertise with digital tools that create smarter, safer, and more memorable experiences.

The event-management sector is no longer dominated solely by traditional agencies and venue operators. A layered ecosystem has emerged, spanning full-service event agencies, specialized production and AV companies, venue-management companies, ticketing platforms, and a growing cohort of event-tech startups. 

Companies such as SYNC, one of the leading event solutions providers, position themselves as end-to-end event solutions providers, handling everything from Saudi Conventions and Exhibitions General Authority (SCEGA) licensing and venue coordination to AV production and on-site execution. Serving government entities, corporate clients, and conference organizers, the competitive advantage of these companies lies in regulatory familiarity, supplier networks, and in-house production capability rather than software innovation.

In the AV and staging area, Al-Khalediya for Theatres and Cinema is one of the key players that has executed more than 1,000 projects across Saudi Arabia and the GCC, specializing in theatre design, acoustic systems, seating, and cinema fit-outs.

Hybrid-event and event-tech providers, such as INVE, do not execute events themselves, but provide software that organizers use to manage invitations, registration, guest data, and entry.

INVE is one of the Saudi-based startups that leverage technology to transform the event management industry in the Kingdom by offering digital invitations, RSVP tracking, guest profiles, registration, check-in, and follow-up communication in one platform. Serving both corporates and individuals, INVE reflects the industry’s move toward relationship-based and technology-enabled event management, seeking to turn a single event into a long-term guest-relationship asset.

Venttat is a leading Saudi event management company, offering expert services for organizers and exhibitors. It serves as a one-stop shop for corporate events, meetups, conferences, and global event technology services, exhibitor infrastructure, and digital logistics.

The growing event management market in Saudi Arabia is providing significant opportunities for investors, startups, and established companies, as the Kingdom hosts more international conferences, entertainment events, sporting competitions, and cultural festivals. This increases demand not only for event managers and organizers but also for the technology, services, and infrastructure that support them.

Startups and event planning companies will need to tailor AI-powered solutions and products for attendance forecasting, personalized recommendations, attendee matchmaking, chatbots, feedback analysis, and automated content creation. Smart venue technology presents significant opportunities as startups can focus on developing digital access control, crowd monitoring, security systems, digital signage, and real-time venue-management dashboards.

Despite its strong growth potential, the event management industry in Saudi Arabia faces several challenges that could affect its long-term development. One of these challenges is the scarcity of specialized talent, particularly in areas such as event production, technical operations, digital marketing, data analysis, and multilingual guest services. 

The growing number of event agencies, venues, and technology providers is increasing pressure on companies, which will need to differentiate themselves through quality, creativity, reliability, and strong client relationships rather than competing solely on cost.

Quality and consistency are another challenge, especially as Saudi Arabia seeks to host world-class events. Thus, organizers must meet high expectations for safety, logistics, guest experience, and operational precision. 

To sum up, Saudi Arabia’s event management industry is entering a new phase of development, driven by Vision 2030, major technological advancements, and the Kingdom’s growing position as a regional hub for business, culture, and entertainment.

Technology will be central to this growth, helping event organizers and managers change how they plan, deliver, and measure events, ultimately enabling them to focus on creativity, guest experience, safety, and strategic decision-making. Companies that can combine operational expertise with digital innovation will be best placed to meet the rising expectations of corporate clients, government entities, sponsors, and attendees.