When you are building a pioneering biotechnology company, you have to build the very path to walk on. That is what three UAE-based entrepreneurs discovered when they began Circa Biotech, an innovative start-up that upcycles food waste into high-quality animal feed using industrial insect farming – the first of its kind in the region.
In order for Dr Haythem Riahi, CEO of Circa Biotech, and his co-founders, Kristine Wong and Liudmila Prozorova, to see their vision of sustainability come to life, they had to relentlessly draw courage and inspiration from their belief in the project. There was no legislative precedent for the sort of industrial insect farming they had in mind – feeding the indigenous Black Soldier Fly larvae with organic food waste redirected from landfills, harvesting the larvae after a short 14-day period to generate high-quality protein feed for fish and poultry, and then creating organic fertiliser from their by-products.
For them to even begin operations at Mas
Jodi Sta. Maria is no stranger to starring in commercials with her son, Thirdy Lacson. But not a few were surprised to see how much her child has grown up in the latest one.