Sweet Taste of Success for PineBerry at the Middle East Energy Online Startup Hub Competition

PineBerry, a software company based in Berlin Germany, won this years’ Middle East Energy Online startup competition following an intensive four-week judging process during the inaugural online event.

Middle East Energy

Founded in 2020, PineBerry provides a unique all-in-one cloud-based software platform for energy access players that unifies the energy access space. Mini-grid developers, operators, technology providers, solar home systems manufacturer, last-mile distributors, “productive use of energy” users or suppliers are now able to run their businesses in an all-in-one, easy-to-use, and fully customisable software solution.

The company’s mission is to accelerate access to clean energy in emerging markets with digital services. They enable energy access players to manage their business in one central platform, unlock productive use of energy and make a scalable impact. The PineBerry software is 100% customisable, affordable and easy to use.

Danny Friedrich, CEO and Co-founder of PineBerry, said, “We are honored to have been selected as the top innovator among so many cutting-edge ideas. Pitching at Energy Startup Hub was a highly valuable experience which grants us access to a large network of investors, potential customers, and partners. Undoubtedly, renewables are the name of the game for universal energy access and human development in the next years."

“With PineBerry’s customizable “Everything-as-a-Service” platform, we enable energy access players to scale their business and impact. Moreover, they can offer additional live-improving services like water-as-a-service and cooling-as-a-service - all at the tip of a finger."

“Winning the Energy Startup Hub is also an important milestone for preparing our Series A funding round, which will bring us one step closer to our vision: Making a change for 200 million lives by 2030 and contributing to 14 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Impact investors, come on board - let’s change millions of lives together ! ”

The event, which ran alongside the four-week online edition of Middle East Energy Exhibition was run in partnership with Green Climate Ventures and sponsored by Schneider Electric, and designed to provide global energy startups with a platform to showcase their innovations to a panel of investors and industry experts.

The shortlisted applicants had to each present a five-minute pitch to a panel of 13 judges, with PineBerry coming up trumps.

Alex Malouf, Corporate Communications Director, MEA, Schneider Electric, one of the headline sponsors of Middle East Energy and judge on the Energy Startup Hub competition, said, “Judging by the quality of the entries, the creativity of the ideas and the passion of those presenting on concepts relating to renewables, we are in safe hands."

“The finalists were particularly impressive, with some brilliant ideas that have the potential to be global game changers. In the end PineBerry stood out as an idea that is both practical and a gamechanger when it comes to energy access in emerging markets. All the best to everyone who took part and thank you for what you are doing to make our world a greener and more sustainable place,” he added.

Claudia Konieczna, Exhibition Director, Middle East Energy, said, “We’d like to congratulate the innovative team behind PineBerry, they have delivered an outstanding product that will undoubtedly support and provide access to energy for millions of people for many years to come. We look forward to following their journey in the coming years.”

Middle East Energy Online attracted 11,000 attendees from 164 countries worldwide, focusing on the latest insights, trends, and innovations across four energy industry sectors, including Renewable & Clean Energy, Transmission & Distribution, Critical & Backup Power, and Energy Consumption & Management.

During the event, 85 sessions, including tech talks, interactive roundtables, panel discussions, thought leadership sessions and remote interviews, took place. Underscoring the importance of business development and making meaningful contacts, over 7,300 connections were made by 164 exhibiting companies.

The 2022 edition of the Middle East Energy event will take place 7-9 March at the Dubai World Trade Centre under the patronage of the Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure. 

Connecting businesses for over 40 years, Middle East Energy, an Informa Markets event, has been an essential part of the economic expansion of the Middle East, introducing new energy solutions to the region to support the build of infrastructure, real estate and commerce. It is now helping governments, organisations and SME’s diversify the generation and supply of energy and build a sustainable future.