Mimo Ishak is an agronomic engineer with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering from the Holy Spirit University, graduating in 2001. Following this, he was awarded a scholarship to pursue postgraduate studies in Food Technology at CIHEAM – Greece (MAICh). After returning to his home country, he began his career at an Italian certification body, previously known as Istituto Mediterraneo di Certificazione, which later merged with another certification body, CCPB s.r.l (www.ccpb.it). He worked as an agro-food inspector for various schemes, including organic, HACCP, Global GAP, and food safety schemes, for six continuous years.
In June 2014, he joined the Ministry of Industry as a food inspector in the Department of Permitting, where he supports the agro-food sector in complying with national and international standards and continues to hold this position.
He has also collaborated with Wageningen University and Research Institute in the Netherlands on topics such as food safety, food loss and waste, urban food security, and making agriculture work for food security and nutrition.
Given that the Lebanon Innovate project aims to support innovations and technologies across three main industrial sectors—agro-food, healthcare, and IT—Mimo sees joining the KIC as an opportunity to play a significant role in addressing deficiencies in Lebanon’s scientific research and development systems. He believes that transforming technology transfer activities into a core strength for the national ecosystem will be crucial. Additionally, the KIC will foster collaboration among businesses, universities, research institutions, and government agencies, supporting economic development, job creation, and regional competitiveness.