Innovation and Business development during the second Dutch-Palestinian Bilateral Cooperation Forum
On 29/30 October 2016 the second Dutch-Palestinian Bilateral Cooperation Forum took place. This forum showed the opportunities that the Palestinian market has to offer in the area of private sector development, including a presentation on the financial instruments that the Dutch government has to offer for doing business with the Palestinian Territories. In addition, several sector seminars and workshops were held and participants could attend matchmaking sessions.
Within the context of the framework of the forum MSM was responsible for the agribusiness B2B and K2K components aiming at strengthening and deepening cooperation between Dutch business and knowledge institutes and their counterparts in the Palestinian Territories with the purpose of:
- Sharing and jointly generating expertise and experience;
- Highlighting current cooperation;
- Exploring concrete cooperation opportunities;
- Entering into new business agreements.
The program covered micro, meso and macro level of the agro-food sector:
- Micro: this is the actual matchmaking, a pertinent component of the program, organized by Mr. Jos Leeters (see further below). In combination with visits to innovative agricultural companies.
- Meso: a focus on the sector as such with the interplay of different chain actors
- Macro: overriding issues of competitiveness, innovation, and financing with a specific focus on the Palestinian Territories.
As part of the program, three workshops/seminars were organized on:
- Innovation and business development in the agricultural sector
- University – agroindustry linkages for innovation, business development, and employability
- Post-harvest techniques and marketing.
MSM was supported by experts specialized in marketing, trade promotion and chain- & quality management in order to assist developing country entrepreneurs to capture economic opportunities and to add value throughout the supply chain, from resource to market.
