Lebanese Women-Led Startup Secures $430,000 Funding For Expansion

Garbaliser, the brainchild of Lebanese sisters Hanan and Zeinab Ismail, is changing the game in agriculture. Founded in 2020 amidst Lebanon’s compounded crises, the company’s patented liquid fertilizer is a breakthrough solution. It not only yields cleaner produce but also boosts capacity compared to chemical fertilizers.

^{Hanan and Zeinab Ismail founders of Garbaliser}

Operating primarily in Lebanon’s Baalbak area, Garbaliser serves over 400 clients. But now, with a strategic partnership in the UAE and backing from Shark Tank Dubai, the company is gearing up for a big move. In 2024, Garbaliser will launch its operations in the UAE market, with further expansions planned for Jordan and the GCC.

Hanan and Zeinab’s journey began with a mission to tackle Lebanon’s escalating and ongoing garbage problem. Amidst the COVID-19 lockdown and economic crisis, waste management reached critical levels. Initially aiming to address waste at its source – household trash cans – the sisters faced numerous hurdles, including a lack of support in Lebanon’s challenging political and economic climate.

Undeterred, the sisters pivoted their focus to organic waste collection. Through hands-on experimentation, they discovered a game-changing solution: converting bio-waste into organic fertilizer. However, traditional compost presented challenges for large-scale farming, particularly integration into irrigation systems.

^{Khaled from West Bekaa, experimented with using Garbaliser’s organic fertilizer on one half of his land and chemical fertilizer on another. He found a 25% increase in lettuce production, a better-tasting product with a longer shelf life.}

Enter Garbaliser’s innovative liquid fertilizer. Through their patented process, organic waste transforms into a liquid form, easily adaptable for irrigation. This breakthrough allows farmers to maximize fertilizer usage efficiently, revolutionizing agricultural practices.

Training & Business Development

Despite growing up in an agricultural environment, neither Hanan nor Zeinab had experience or studies in the field. Hanan has a bachelor’s degree in Banking & Finance, and a master’s degree in marketing and is currently pursuing her PhD in Economics while Zeinab is an Electrical Engineer.

After their introduction to the entrepreneurship world, they joined Jusoor’s Agriculture Small Business Accelerator in 2022, starting out as a minimal viable project. It was during that phase that Garbaliser started to develop prototypes of their invention; first starting out in their own home then moving to a larger 10,000-liter tank on their grandfather’s farm. The accelerator also helped them develop their business model, and learn how to pitch and present their story.

^{Garbaliser Liquid Fertilizer from organic waste}

Expansion & Global Perspective

The company’s original goal was to expand slowly inside Lebanon, reaching more regions gradually while maintaining its operations and system. However, upon their participation in Dubai Expo 2020 and COP28 in Dubai, the founders found themselves in the heart of the global market – with a lot of interest in their product from businesses and governments all over the world as well as investment and partnership offers.

“It made us realize the value of our business and how important it is to have space for entrepreneurs and innovation in any society,” Hanan Ismail says commenting on their participation in COP28.

^{Garbaliser Hanan Ismail and Reem Almarzouk on Shark Tank Dubai}

It was in Dubai that they met their UAE partner Reem Al-Marzouki, an inventor who was creating a method of turning bio-waste into clean drinking water. They joined forces and pitched their product to Shark Tank Dubai in December 2023, where they got a double investment offer of 1.6M AED for 12% of their company. In 2023, they also secured an investment from Ground Up Capital Fund in the USA.

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