1,500+
EXPECTED
ATTENDEES
40+
LOCAL & INT'L
SPEAKERS
30+
EXHIBITING
PARTNERS
20+
INNOVATIVE
STARTUPS
ORGANIZED BY
IN PARTNERSHIP W.
FUNDED BY
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
CO-HOSTED W.
THE MOST ANTICIPATED AGRI-FOOD EVENT OF THE YEAR
THE MOST ANTICIPATED AGRI-FOOD EVENT OF THE YEAR
Gathering agri-food leaders, corporates, entrepreneurs, startups, investors, researchers and visionaries under one roof.
Come network with the industry experts and key players. Meet with new businesses and investors, discuss the evolution of the agri-food sector in uncertain times, exchange the latest innovations and opportunities, build the right partnerships, and put your agri-food ventures on the fast track to innovation, growth, and success.
LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS
LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS LIVE TALKS
Join the conversation on the evolution, strengths & export potential of the agri-food sector
Thought leaders, experts, partners, and inspiring speakers will be featured on the main stage to address pressing argi-food topics — from innovation, to trade and export, to the future of food, to financing agri-food ventures, and much more.
Alexander Kappes
CEO
Greener Crop
Alexander Kappes is the founder and CEO of Greener Crop, an AgTech venture focused on enabling existing and aspiring hydroponic farmers. Before launching Greener Crop, he spent eight years as a tech executive, successfully launching and scaling the Middle East entities for Groupon, Delivery Hero, and Rocket Internet.
His expertise in tech operations and investments led him to Dubai Holding, where he was responsible for investments and strategic partnerships in the technology and tourism space. In his current role as the founder of the Innovative Farmers Association, he is working towards deploying game-changing AgTech solutions.
Alia Nazar-Farhat
Partnership Manager
Al Majmoua
Alia Nazar-Farhat is a socio-economic development specialist, who has been working, since 1999, at the Lebanese Association for Development - Al Majmoua, the leading Microfinance Institution in Lebanon. Alia created, in 2005, the Non-Financial Services Department that provides financial literacy, entrepreneurship, business management trainings, technical skills trainings, legal advice for business registration, business coaching and market outreach services to micro-entrepreneurs with a focus on women and youth.
She currently holds the position of Partnership manager and is a steering committee member of the LHDF - Lebanon Humanitarian and Development Forum of Local NGOs. She attends to the 3RF Consultative Group and Lebanon Financing Facility committee.
Antonio Khabbaz
Founder
ACE Faction
Antonio Khabbaz is the founder of ACE Faction and an instructor at AUB, USEK, and Sagesse University. He’s also an approved Instructor of the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance in the standardized curriculum complying with the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act rule.
Antonio is also an approved trainer of the CQI-IRCA (Chartered Quality Institute – International register of certificated auditors) and a member of the technical committees at the Lebanese standards institution (LIBNOR).
He is a certified quality and food safety Lead auditor at EUROCERT S.A. and was assigned as the national quality auditor at the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Armine Juergenliemk
Senior Agricultural Economist
World Bank
Armine Juergenliemk is an agriculture specialist at the World Bank. Her work focuses on rural development, climate-smart and digital agriculture. Before the World Bank, Armine worked at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome and New York, where she focused her work on climate change and sustainable natural resources management.
Previously, Armine also worked for UNDP, GIZ, Soil Science Institute in Hamburg, and the Armenian Development Agency. Armine is an author of several peer-reviewed articles, guidebooks, policy briefs, and online learning courses and provided capacity development support in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Kenya. 
Corine Kiame
Chief Investment Officer
IM FNDNG
Corine is the Investment Manager at Insure and Match Capital Holding SAL & Insure and Match Ventures Holding SAL (IM) since April 2015 representing USD 60 Million in assets under management. She supervises the matching & insurance capital process and manages the work of the analytical team.
Prior to joining IM, and for more than 9 years, Ms. Kiame was a Director at SHUAA Capital psc Dubai, UAE, where her responsibilities included Product Development, Strategy and Project Management, and Operations. She also worked as an assistant fund manager on several regional funds representing USD 1 Billion in assets under management, covering fifteen Arab markets.
Dany Yammouni
Consultant
Freelancer
Dany Yammouni is an Agriculture Engineer occupying the position of Head of Beekeeping Department at LARI (Lebanese Agriculture Research Institute) and working as a freelancer on System Implementation (Organic, Global GAP, and GRASP) and consultancy and training delivery on Good Agriculture Practices, Beekeeping, and Sustainable Agriculture.
Dany is a Ph.D. student in MEGEP-France in the field of beekeeping and going through the qualification process as a Global GAP external auditor.
Fadi Makki
Founder & Chairman
Nudge Lebanon
Dr. Fadi Makki is the founder of Nudge Lebanon and currently heads the first behavioral insights and nudge unit in the Middle East – B4Development at the supreme committee for delivery and legacy where he is also an advisor to its Secretary-General.
He pioneered applications of behavioral insights and nudge concepts through RCTs in the Arab region and has more than 25 years of experience in public policy, socio-economic development, behavioral economics, and social entrepreneurship.
He holds research positions at the American University of Beirut and is a member of the WHO’s technical advisory group on behavioral insights for public health.
Fadi Sarkis
CEO
Natagri S.A.L.
Fadi Sarkis is the Chief Executive Officer of NATAGRI S.A.L and a recognized Agribusiness expert and advisor working with international organizations such as the World Bank and Mercy Corps. He also takes part in academics and research as a lecturer and final thesis supervisor at Ecole supérieure d’ingénieurs d’agronomie méditerranéenne of the Faculty of Engineering of Saint-Joseph University.
As an external expert and consultant, Fadi has provided technical and practical training for small farmers on various crops, monitored and evaluated farmer’s activities and provided personalized advice. As for his academic experience, his main expertise is in agricultural practices, practical field training and strategic market studies.
Fady Aziz
Founder & CEO
The Good Thymes
Fady Aziz is the owner and founder of The Good Thymes. He started his career as a designer at Quantum Group where he developed his skills and rose to the top to be the Head of Design. His love for the distinctive savor of Lebanese Zaatar lead him to start an agriculture venture in Kfar-Hoûné where he set up a Zaatar farm. Fady woked with the best chefs and specialists in Beirut to take the wild herb beyond its savory potential. The Good Thymes thrives to be more than the go-to shop for top-grade Zaatar mixes, it is determined to offer a savory voyage around Zaatar, revealing the authentic taste of Lebanon.
Georges Gharios
Founder & Owner
Rawda Farms
Georges Gharios is an Agricultural Engineer and Consultant at the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). He is also a citrus producer with more than 15 years of experience in the development, operation and management of citrus groves and founder of 'Rawda Farms', an innovative agri-food startup revolving around citrus fruits.
Isabelle Saliba
Marketing Manager
Rim Mills
Isabelle Bou Khalife Saliba is the managing partner of Al Berdawni trading, owner of the Golden Son brand. She graduated with a bachelor’s in law from the Lebanese University of Bekaa. Her work experience spans from FMCG management to NGOs and education.
She worked to develop a new branch of the Labora in Zahle, an NGO whose mission is to provide guidance and training to all job seekers and reduce Lebanese migration abroad due to unemployment. She played an essential role in promoting and operating the new branch and was able to provide a variety of services as a teacher to Lebanese students. She is an active member of the Lebanese League for Women in Business – LLWB.
Jacob Waslander
Envoy to the MENA for WEF
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Jacob Waslander is the Dutch envoy to the Middle East and North Africa for Water, Energy and Food. His office is in Amman, Jordan; he works with Dutch embassy teams across the MENA region. Jacob is a results-oriented leader and manager in the field of finance, multilateral affairs and sustainability/ climate action.
He combines strategic vision with a “can-do” attitude towards operational challenges. His strong points include problem solving, teambuilding, “out of the box” thinking, developing policy solutions and mobilizing support for them.
Jean Claude Assaf
Assistant Professor
Université Saint Joseph
Jean-Claude Assaf is a lecturer at the Faculty of Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering at Saint Joseph University and the Lebanese University. He has won several national and international awards including LIRA (Lebanese Industrial Research Achievements) award. His expertise lies in microbiology; particularly in mycotoxins and antimicrobial resistance in addition to his knowledge in chemical process simulation and optimization. Dr. Assaf is the owner of different industrial patents related to mycotoxins detoxification. He is also the editor of two different books and has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals. 
Joelle Hajjar
Co-Founder & Production Manager
Go Baladi
Joelle Hajjar is an Entrepreneur Co-founder and Production Manager at Go Baladi, a leader of the Goat dairy sector in Lebanon. She is a Food Technology Engineer with a master’s degree in food security from Montpellier in France. Joelle is also responsible for the Innovation and product development at Go Baladi.
Joseph Matta
Professor
Université Saint Joseph
Professor Joseph Matta joined the Saint Joseph University Faculty of Pharmacy members, in 2002 and the Lebanese University, Faculty of Sciences, in 2005. He is the Applied Research and Testing Director of the Industrial Research Institute (IRI) and he provided scientific interaction between universities and industries at the local and international levels to ensure multiple projects and research. In addition, he is a lead auditor of the Food Safety Management Systems ISO 22000, Quality and Environmental management systems and the competence of the analysis and testing laboratories (ISO 17025). He published more than 90 international articles.
Karim Dagher
Business Development Strategist
AddBloom
Karim is a marketing and communication strategist and trainer with over 15 years experience in leading digital transformation projects and developing innovative communication strategies across multiple industries. He headed projects in the Middle East and North Africa for both governmental and non-governmental organizations and across several industries (B2B & B2C) including banking, F&B, retail, social/environmental development, donor funded initiatives, technology, tourism, manufacturing, as well as startups. Today, he is leading the business development function at AddBloom where he has developed and implemented more than 200 launches and growth-hacking marketing strategies during the last 4 years. 
Lara El Khoury
Deputy Program Director
Berytech
Lara El Khoury joined Berytech in March 2021 as the Deputy Program Director for the ACT Smart Innovation Hub. Lara is fascinated with Berytech’s out-of-the-box approach to strengthening business advancement, economic growth, and job creation in the Agri-food and Cleantech sectors in Lebanon which motivated her to join the team and provide her vast knowledge of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Leila Sawaya
Project Manager
UNDP
Leila Sawaya is currently project manager of the UNDP Productive sector development project. Previously, she was a UNDP economic advisor for 10 years at IDAL where she played a key role in supporting the institution restructuring, also an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton. Leila holds a Master from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in public administration and Bachelor in Civil Engineering from AUB.
Marc Aoun
CEO & General Manager
Compost Baladi SAL
Marc Aoun is an environmental scientist and the Co-Founder/General Manager of Compost Baladi SAL; a company that provides waste management solutions for residential, commercial and municipal establishments. Marc is also the Founder/General Manager of CubeX, a home scale wastewater and solid waste treatment system that allows households to process all their organic waste on site effortlessly and recover useful resources out of them.
Throughout his academic and professional career in sustainable agricultural practices, Marc has gained invaluable field experience and has worked and trained in controlled environment agriculture, recirculating watering systems and zero-waste projects.
Marc Bou Zeidan
QOOT Cluster Manager
Berytech
Dr. Marc Bou Zeidan is an Agricultural Engineer with a PhD in Food Microbiology and Biotechnology. He is an instructor of Food Engineering courses and the author of 7 peer reviewed scientific articles. Marc is a food industry consultant in quality, research and development solutions, and works with NGOs on projects related to sustainable food production. He is currently the QOOT Cluster Manager.
Mark Smyth
Chief Investment Officer
Cedar Oxygen
Mark Smyth is a global finance executive with more than 25 years of experience in the areas of investment management, corporate lending, and supply-chain finance with leading companies and new ventures across the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
He began his financial career in 1992 with the Bank of Montreal's Harris Trust and Savings Bank and later became a partner with The International Investor of Kuwait. Mark is a frequent speaker on emerging market financial-sector trends and holds a B.S. in Business Management and an M.B.A. in International Finance from DePaul University in Chicago, USA.
Mazen Mousawer
Founder & Director of Marcom
Brandsome
For the past 30 years, Mazen has injected his energy into the Communications and Marketing fields. His educational background being of creative nature, he started in the advertising field as Creative Director, and then managed many Local, Regional and Multinational Ad Agencies, which lead him to head the Strategic Planning and Communications departments.
Mazen had the opportunity to work with multi-disciplined teams to make ideas come to life, leading the Marketing Communications and Creative process for local and multinational accounts, ranging from Luxury to FMCG, through Food, Automotive, Electronics, Pharmaceuticals and Banking.
Mazen Soueid
Chairman and GM
Investment Development Authority of Lebanon
Dr. Mazen Soueid is currently the Chairman and CEO of the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon, the first investment promotion agency in the region. Prior to that, he held several senior posts in government and in the private sector such as Senior Advisor to the Lebanese Prime Minister, and Chief Economist of Bankmed.
From 2000-2006 he was an economist at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC and from 1998-2000 he founded the Early Warning System for emerging markets crisis at Deutsche Bank. He is the author of a bestselling book on the Lebanese economy and a regular commentator for regional and international TV stations.
Michelle Mouracade
Country Director for Lebanon
Al Fanar
Michelle Mouracade is Alfanar's Country Director for Lebanon, the first venture philanthropy organisation in the Arab world that supports growth stage social enterprises with funding, management support, training and access to networks.
Michelle is focused on supporting Alfanar to launch a $50 million Regional Impact Investment Fund to help extend the financing life cycle for successful and promising social enterprises and businesses with impact across the MENA region.
Michelle has 25 years of experience in strategy, HR and organizational consulting across several sectors in the US, Europe and 7 locations in Asia. She is also a very passionate executive coach, certified by HEC France.
Mohamad Fanous
Entrepreneurship Consultant
Berytech
Mohamad Fanous is an entrepreneur in residence at Antler in the Netherlands, a FoodHack Ambassador, a startup mentor, an accelerator program consultant, a university instructor and an overall food-tech and tech-for-good enthusiast.
Mounir Bissat
President
Association of Lebanese Industrialists
Mounir Bissat is the Financial and Administrative Manager of Mounir Bissat Factories and Current Managing Director and Partner of TECMO Industries. Mounir is also the Chairman of the Lebanese Association for Barcoding and was elected Member of the board of Lebanese Food Industries, Member of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce Industry & Agriculture in Saida and South Lebanon and Member of the Board of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists General Secretary of Foreign Affairs. He is also Member of the Board of the Lebanese Packaging Center LIBANPACK. 
Nadine Khoury
COO
Robinson Agri
Nadine el Khoury is the COO of Robinson Agri with a brilliant record of expanding and developing various aspects of the business. Her focus on innovation projected Khoury Group to the forefront of advancing agriculture in Lebanon and was branded as the only socially Responsible Agricultural company following the SDGs.
Nadine currently serves as the President of QOOT Cluster, board member in WLC, external board member in FAFS AUB, member of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists and Byblos Industrialists
Assembly and member of Order of Engineers and Architects of Tripoli.
Nadine Tawk
Business Development -Trade Lead
DAI
Nadine Tawk is a Business Development strategist with an Executive Master's Degree from the Lebanese American University. In addition to being a Business Advisor, Nadine pursued an international escalating career in Telcom, IT Consulting, Fintech and Economic development achieving growth, consistent development and profitability, managing customer needs and expectations. Nadine is currently utilizing her skills in strategic and tactical management, program development and business transformation to help organizations develop, manage and launch successful products and programs.
Nisreen Lahham
Acting Head of MENA Region
International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
Dr. Nisreen Lahham is the Acting Country Representative for IWMI MENA Office, a Regional Project Manager for ReWater MENA Project and Project Leader for WE4F RIH MENA. Dr. Lahham is one of the world’s top-female-futurists, enjoying the transdisciplinary nature of futurism.
Dr. Lahham’s career includes founding the Future Studies Forum for Africa and the Middle East, to promoting strategic ties between Sub-Saharan Africa and the MENA region, through conducting Futures Studies. She has particular knowledge of Urban Planning, including a Ph.D. on Environmental Economics, and authored several publications in peer-reviewed books and journals on urban development, food and water security and foresight.
Patrick Abboud
Operations Manager
Ahead Inspection Lebanon - TUV Austria Partner
Patrick Abboud is an agriculture engineer working in the field of Certification, Inspection and Training for more than 14 years. He’s an approved Lead auditor from TÜV AUSTRIA and a technical expert assigned by Libnor (the Lebanese Standards Institution) for the technical committee NL TC 3019 Good agriculture practices.
Patrick is also a member of international technical committees in Libnor for food packaging, Food hygiene, Organic products, Fruits and vegetables, Pesticide residues, Methods of analysis and sampling, Microbiology, Food additives and Glass containers.
Pierre El Khoury
President
LCEC
Pierre El Khoury is the General Director and President of the Board of the Lebanese Center
for Energy Conservation (LCEC). Pierre has been a member of LCEC for 17 years, starting
as a UNDP officer and then as a founding member.
Throughout his career, Fadi worked on the development of Lebanon’s national energy efficiency and renewable energy action plans and the implementation of national financing mechanisms for renewables. He was involved in the design of the solar water heaters market strategy, actively contributing to having Lebanon ranked among the top 10 countries in the world. 
Ramy Boujawdeh
COO
Berytech
Ramy Boujawdeh joined Berytech in 2014 and is currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO). He has been leading the Incubation and Entrepreneurship Business Development arm that supports innovative Lebanese startups and SMEs, providing Business Support, Mentorship, Coaching, Fundraising, Hosting, Networking and Internationalization and part of Innovation and Entrepreneurship regional programs. He designed and leads the A.C.T. Smart Innovation Hub initiative, a first of its kind in MENA focusing on both Agtech and Cleantech. He is also the manager of the Regional Innovation Hub (RIH) in the MENA Region for the Water and Energy for Food (WE4F) challenge fund.
Richardos Lebbos
Founder
Starchy
Richardos Lebbos is the founder and CTO of Startchy, a research and development house industrializing a novel natural, organic and edible coating that extends the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Richardos is an IVLP agriculture trade and food safety alumni and holder of a master’s in applied biochemistry and currently pursuing his PhD. He was voted Agripreneur of the year 2017 and selected by MB100 for being between top 100 worldwide leaders.
Rima Manneh
Associate Professor
University of Balamand
Dr. Manneh is an associate professor at the Chemical Engineering Department at UOB. She held the position of head of the Chemical Engineering Department for 3 years between 2019 and 2022. She obtained a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from McGill University. She then completed a Master of Applied Sciences and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Polytechnique Montreal. While pursuing her Ph.D. degree, she has won the award for Best Lecturer in Chemical Engineering at Polytechnique.
Recently, she has created the first Life Cycle Center in Lebanon to encourage partnership between the academic and industrial sectors. She is a member of the “Order of Engineers Beirut”, the “Life Cycle Initiative”, and the “Environmental Management” committee of the Lebanese Standards Institution.
Rodrigue El Balaa
Director - AVCDC
University of Balamand
Dr. Rodrigue El Balaa holds a PhD in Agricultural Engineering from ENSAIA - Nancy - France in Agricultural Value Chains Sustainability. In 2012, he joined the University of Balamand as the chair of the department of Agriculture at the Issam Fares Faculty of Technology and has been since involved in developing the agricultural sector in Northern Lebanon. He founded the Agricultural Value Chain Development Center and has been directing it to actively lead and participate in agricultural development projects in collaboration with international donors.
Rodrigue pursued many Technology Transfer projects and is currently working on Industry-Academia collaboration projects.
Roger Van Hoesel
Managing Partner
Ecosystem Navigators
Roger Van Hoesel became director of the Foodvalley organization in 2004. Since then, Foodvalley has developed into one of the leading innovation hubs for the agri food wordwide being at the forefront of many national and international collaborations. In 2008, Roger was identified as one of the key figures in the Dutch AgriFood sector, also involved in setting up food clusters inside and outside Europe.
In 2020, he co-founded Ecosystem Navigators. This international partnership utilizes the power of top-level seasoned experts in the field of innovation in AgriFoodTech, working in the world’s innovation hotspots. In addition, Roger acts as a board member at Roots Innovation Hub and The National Week Without Meat. Moveover, he is active as an advisor to several national and international food programs.
Roy Noujaim
Partner & CEO
Agrifresh
Roy is a global Finance and Operational Leader with over 12 years of proven finance, commercial, and management experience, including multiple international assignments. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Agrifresh, a company that mainly produces fresh-cut ready-to-eat vegetables with a portfolio of 250+ business accounts across all regions in Lebanon and 10,000+ consumer accounts.
Before joining Agrifresh, Roy was based in Paris, France, leading the Commercial Finance team of GE Renewables -Hydro. In his role, Roy had to partner directly with the commercial teams in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, and CIS to negotiate and close customer contracts for the Hydro business.
Roy Saab
Advisor
Kobayat Coop
Development and private sector semi-retiree with diverse board and partner portfolio in consultancy, enablement, education, agriculture, and social impact. Currently supporting resilience of the local community in Kobayat by virtue of belonging and social responsibility. 
Saad Maakaron
Director Business Development
Green Essence Lebanon
Saad Maakaron is a mechanical engineer with a master's in mechatronics. He co-founded 'emarts' specialized in renewable energy and then moved to China to join a team developing and upgrading technology for the hot rolling of steel. A decade later, Saad moved back to Lebanon to rejoin ‘emarts' and grew it into “Green Essence”, a startup committed to bringing the benefits of solar to everyone, helping businesses and individuals all over Lebanon to switch to sustainable energy.
Saad Sabrah
Country Manager - Lebanon
IFC
Saad Sabrah is a Senior Official at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. Saad is currently assigned as IFC Country Head and Resident Representative for Lebanon.
Before joining the IFC in 2004, Saad worked as Management Consultant at the strategy practice of KPMG Consulting as well as at NDC Group Advisory Services practice in the USA. In that capacity, he advised senior management of multinational corporations in a wide range of industries on business strategy and investment decisions as well as advised government clients and public agencies on business process and foreign investment competitiveness issues.
Said Gedeon
Deputy GM & Head of Services & Agriculture Department
Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Zahle – Bekaa
Said Gedeon is the Deputy General Manager and Head of Services and Agricultural Development Department at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Zahle – Bekaa. He is focused mainly on the coordination of development projects funded by local and international donors aiming to support the local economy, in addition to the supervision of the Agricultural Extension, Agro-food Laboratory and Quality services and facilitating BDS for SMEs. 
Salah Malaeb
CEO
Del Libano
Salah A. Malaeb is a Lebanese entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience in software development, teaching, management, and business experience in the United States, Italy, Lebanon, Kuwait, KSA, and Egypt
He is the member of the SIAE (Italian Authors & Editors Society) after publishing Prosper: Integrated Project Management Software"". Salah is currently managing TeknoBuild Software, and Del Libano pasta factory, the first of its kind in Lebanon.
Salim Maalouf
Animal Porduction
Ministry of Agriculture
Salim Maalouf has more than 26 years of experience in animal production, farm management and rural development with many international organization, governmental institutions and private sector like ministry of agriculture, international fund for agricultural development (IFAD) and food and agriculture organization of united nation (FAO)
In addition to his work in the management of medium and large farms, he worked with small farmers within the framework of agricultural extension program, also in the management of herds on national level and animal registration and identification system. Worked in the development of extension strategies in the field of animal production with IFAD projects and training for more than 400 farmers on dairy farm management and animal husbandry with several national and international organizations.
Salim Zwein
Founder & Director
IZRAA
Salim Zwein is a quality management consultant and auditor for ISO 9001, HACCP, ISO 22000 GAP. Trainer, educator and public speaker on energy sustainability (TEDx Beirut 2012), soil protection and science in society. Founder of Elysium (IZRAA) an NGO initiative aimed at promoting and implementing sustainable modes of living and agriculture resilience. Active in the agricultural scene to promote COOP building and proper farmer aggregation work.
Sami Atallah
Founding Director
The Policy Initiative
Dr. Sami Atallah is the Founding Director and Head of Research at The Policy Initiative. He is trained in economics and political science, and was the director of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies from January 2011 till December 2020.
He led several policy studies on political and social sectarianism, the performance of parliament, government monitoring, electoral behavior, the role of municipalities in dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis, municipal finance, economic diversification and industrial policy, and oil and gas governance. He also has several policy and academic publications.
Sandra Sarkis
Manager Lebanon SoftShore Cluster
Industrial Research Institute
Sandra Sarkis is a program manager at ELCIM-Industrial Research Institute with a large experience in the field of agrofood, innovation and technology transfer. Sandra is currently undertaking her PhD in Health & Sciences-USJ and is the founder of Start-Leb which aims to produce a new type of Starter Cultures in Lebanon.
Semi Hakim
Co-Founder & CEO
Kök Projekt
After his graduation in Tourism Management, Semi Hakim continued his career as a chef after receiving his professional culinary training in Istanbul. During his time as a chef, he worked together with consulates on gastro diplomacy projects, with food & beverage companies on food events across the globe, and conducted food & culture research projects with various stakeholders. Furthermore, coordinated European Union-funded projects focused on small-scale agri-food producers in Turkey.
Since 2015, Semi Hakim, with the role of CEO, led Kök Projekt’s initiatives on entrepreneurship programs development, ecosystem building activities, private and public partnerships development within Turkey, and Emerging Markets.
Soha Nasser
Agri-food Specialist
Berytech
Soha joined Berytech in October 2020 as Agri-Food Specialist. She worked for more than six years in product development and R&D for different food companies in Lebanon. As a food processing engineer, she chooses to focus her career on innovation.
Soumaya Merhi
Founder & Owner
TAQA Snacks
Soumaya Merhi is a Lebanese entrepreneur who founded TAQA snacks, a pioneer in producing GMO-free and vegan healthy snacks. Driven by values rooted in circular economies and sustainability, she uses TAQA snacks as a vehicle to create awareness in order to leave a positive impact on the community and planet. Today TAQA snacks is a leading brand in the Food and Beverage industry in Lebanon and is distributed across Lebanon, the Gulf, Canada and recently the US.
Tina Boustany
Head of Grants and Financial Controls – WE4F MENA
Berytech
Tina El Boustany joined Berytech in September 2020 as the Head of Grants and Financial Controls for the WE4F MENA Regional Innovation Hub. She plays a key role in the design, development, and oversight of the Grant management and TA procurement policies, procedures, and practices.
Ziad Holaihel
Business Development Consultancy - Managing Director
Melius Consultancy
Ziad Holaihel is an accomplished senior Business Development Consultant with extensive experience in Sales & Marketing, Management & Operations. He launched and developed several emerging and advanced markets, trained, and led successful teams representing in sales, marketing, and operation.
During his Career, he served as Deputy General Manager, Regional Director, and Business Development Manager for several regional firms and projects, such as Neuhauser Middle East & Africa, Cherrypik Investments Ltd.
THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO
THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO THE EXPO
Explore opportunities with multiple agri-food support programs & discover budding startups
Discover more than 10 local and regional agri-food programs managed by Berytech and learn about the different value each can offer you in your journey from launching your idea, to scaling, funding, and accessing new markets.
The expo also features a selection of highly innovative startups showcasing technology-driven agri-food solutions.
Agrytech
Sourcing startups with innovative solutions in the agri-food sector and providing them with the resources and support to launch and scale.
BESTMEDGRAPE
Turning waste from wine making into valuable and innovative commercial health products while supporting at the same time the creation of new businesses.
Berytech Fab Lab
Empowering makers to create, fabricate, and transform their ideas into working prototypes and innovative products with the latest digital manufacturing technologies.
Food System Challenge
Providing business and financial support to sustain and grow SMEs with the aim of solving core challenges in the agri-food sector in Lebanon.
Italian Trade Agency (ITA)
A governmental agency that supports the business development of companies abroad and promotes the attraction of foreign investment in Italy.
Lebanon Export Academy
Equipping Lebanese businesses with the needed skills to sustain their operations, enter new markets, and expand globally.
NEX-LABS
Contributing to the creation of a sustainable and resilient agri-food sector based on NEXUS driven Open Living Labs approach.
PHEMAC
Aiming to develop and disseminate an interactive platform to profile best practices relating to the agricultural, water and food sectors in the Euro-Mediterranean area.
QOOT Cluster
Creating the ideal environment for agri-food businesses to strengthen their expertise, fuel their ideas, build fruitful partnerships, and establish themselves in new markets.
SAFI
Scaling of agri-food and agriculture solutions to reduce import dependency and increase competitiveness locally and internationally.
TRANSDAIRY
Improving Dairy Value Chains across the Mediterranean through supporting the creation of startups, registration of patents and the creation of Living Labs.
UNICEF
A United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide.
WE4F
Supporting mid-to-late stage enterprises to scale innovations that positively impact food security in an environmentally sustainable way.
AgriCom
An online marketplace enabling supply aggregation from small farmers to agri-food businesses.
Beirut Roma Beirut
A Lebanese brand of fresh-made pasta using locally sourced ingredients.
Breeze
Lebanese Icecream made from grape waste, eco-friendly and healthy, with polyphenols reducing the risk of many diseases.
Brightleb
A high-quality Lebanese toothpaste at an affordable price.
Crowdfarming Lebanon
A crowdfunding platform providing farmers with an alternative source of funding.
Cyclone IT
A blockchain traceability solution that traces and tracks each product to its origin as it travels through the supply chain.
DiasGum
Gummies formulated from polyphenols, efficient in fighting diabetes and obesity.
Dooda Solutions
A women-led earthworm farm specialized in producing high-quality solid and liquid vermicompost.
Dry & Raw
A unique food boutique concept that provides premium natural and organic food products and produces artisanal EU, UK and US cheeses using mostly free-range milk.
Emm El Khayrat
A family-owned business that produces a variety of preservative-free cheeses and dairy foods maintaining their authentic identity.
Fattoria Del Sole
An artisanal factory of fresh Italian cheese producing more than 17 different kinds of Formaggio.
Garbaliser
A startup working on converting household food waste to natural gas and fertilizer.
GO Baladi
A new venture producing a range of conventional, certified organic goat dairy products made from local goat milk.
Grains And Pulses
A healthy fast-to-cook product for people with dietary restrictions.
Hydrek
Turnkey solutions for home scale and large scale precision farming projects offering a simple and affordable system that is easy to store and operate and is almost maintenance-free.
La Vallée Blanche
A place to connect with local villagers to buy fresh dairy products.
Smart Land
A barely sprouting fodder done through a fully-automated and protected room that provides sheep feeding all year long with a balanced and sufficient mixture.
NaturaChem
A natural ingredient from agro-food waste replacing synthetic ingredients in cosmetic products.
PiUPA
A powder derived through drying and grinding grape skins and used in recipes to boost flavor, color and nutritional benefits of food.
Pure Farms
An indoor vertical farming system that uses hydroponics to eliminate the use of pesticides.
Skaff Dairy Farm
A dairy farm that provides the local market with quality dairy products produced with milk from their own cows.
Spreadly
Manufacturer of nut-based spreads that are simple, healthy, and delicious.
The Mountain Farm
High-quality cheese made in Lebanon reflecting the unique flavors of traditional cheese from all over the world.
WashBeat
A natural shampoo for daily use made from 90% locally available materials with zero-waste packaged in recycled bottles.
Xtend
An organic solution that extends the shelf-life of fresh products.
Yummi Tummi
A healthy, nutritious, and additive-free baby food.
WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS
WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS
Update your knowledge and learn new business concepts
The list of workshops proposed throughout the three days cover a vast array of subjects allowing you to update your knowledge on essential business skills, practices and trends in the agri-food sector, with particular insights to concepts in food security and sustainability applied in the region.
DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY
DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY DEMO DAY
Hear promising agri-food startups share their disruptive solutions & visions
Startups enrolled in the Agrytech Accelerator Program will debut their products and services for the first time to the public. For the past six months, the eight startups have worked to solve agri-food challenges across the entire value-chain with the plan to scale internationally.
AgriCom
An online marketplace enabling supply aggregation from small farmers to agri-food businesses.
Beirut Roma Beirut
A Lebanese brand of fresh-made pasta using locally sourced ingredients.
Crowdfarming Lebanon
A crowdfunding platform providing farmers with an alternative source of funding.
Dooda Solutions
A women-led earthworm farm specialized in producing high-quality solid and liquid vermicompost.
Grains And Pulses
A healthy fast-to-cook product for people with dietary restrictions.
NaturaChem
A natural ingredient from agro-food waste replacing synthetic ingredients in cosmetic products.
Xtend
An organic solution that extends the shelf-life of fresh products.
Yummi Tummi
A healthy, nutritious, and additive-free baby food.
NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING
NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING
Network with leading agri-food businesses & professionals
Industry experts, academia, and professionals, just like you, are there to make things happen. Every scheduled activity during the 3-day event is designed to get you talking, making introductions, offering collaborations, and connecting to the person, skill or solution that you are looking for.
In parallel, our knowledge partners will be holding private matchmaking activities and will meet up with the program’s beneficiaries across the three days.
CO-HOSTED WITH HORECA CONNECTS CO-HOSTED WITH HORECA CONNECTS CO-HOSTED WITH HORECA CONNECTS
CO-HOSTED WITH HORECA CONNECTS CO-HOSTED WITH HORECA CONNECTS CO-HOSTED WITH HORECA CONNECTS
Two large events in one — Attend #AFID2022 & HORECA CONNECTS
#AFID2022 is happening in parallel with HORECA CONNECTS, the strategic meeting point for hospitality and foodservice professionals from across the region — featuring open talks led by entrepreneurs, experts and key figures in restaurants and hotels.
REGISTER FOR FREE REGISTER FOR FREE REGISTER FOR FREE REGISTER FOR FREE REGISTER FOR FREE
REGISTER FOR FREE REGISTER FOR FREE REGISTER FOR FREE REGISTER FOR FREE REGISTER FOR FREE
Get your free all-access ticket to #AFID2022 & HORECA CONNECTS
* Preventive measures against COVID-19 will be implemented to ensure you enjoy the event safely.
#AFID2022
BEIRUT · MARCH 22/23/24
The Agri-Food Innovation Days 2022 event is organized by Berytech in partnership with QOOT Cluster, funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lebanon, with the support of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) and ENI CBC MED, co-hosted during HORECA Connects.
MAIN PARTNERS
KNOWLEDGE PARTNERS
BOOSTER PARTNERS
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
This event is organized as part of Berytech’s mission to promote the agri-food sector in Lebanon and its commitment to applying the Sustainable Development Goals.
Berytech © 2022