Live from GES: Meet the Startup that Turns Ugly Rooftops into Beautiful Gardens

As the 5th Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) started last Wednesday 19 in Marrakesh, Jordanian entrepreneur Kamal Alhmoud took to the stage to present his innovative idea: why not turn the urban jungle into a green one?

His startup Aster is the first Middle Eastern company to provide services to plant rooftop gardens on residential and commercial buildings. Founded in in 2012, the company emerged as a response to the lack of green spaces in Amman, where overcrowded buildings fill the urban landscape.

“Through cultivation on the rooftops of buildings, we can convert blank spaces into green areas with clean fresh air and a beautiful view of the city,” Alhmoud tells BarakaBits. “The growing rooftop buildings also give homes an area for relaxation and recreation, even to grow some vegetables for the kitchen,” he says.

Selected by the Global Innovation Through Science and Technology competition (GIST), the entrepreneur presented his startup at the GES Summit last November 20, together with 3,000 other entrepreneurs, 194 speakers, and 600 students in an effort to catalyze partnerships between entrepreneurs, investors and the public sector.

For more information: Visit Aster’s Facebook page, and follow the outcome of the GES Summit through the hashtag #GES2014 or their Facebook page.