VIRTUAL CLEANTECH INNOVATION DAY 2021
TUE. JULY 27 · THE DAY TO NETWORK PITCH INVEST LEARN DISCOVER
Join industry leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs, startups, investors, researchers, students, and visionaries who will meet online to exchange the most exciting innovations and opportunities in the cleantech sector.
Berytech, with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lebanon, is organizing the first edition of the Cleantech Innovation Day 2021.
The event will be virtual, and this could only mean one thing: You can join us from anywhere in the world! Meet experts from across the cleantech sector, network with new businesses and investors, build strategic partnerships, and learn about new innovations in the sector.
DISCUSSION PANEL · 2:00 TILL 3:45 PM
Findings of the Think Tanks
Challenges and Policy Recommendations for the Cleantech sector in Lebanon
Through the ACT Smart Innovation Hub initiative, Berytech is proposing policy reforms and establishing lobbying and coordination structures that would impact the Lebanese economy on the long run. The Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs of the American University of Beirut has been brought on board to support the process of ecosystem development. It hosted the working groups on Waste, Energy and Water and developed white papers on all three sectors.
With the working groups, the discussions helped in setting the scene and preparing the ground for participating SMEs to share the obstacles they are facing in these challenging times, and that are hindering the channeling of any reform plan, or any trial to enable an innovative business environment. These challenges mainly revolved around policy, fiscal and technical aspects.
SMEs and non-SMEs have then prioritized those challenges based on their importance to improve an enabling environment for innovation, their urgency of action, the impact they would have on the business as well as their potential in creating a ripple effect on the overall business landscape.
Having a set of prioritized challenges in hand, and through consecutive discussions with the SMEs and non-SMEs, potential leads were identified which could pave the way not only to overcome the current consecutive crises, but to enable the business environment for innovation in the cleantech sector.
Those leads revolved around much needed reforms and policy actions that the concerned ministries, public institutions and governmental bodies are invited to consider, discuss their applicability and take necessary steps towards their implementation.
Join us for an exciting discussion panel with the experts who led the working groups along with representatives from the concerned ministries to go over the outcomes and policies recommendations concluded from the study.
MEET THE SPEAKERS
Suzy Hoayek
Suzy Hoayek is a hydraulic engineer with more than 13 years of experience in the water sector. Following her graduation, she worked with Dar Al Handasa Shair & Partners in the Resources & Environment department, enabling her to extend her technical knowledge and expertise in water and wastewater. In 2014 she obtained an International Masters from AgroParistech in the Management and Treatment of Water & Wastewater before joining the Ministry of Energy and Water as an advisor for the water sector. Currently, she manages and coordinates the update of the National Water Sector Strategy and the implementation of the reforms in the water sector. Suzy is a pioneer in the water sector and strives every day to make water in Lebanon more accessible to every citizen and a source of wealth to the Lebanese Government.
Nisrine Hougeiry
Nisrine Hougeiry holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in environmental technologies with almost 25 years of professional experience in overseeing and delivering a large portfolio of environmental projects in GCC and the MENA regions. Her areas of expertise include environmental planning and permitting, solid waste strategic planning, design and management (municipal, industrial, construction and demolition, etc.), sustainability solutions, air quality control and management, and environmental auditing and monitoring. Currently, she is the Director of Environmental and Sustainability Services at LACECO. She is also a founding member and the Vice President of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) – Lebanon Chapter.
Marc Ayoub
Marc Ayoub is the coordinator of the Energy Policy and Security Program and an Energy researcher at the AUB Issam Fares institute for Public Policy and International Affairs. His work in Lebanon revolves around influencing policy making through evidence-based research. Specifically, he advocated a national energy policy that utilizes renewables as a centerpiece of the energy mix rather than just a policy add-on. He’s been involved in producing energy mix scenarios, mapping of available public lands and conducting techno-economic assessment of renewable energy projects, including a 300MW of solar PV power plant in the Tfail region. His research also tackles subjects at the interface of water and energy sectors, focusing on energy efficiency measures in water and wastewater services in Lebanon, as well as areas of anti-corruption evidence in Lebanon’s energy sector. He is currently coordinating the Cleantech working groups on Energy, Waste and Water working as think-tanks under the ACT Smart Initiative by Berytech.
Marc received a BSc and MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Balamand (2014), and a BSc in Chemistry from the Lebanese University (2011).
Bassam Sabbagh
With more than 20 years of experience working in the Ministry of Environment, and over nine years leading the Urban Environment Service at the Ministry, Bassam Sabbagh worked closely with many Ministers of Environment and became the focal point of many projects such as: REMED – Cerema, SWM response to Syrian Refugees and the Rehabilitation of Saida Dumpsite.
Bassam has a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil and Public Work from the USJ and He is a member of the Order of Engineers and Architects in Beirut.
Georges Gharios
Georges Gharios is a PhD Candidate in Water Law at the University of Dundee in Scotland, UK since 2016. His work focuses on ancient water laws, traditional knowledge, legal pluralism, and social water arrangements. He is particularly interested in customs and practices of water conservation in Lebanon and on water diplomacy in the Levant. Georges has also expertise in International land and water management, Integrated Water Resources Management, Water Reform, and Water Users’ Associations. Georges is an independent consultant in agriculture and water issues and has produced reports and consultations for several international organizations such as the FAO, UNDP, UNESCWA, USAID, Geneva Water Hub, etc. Gharios has several published journal articles and presented at conferences related to the topic of water laws and governance. He was also a lecturer on water law, water policy, water politics, and soil sciences. He holds a Master of Science in International Land and Water Management (2009) from Wageningen University and Research Center in the Netherlands. He is an active member of the International Water Association (IWA), the Arab Integrated Water Resources Management Network (AWARENET), and the Mediterranean Water Youth Network (MedYWat). Georges is committed to share his knowledge and skills to support the Global Observatory on Water and Peace.
Pierre El Khoury
Pierre El Khoury is the General Director and President of the Board of the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC), Lebanon’s national energy agency hosted by the Ministry of Energy and Water. El Khoury has been a member of LCEC for 16 years, starting as a UNDP officer and then as a founding member of the LCEC. Throughout his career with LCEC, El Khoury worked on the development of Lebanon’s national energy efficiency and renewable energy action plans, the NEEREA national financing mechanism, and the solar water heaters market strategy.
He is involved in all activities related to sustainable energy at the Ministry of Energy and Water since 2009, he is the secretary of the World Energy Council (WEC) Lebanon Committee, and also a Board of Trustees’ member representing Lebanon in the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE). He is the national focal point of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Lebanon.
El Khoury serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lebanon Green Building Council (LGBC) Arz Rating System, a member of the Advisory Board of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the American University of Beirut (AUB), a member of the Advisory Board of the Electrical Engineering Department at Beirut Arab University (BAU), and a member of the Advisory Board of the AUB Pro-Green Diploma Program.
El Khoury holds a Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master degree in Engineering Management, both from the American University of Beirut (AUB). He is a member of the Order of Engineers and Architects in Beirut.
PITCHING · 4:00 TILL 6:00 PM
STARTUPS DEMO
Watch promising startups innovating in the Cleantech sector present their solutions for the first time
UNDER THE PROGRAM
Startups enrolled in the Cleanergy Accelerator Program will debut their products and services for the first time to the public. For the past eleven months, and despite all the challenges they faced, the eight startups have worked to develop their solutions solving challenges in the cleantech sector, using science and technology, with the plan to grow and scale. Join us to hear more about their innovations and growth plans.
MEET THE STARTUPS
NETWORKING · 2:00 TILL 6:00 PM
NETWORKING
Grow your professional network
In parallel to ongoing activities, use the Cleantech Innovation Platform to connect with like-minded professionals, startup founders, investors, researchers, and students. The virtual networking wall will be open for introductions, shared ideas, professional discussions and industry talk.
The Virtual Cleantech Innovation Day 2021 is organized under the ACT Smart Innovation Hub initiative, a new out-of-the-box approach by Berytech and co-funded by the Kingdom of The Netherlands, aimed at strengthening business advancement, economic growth and job creation in the Agri-food and Cleantech sectors in Lebanon.
With the unwavering support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 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.
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