The ACT Smart Innovation Hub is a new out-of-the-box approach by Berytech aimed at strengthening business advancement and job creation in the Agri-food and Cleantech sectors in Lebanon.
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As the name implies, the ACT Smart (Agri-Food & CleanTech) Innovation Hub is a new out-of-the-box approach by Berytech aimed at strengthening business advancement, economic growth and job creation in the Agri-food and Cleantech sectors in Lebanon.
With generous funding from the Kingdom of The Netherlands, and their renewed trust, Berytech is now taking a sector-wide approach for economic growth by stimulating innovators and entrepreneurs to put their creativity and energy at the service of Agri-food and Cleantech sectors and encouraging them to develop local solutions to the environmental and food security challenges faced by the Lebanese and refugee communities.
Berytech has articulated four pillars under the ACT Smart Innovation Hub, all with the support of like-minded organization from the Netherlands.
Converting innovative ideas to growing businesses supporting job creation and economic growth.
Strengthening the Agri-Food private Sector, by increasing innovation practices, strengthening resilience, and international competitiveness.
Supporting the creation of work groups to lobby for better enabling innovation and investment landscape.
Encouraging the generation and commercialization of Lebanese intellectual property in partnership with leading academic and research institutions
The novelty of Berytech’s ACT Smart Innovation Hub approach is fourfold
The Kingdom of The Netherlands has co-funded the initiative over the next two years.
The Netherlands supports programs that are aimed at strengthening the Lebanese social infrastructure and improving prospects for the Lebanese.
Indeed, the current situation in Lebanon shows even more than before that innovation and job creation for youth are needed.
“Berytech’s ACT Smart Innovation Hub offers the opportunity to youth from different parts of Lebanon to work towards a better future for their country.”
H.E. Jan Waltmans – Former Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lebanon
36 months
Sep. 2019 to Aug. 2022
2
accelerator programs
4
startup batches
200
direct job opportunities
400
indirect job opportunities
50%
linked to youth
25%
linked to women
3
Cleantech think tank groups
4
US$25,000 IP grantees
New like-minded institutions have been brought on board to support the process of ecosystem development: the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs of the American University of Beirut is in charge of hosting the working groups on Waste, Energy and Water, as well as developing a paper on Sustainable Agriculture.
The Euro-Lebanese Centre For Industrial Modernisation (ELCIM) of the National Industrial Research Institute is in charge of mobilizing Academia and Research institutions to work on commercializing IP for Industry.
A set of Memoranda of Understanding are being signed with major universities and professional bodies in view of creating synergies with the different ACT Smart Innovation Hub components, beyond the strict boundaries of the acceleration component. For example, universities will be encouraged to direct final year students in STEM degrees to design their final year projects to benefit from ACT Smart Innovation Hub support.
Implementing Partners
Supporting Partners
Community Partners
The Advisory Board consists of prominent professionals, with the main role of advising the Program’s administration and assisting in formulating and implementing its strategic priorities. The Board members also play an important role in setting the initiative’s standards and providing feedback on the market. Moreover, the Advisory Board is an integral component of the Initiative’s linkage to the Agri-Food and Cleantech sectors; the members act as ambassadors within their communities and beyond.
Chairperson of the Department of Agricultural Engineering Technology at the Issam Fares Faculty of Technology of the University of Balamand
The team includes professionals in their sectors, backed by Berytech’s community.
If you have any questions about Berytech’s ACT Smart Innovation Hub Initiative, please email us on community@berytech.org, and we will get back to you.
As a member of the Global Compact Network Lebanon, Berytech enacts the 10 principles of the UNGC and the ACT Smart Innovation Hub Initiative falls under Berytech’s mission to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Berytech is the ecosystem for entrepreneurs, providing a dynamic environment for the creation and development of startups and SMEs, fostering innovation, technology and entrepreneurship in Lebanon.
Berytech Mathaf
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