Connecting Lebanese SMEs with international buyers

The “Agri-Food Innovation Days” (AFID2022) organized by Berytech, aimed at supporting the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) working in the agri-food and agriculture sector to find new markets. In this event, UNIDO jointly with UNDP supported small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in exploring export opportunities through a business-to-business (B2B) matchmaking activity. Moreover, the AFID2022 was also an opportunity to promote the “Lebanon Export Academy” to the audience, designed to equip agri-food business leaders and export managers with the required know-how and practical export skills.

During B2B event, 85 agri-food businesses, of which 53% are women-led, took part in back-to-back meetings with more than 27 international buyers from France, Ivory Coast, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom.

“The B2B matchmaking event creates the space to enhance the access of enterprises in the agri-food sector to existing and new markets with a big objective of stimulating growth and employment” stated Jamie Schnurr, Head of Development and Humanitarian Cooperation, Country Program, Global Affairs Canada in Lebanon.

“Through the B2B matchmaking event, we have met interesting leads through which we will be able to export our cider for the first time this summer. We are also very grateful because we were able to receive insight on the African market, a market we did not have enough resources to explore” confided Soha Karam, founder of WATA Cider.

In total, throughout three days, 24 agri-food businesses registered on the Export Academy and 258 meetings were held between agri-businesses and buyers where MSMEs presented their products to get visibility, create export opportunities, and received valuable insight on new markets to explore, branding, packaging, quality requirements, and much more.

UNIDO is supporting  Lebanese SMEs with international buyers under its Productive Sectors Development Program (PSDP) in Lebanon funded by the Government of Canada.

For further information contact Kjell Sundin (k.sundin [at] unido.org (k[dot]sundin[at]unido[dot]org))