When Hassan Elrakhawy entered the McGill Desautels Faculty of Management in 2019, he wanted to be either an actuarial analyst or an entrepreneur. Within a year he was both, interning as a Actuarial Analyst and launching Leedana, a company that grows vegetables sustainably in desert conditions using a technique called sandponics.
“Going to McGill was an easy choice,” he recalled. “I could study mathematics and business at the same time and be open to different opportunities. I didn’t want to be limited.”
By his second semester he was earning top grades, had passed his first actuarial exam and was applying for summer internships.
Then COVID hit, and he – and everyone else – went into lockdown. That’s when he started researching potential entrepreneurial ideas and discovered sandponics. Water containing nutrient-rich waste from the fish is used to fertilize plants grown in sandbeds. As the plants absorb the nutrients, the water becomes clean and is then returned to the fish tank.
“I just stumbled upon it,” said Elrakhawy. “It was kind of a crazy idea, but I thought, ‘this could be perfect.’”
He went on to establish his startup, find a partner, participate in the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship’s Dobson Bootcamp and Cup Competition and X-1 Accelerator in 2024, win multiple awards and find mentors and funding – all at McGill.
“Dobson was a game changer for us,” said Elrakhawy. “Their network helped us refine our business model, expand in new markets and connect with key partners. It’s a great ecosystem to be in.”
Adventures in clean tech
Elrakhawy was born in Egypt and grew up in Canada, which inspired his interest in sandponics.
“Egypt has little water, whereas Canada has the most water in the world,” he said. “Everyone understands that it’s a scarce resource, which is what gave me the idea to focus on the water crisis and the food crisis.”
Although sandponics was an existing idea, Elrakhawy’s aim was to to modernize it, making it more simple, reliable and accessible. His startup, Leedana, developed a unique closed-loop zero-waste system that uses 90-per-cent-less water and 80-per-cent-less energy than other farming techniques.
“Being sustainable is of the utmost importance to us,” he said. “It’s our reason for being.”
He registered Leedana as a company while in his second year at Desautels, working on it in between classes and internships. If that sounds challenging, it was. His grades sometimes faltered and success was not instantaneous. He applied to the Dobson Bootcamp and Cup Competition several times before being accepted.
“When I finally got in, I was super happy. After three years of operations, including pilot projects in Montreal and Egypt, people were finally considering us as a clean-tech startup.”
A startup with substance
Dobson is where he found mentors such as Marie-Josée Lamothe, Executive Director of the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship, and met Gabriel Giangi, who became Leedana’s Chief Technology Officer. The Dobson Centre is committed to advancing the United Nations’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals; the project was a natural fit.
Elrakhawy and Giangi won third place in the Dobson Cup’s environmental enterprise category and over $5,000 in funding.
Since then, he’s been “all in” on Leedana, which has grown to 10 people. Still based in Montreal, the enterprise has multiple farms in Egypt growing fish, cherry tomatoes, peppers, kale, lettuce and more. Another farm is under construction in Mexico, with more to follow in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Unites States.
“We’ve already perfected our system by testing on sand across three continents,” said Elrakhawy, who graduated with a B.Comm in 2024. “My goal is to show that low-cost and water-efficient farming is possible for the deserts of North America and the Middle East.”
Leedana’s success means that Elrakhawy’s schedule consists of 2 a.m. calls to the UAE, 6 a.m. calls to Egypt, followed by 9-to-5 days in Montreal. Although he could return to his career as an actuarial analyst, he’s eager to keep growing Leedana.
“I think I found my life’s purpose: to grow food and save water,” he said. “When I see our vision and our values of regenerative agriculture being used by the masses, I will say we have succeeded in our mission.”