8 Companies Chosen to Participate in the Arab SMEs Summit in Doha, Qatar

Discover the 8 SMEs from Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, and Tunisia selected by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN ESCWA) and Interreg NEXT MED to join the Arab SMEs Summit in Doha from 17-19 November 2024.

Publication Date
10/09/2024
Reading Time
2 minutes

Following the June 2024 launch of the call for applications, “The Mediterranean MSMEs Journey to the Arab SMEs Summit 2024,” co-organized by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN ESCWA) and the Interreg NEXT MED Programme, eight SMEs from Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, and Tunisia have been selected. These businesses will have the unique opportunity to showcase their ventures and innovative products, and tap into a wealth of opportunities at the Arab SMEs Summit in Doha, Qatar, from 17 to 19 November 2024.

The call proved to be a resounding success, with Mediterranean SMEs reaffirming their strong commitment to the themes and values of the Interreg NEXT MED Programme. A total of 42 SMEs from Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, and Tunisia applied, and the overall quality of the submissions was exceptional.

The participating SMEs were assessed by Interreg NEXT MED and UN ESCWA based on their alignment with the chosen theme (see below), their impact, and their potential for scalability and replicability. Due to the outstanding quality of the applications, the organizers opted to select an additional two SMEs, bringing the total to eight instead of the originally planned six. All selected SMEs have participated in ENI CBC MED projects as partner, sub-grantee or final beneficiary.

The winners are the following SMEs:

Circular Economy

  • Green Afalco, Tunisia, “Recycling scrap for a lighter, brighter and better world through reverse vending machines”, linked to INVESTMED  and INNOMED-UP projects
  • Respect Environmental Group, Tunisia, “Building a more sustainable future, where the demolition and recycling of construction waste are opportunities to make a positive impact on the planet” linked to RE-MED project
  • Indinya, Tunisia, “Merging ecology and quality to create original and handmade products that promote sustainable development and waste reduction”, linked to MED-InA project
  • Tilestic, Egypt, “Creating an industrial method to recycle non-recyclable plastic waste and converting it into a variety of building materials”, linked to INVESTMED project

Agro-food/Agriculture

  • OZ-Tech, Egypt, “Developing a robot which reduces the time and labor required for planting seedlings. linked to INTECMED project
  • Earthwise for Green Technologies Solutions, Palestine, “Connecting agrifood vendors with surplus food to consumers creating a win-win-win solution for vendors, customers, and the planet, linked to U-SOLVE project
  • Agro Cedrus SARL, Lebanon, “Producing organic carob molasses from carobs of more than 146 farmers from Lebanon, linked to ORGANIC ECOSYSTEM project
  • Agrikemet, Egypt, “Generating high-quality fertilizers using black soldier flies’ larvae, addressing waste management issues and offering eco-friendly agricultural solutions”, linked to INTECMED project

The winners will be notified shortly to arrange their attendance at the Arab SMEs Summit, with one representative from each SME attending free of charge. The eight selected SMEs will join the third Arab SMEs Summit, gaining access to a wide array of opportunities, including learning from inspirational leaders, exploring new funding avenues, participating in interactive workshops and policy dialogues, showcasing their products and services, networking with peers, and benefiting from coaching and mentoring sessions.

We extend our sincere thanks to UN ESCWA for supporting this initiative, as well as to all the SMEs that took part in the call. Stay connected with the Interreg NEXT MED Programme for upcoming opportunities.

Last Update

10/09/2024