Biogas hasn’t taken off in the Middle East yet, and the entrepreneurs driving it forward are battling both corporate rivals and a lack of public awareness.

Yet the opportunities, as shown in Wamda’s latest infographic below, are bountiful.

For a start, it’s a solution to the region’s massive waste problem. It’s also a renewable energy source that can be used by people who are unconnected to a national energy grid - providing them not only with gas for electricity but for heating as well, and fertilizer.

There are only a handful of entrepreneurs involved in the sector, even though support systems, such as Nahdet Al Mahrousa in Egypt and individuals such as Cyril Rollinde in Lebanon, are doing their best to keep them going.

Tina Boules of Taka Solutions told Wamda she’s spending a lot of time educating potential customers about the benefits of biogas. Although almost all agree that it’s a great idea, it’s taking a lot to convince them it’ll work in practice.

But with India’s runaway success in small- and large-scale biogas a model to follow, the way is open for MENA entrepreneurs to adopt the technology and truly make it work for local conditions.