From left to right: Ramy Boujawdeh, Marc Zeeni, Ambassador Jan Waltmans, Minister Sigrid Kaag, Maroun Chammas and Fadi Naffah
Berytech recently hosted the Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation H.E. Mrs. Sigrid Kaag, and the delegation accompanying her from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands led by Ambassador H.E. Mr. Jan Waltmans, on an official visit to the Agrytech Program’s headquarters in Berytech’s Innovation Park in Mar Roukoz – Mkalles.
Agrytech Program
Maroun N. Chammas, Chairman and CEO of Berytech, commented “The program has worked diligently to connect the agri-food sector to the technology and engineering sectors, involving the private sector, working with universities and providing opportunities to Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians residing in Lebanon,” explained Chammas.
Chammas spoke about Berytech and its 16-year-old mission to support entrepreneurship in Lebanon. “From hosting, to business support, to funding, Berytech has catalyzed a Lebanese ecosystem that allows its talents to create products that compete worldwide. This is what the Agrytech Program is set up to achieve within innovation in the agri-food sector,” confirmed Chammas.
Creating Jobs
Minister Kaag’s visit with the Berytech team, the start-ups and entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector, during her first official visit to Beirut aimed at creating jobs. “Berytech works in a field where the Netherlands is a leader. Agriculture is the second largest agricultural export of agribusiness in the world outside the United States. We have reached this stage, despite the size of the country, through investment, policy, technology and connectivity with the rest of the world. Agrytech is one of the successful programs in this context. Berytech, the young leadership, the young entrepreneurs, the jobs and the use of technology are all very interesting to me,” she commented.
The Dutch delegation and Minister Kaag had the chance to tour the Agrytech Program facilities located in Berytech Innovation Park in Mar Roukoz, including the Berytech Fablab, jointly funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Berytech.
Meeting the Agrytech teams
Finally, the delegation met with 4 startups part of Batch I of the program: Mothers’ Cooking, an online platform that links hungry foodies to home-cooked meals, Makanat, a platform that connects food lovers, businesses, and entrepreneurs to short-term kitchen and processing line rentals, 209 Lebanese wine, an online platform selling 350+ Lebanese wines from more than 50 wineries, and Mekaprep, a one-minute Mankoushe vending machine.
