Cairo-(BNEWS)- The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Palestine hosted the Regional CleanTech Investment Event - Clean Technology Solutions for Gaza Strip’s Early Recovery and Reconstruction and Green Economic Revitalization of West Bank in Cairo, a pioneering initiative aimed at promoting the transformative power of clean technologies for early recovery, reconstruction and economic revitalization in post-conflict scenarios, and facilitating connections between Palestinian cleantech entrepreneurs and Egyptian and regional investors. The event, organized under UNIDO’s MOUSTADAMA Programme, which is funded by the European Union and implemented in partnership with the Ministry of National Economy and in collaboration with the Palestinian Energy and Nature Resources Authority (PENRA), sought to promote investment in sustainable solutions focused on the early recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the green economic recovery of West Bank.
Conducted in partnership with the European Union Representative Office in Jerusalem and the Ministry of National Economy of the State of Palestine, the event featured two sessions. The first session showcased insights from high-level speakers, including representatives from the United Nations UNIDO, and the European Union, who discussed the pivotal role of cleantech in fostering innovative economic development, particularly in developing countries and post-conflict areas. The second session highlighted a group of Palestinian startups –Agriotech, Aquai, Eco-Bricks, Daleel Key, Flowless, Free Wind Turbine, Glean for Sorting and Recycling, Green Agri Pal, Ice Tech, Green Agri Pal, Nanotechnology for Water Systems and Environment, Palgy, Plastic to Fuel Gaza, Sustain Tech, Solar Food and Syngas – as they pitched their innovative solutions and growth models.
The Gaza Strip, devastated by unprecedented military operations since October 2023, is grappling with a dire humanitarian crisis. Critical infrastructure, including housing, energy, water, sanitation, industry, health, and education facilities, has been severely affected, posing enduring challenges to recovery and reconstruction efforts. Urgent action on the ground is essential to meet the pressing needs of the people of Gaza, while support is needed to provide the West Bank's private sector and institutions with the means to overcome the severe economic stagnation it is currently experiencing.
Amidst these challenges, Cleantech and Greentech solutions emerge as pivotal drivers of Gaza's early recovery and reconstruction efforts, offering sustainable alternatives to address immediate infrastructure needs while fostering long-term resilience. Renewable energy sources hold the potential to alleviate severe electricity shortages, ensuring a reliable and sustainable energy supply for homes, businesses, and essential services. The integration of green technologies in the reconstruction process promotes environmentally conscious restoration, emphasizing sustainability in construction, energy efficiency, and eco-friendly infrastructure development. For investors, investing in the cleantech sector represents an opportunity to support social and environmental-conscious startups with significant growth potential, particularly in post-conflict contexts.
During the opening remarks, the esteemed speakers shared remarkable insights on how the private sector can drive economic recovery through sustainable solutions that not only regenerate the environment but also support the most vulnerable communities.
“The clean technology solutions presented today by Palestinian start-ups are an example of resilience and innovation, demonstrating their ability to seize opportunities and maximize results. These startups represent inclusive entrepreneurship, led by skilled and creative women and men, with a goal to stimulate job creation. We welcome these start-ups that can make a difference not only in Palestine but also in Egypt and the region. As such, UNIDO Egypt is committed to facilitating this partnership and supporting the development of networking opportunities.” - Mr. Patrick Jean GILABERT, Representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in Egypt
Building on this sentiment, Mr. Muhannad HADI emphasized the broader impact of these initiatives. "This pioneering initiative underscores the pivotal role of green and agile cleantech solutions in offering emergency and early recovery responses, once able to implement on the ground. It also emphasizes the importance of building back better the economy and urban fabric of the Gaza Strip, as well as in revitalizing the economy of the West Bank, particularly amidst the ongoing challenges." – Mr. Muhannad HADI, Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations Palestine
Mr. Ibrahim LAAFIA further highlighted the economic urgency and the role of sustainable energy. “The current unprecedented crisis has contributed to a swift increase of the energy cost, namely for businesses and industries, which has worsened the Palestinian economic outlook. This obliges Palestinian public and private sector to focus on sustainable energy solutions, which can be an excellent tool to mitigate the effect of the crisis and boost competitiveness of Palestinian industrial sector. The dynamic Palestinian Cleantech and Greentech start-ups supported by MOUSTADAMA are the best actors that can provide a response by conceiving very innovative solutions that will be presented at Regional CleanTech Investment Event in Cairo.” – Mr. Ibrahim LAAFIA, Head of Cooperation, EUREP Jerusalem
Complementing this view, Mr. Ahmad Haj HASAN pointed to the strategic initiatives for innovation and market access. “Strengthening innovation capacity, facilitating technology transfer, and promoting market access are at the heart of the Palestine Investment Promotion and Industrial Estates Agency’s mission. Its strategy aligns with the vision pushed by UNIDO’s Palestine CleanTech Innovation Program, aiming to enhance industry competitiveness through innovative and resilient cleantech ideas. This approach is pivotal for advancing not only green transition but also fostering sustainable recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, together with the green economic revitalization of the West Bank.” – Mr. Ahmad Haj HASAN, CEO of the Palestine Investment Promotion and Industrial Estates Agency (IPIEA)
In conclusion, Mr. Ahmed ELFARRA encapsulated the overarching goal and collaborative effort needed: “We are committed to leveraging cleantech for the early recovery and reconstruction of Gaza, aiming to revitalize the economy, including the West Bank, and restore hope for the future. The innovative solutions proposed by startups offer dual benefits of environmental restoration and economic repurposing. These solutions address the critical nexus of the energy, food, and water sectors, presenting opportunities to rebuild infrastructure and boost food production under challenging conditions. It is essential to empower Palestinians to implement these solutions, capitalizing on their unique understanding of the local context. To support this initiative, our goal is to create a collaborative platform with partners to develop and deploy these solutions, not only in Palestine but also in other conflict-affected areas” – Mr. Ahmed ELFARRA, Senior Programme Officer – HoPO Palestine, UNIDO.
UNIDO's mission in Palestine concluded the following day with a busy agenda of appointments with investors and business leaders. The schedule included various meetings aimed at fostering new investment opportunities for startups and strengthening commercial relations within the wider regional network. These efforts highlight our commitment to supporting startups in their growth and scaling up, driving sustainable economic development in Gaza and Palestine.
ABOUT THE MOUSTADAMA PROGRAMME
MOUSTADAMA, which translates to "sustainable" in Arabic, represents a comprehensive five-year program extending until 2024. Its core mission is to boost competitiveness within Palestine's industrial sector by actively advocating for and facilitating the adoption of sustainable energy solutions.
The MOUSTADAMA Programme aims to set the foundations for a conducive renewable energy and energy efficiency ecosystem for Palestinian industry by developing policy, expertise, and clean technology innovations that will help to alleviate chronic energy shortages and high costs of electricity that have been the reality in Palestine for decades.
With a primary focus on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the furniture, food and agribusiness, metal, construction, and garment among other priority sectors identified in Palestine, MOUSTADAMA facilitates the operationalization and enforcement of energy efficiency and renewable energy guidelines, supports demonstration projects showcasing the benefits of locally driven, innovative sustainable energy solutions, and promotes the scaling-up of these solutions in the industrial sector. MOUSTADAMA contributes to the global environment through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use among targeted industries.
The Programme comprises four interconnected elements:
- Strengthen the policy and regulatory environment for RE/EE in the industrial sector,
- Develop local capacity to design and implement RE/EE projects in the industrial sector, thus promoting green job creation in the energy sector,
- Create demand for clean energy technologies in the industrial sector, supporting the green economy agenda, and
- Foster innovation and entrepreneurship in the clean technology sector.
The Programme is funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in partnership with the Ministry of National Economy (MNE) and in cooperation with the Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority (PENRA).
Regional CleanTech Investment Event in Cairo - THE PANELISTS
Following the insightful panel discussion on “Promoting Sustainable Solutions for the Gaza Strip’s Early Recovery and Reconstruction, we are pleased to highlight the distinguished panelists who contributed their expertise, and we invite you to read their full bios for a deeper understanding of their backgrounds and achievements.
Ms. Olga RATAJ, Industrial Development Officer, Global Cleantech Innovation Program (GCIP), UNIDO - Moderator
Ms. Olga Rataj is an economist with 10+ years of progressive international work experience across private sector, government institutions & organizations as well as academia. Currently, she manages UNIDO’s Global Cleantech Innovation Programme (GCIP) which covers 15+ developing countries and has a grant value of ~USD 30 million. GCIP supports start-ups and SMEs with innovative solutions to climate change in the fields of energy, waste, materials, and others by providing business acceleration and investment facilitation services as well as by building capacity of the national innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem actors.
Mr. Ahmed ELFARRA, UNIDO Senior Programme Officer
Serving since 2014 as Head of the Programme Office in Palestine, Mr. ElFarra has over 25 years of operational and leadership experience of international and national organizations. For the public sector, Mr. ElFarra formulated the final PA E-Government Strategy that was endorsed in 2006. He also served as Senior Economic Advisor with the ILO’s regional Office in Beirut and operated as Chief Representative to the Agreement on Movement and Access between Israel and the PA. As founder of PALiNVEST Corporation, Mr. ElFarra collaborated with various multinational organizations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, for advancing socio-economic conditions in the region. He is an MBA graduate of the Craig Business School of Fresno, California in 2003.
Mr. Ahmad Haj HASAN, CEO of Palestine Investment Promotion and Industrial Estates Agency (IPIEA), Palestine
Mr. Ahmad Haj Hasan has been recently appointed as the CEO of the Investment Promotion and Industrial Estates Agency, after a long career in in the areas of finance and investment. His last post was heading the administrative and financial sciences department at the Arab American University. Previously, Haj Hasan served as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Bank (TNB) for ten years. Under his leadership the bank grow to become the second largest Palestinian Bank, and was awarded to be the fastest growing bank in Palestine and the Middle East for the year 2013. He also served as a board member of the Palestine Islamic Bank (PIB) and Middle East Payment Solutions in Palestine. He also serves as a Board of Trustees Member of the Arab American University. Before he served in different positions in the financial regulatory field holding senior positions in the Palestine Monetary Authority and the Palestine Capital Markets Authority.
Dr. Bashir ALRAYYES, Private Sector Partnerships Officer
Mr. Bashir AlRayyes is a public sector development and international cooperation, trade facilitation and business development specialist, with around thirty years of experience in the public and private sector and international organizations. His technical areas of expertise include trade facilitation, private sector associations’ development, marketing and market access development, training, industrial estates and national reconstruction and recovery programs. Mr. AlRayyes holds a PhD degree in Management and Marketing from the Imperial College, University of London and a Masters of Business Administration from Wales University.
Ms. Annachiara SCANDONE, Industrial Development Expert, UNIDO
Ms. Annachiara Scandone is an Industrial Development Expert of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). She is the Project Manager of the “Inclusive green growth in Egypt” project. She joined UNIDO Regional Office in Egypt in 2013. Since then, she has worked in various areas of UNIDO's interventions in the country: entrepreneurship and MSME development, cluster and value chain development, investment promotion, women's economic empowerment, industrial policy, and currently green growth and circular economy. Ms. Scandone has been involved in project formulation, implementation, monitoring and upscaling. This also includes developing joint-UN initiatives and partnerships with donors, international financial institutions, multinational corporations, and NGOs. Her work focused on advancing inclusive and sustainable development of the following key sectors: waste management and valorization, sustainable agriculture and food production, sustainable energy, furniture, textile, plastics, creative industries. Before joining UNIDO, Ms. Scandone worked at the Permanent Delegation of Italy to the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris. She holds a Master's degree in Development Economics and Politics from the University of Bologna, Italy, and a Master's degree in Diplomatic Studies from the Italian Society for International Organizations (Rome, Italy).
Mr. Faisal AL-SHAWWA, Vice Chairman, Palestine Trade Center (PalTrade), Palestine
Mr. Al-Shawwa holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from North Virginia University and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Memphis State University, USA. He is a Board member of the Bank of Palestine, a Board member of the Palestine Electric Company (PEC), and the Vice Chairman of the Board of the Palestinian Trade Center (PalTrade). He is a member of the American Engineering Association, the Palestinian Contractors Union, the Palestine Engineers Association and the Palestinian Businessmen Association and Gaza chamber of Commerce.
Regional CleanTech Investment Event in Cairo - THE STARTUPS
Agriotech - Agriculture Orientation Technology
Agriotech's precision technology system provides an effective solution for safe agricultural production and monitoring of chemicals & pesticides focusing on greenhouse farmers. AGRIOTEC addresses the problem of random consumption of agricultural resources by providing farmers with an integrated system offering centralized monitoring and customized guidance and instructions. The system uses machine learning methods to support the farmer's performance in agricultural activities, helping to increase crop production and reduce costs.
Founders: Hisham Ali Shriam, Mohammeed Shriam
AquAI - Where Efficiency Meets Innovation
AquAI is a pioneering startup that revolutionizes solar water heaters by turning them into intelligent systems. Their innovation allows real-time sharing of water temperatures within the heater, empowering users to manage water usage efficiently. This not only reduces wastage but also cuts carbon dioxide emissions, maximizing the benefits of solar water heaters in both residential and industrial sectors. AquAI's technology can reduce the consumption of electric water heater by an impressive 50% to 80%.
Founders: Abed Al-Ghani HamedAtef Shkokani, Mohammad Shkokani
DaleeKey - Together Towards Green Industries for a Greener Palestine
DaleelKey Capital for Business Development focuses on the production of dry wall systems from gypsum blocks, providing an environmentally friendly, cost-effective alternative to cement blocks and plaster for interior walls. They recycle waste from gypsum block production and marble slurry, addressing two major environmental problems in the industrial sector in Palestine. This approach contributes to sustainability while providing construction solutions.
Founders: Ahmad Al-Sayed Ah, Yousef Al-Sayed Ahmad, Haneen Al-Sayed Ahmad, Omar AlSayed Ahmadmad
Eco-Bricks - Energy Efficient Eco-Bricks
Eco-Bricks aims to provide high-quality, eco-friendly, and energy and water efficient recycled construction materials responding to the market needs. The company has developed and successfully tested bricks, which is highly durable and can increase industrial construction efficiency by providing heat and water-leak isolating qualities. In addition, brick production solves a local environmental problem by utilizing stone-cutting sludge as the main material.
Founders: Saad Jadarat, Oday Zaher, Hanan Jadarat
Flowless - Sustainable Resources, Resilient Communities
Flowless helps factories and manufacturers improve daily operations and resource efficiency through remote monitoring and control automation. Flowless web platform analyzes real-time data and get automated interpretations to help automate processes, reduce waste, and increase profitability. Flowless' system utilizes AI-aided analytics to detect faults and optimize operations, ultimately cutting down operational costs and reducing input materials and energy losses.
Founders: Baker Bozyieh, Osama Hannini, Iyad Arafat, Ayya Bozyieh
Free Wind Turbine – Toward a Bright Night
The Free Wind Turbine is a vertical wind turbine consisting of three wings or frames. Its vertical pillar is the main axis around which the wings move, generating electricity from the wind. This new design provides a solution to several problems, such as the global deficit in electric energy production and a solution to increasing global warming. The new system is also less expensive in manufacturing, transportation, and installation and much easier to be maintained.
Founders: Ameer Ghanem, Muhammad Suweilem, Fayzeh Batta
Glean for Sorting and Recycling - From Plastic Bags to Interlock Tiles
Glean for Sorting and Recycling is an initiative to collect and recycle plastic bags to produce sustainable tiles for use in infrastructure projects. This project reduces plastic pollution and provides sustainable building materials. It also raises environmental awareness and contributes to sustainable development. In general, this project is an example of using innovation to solve an environmental problem and achieve multiple economic and environmental benefits.
Founder: Khalil M K Aldadah, Ghadeer Hamdouna
Green Agripal – Healthy Food and environment for all
Green Agripal is a Biological Control Agent Rizo Pro (RP) that helps farmers to control plant disease such as nematodes (parasite worms attacking crops). Compared to chemical pesticides, Bionematicide can minimize nematodes by 100%. As a result, yield quality and quantity can increase by 40%, and farmers’ profit by 30%. In addition, Bionematicide can reduce the consumption of electricity and water, while providing a lower risk to beneficial microflora by 66%.
Founders: Mahmoud El Hindi, Shahira Odeh
Ice Tech – Free Freeze All Day
Ice Tech presents an innovative, cost-saving solar solution to keep freezers running smoothly. Its core components are a PV solar panel that feeds a MPPT controller which maximizes the power output and transmits it to the DC compressor. The system allows to harness the power of the sun and save money on electricity costs.
Founders: Nasser Dawoud, Abed Al Karem Dawoud, Khaled Dawoud
Nanotechnology for Water Systems and Environment - It’s Green, It’s Clean, It’s Never Seen — That’s Nanotechnology
This start-up uses advanced nanotechnology to improve water and wastewater treatment processes. By using nanotechnology-based modified membranes, they achieve higher water recovery, longer membrane life, improved energy efficiency and reduced operating costs in water treatment. This innovation holds great promise for addressing water challenges.
Founders: Ali Alsayed, Dr. Ahlam Bushkar, Mulham Bushkar
Plastic to Fuel
Plast2Fuel's solution converts plastic waste into fuel using pyrolysis technology. Every 1,250 kg of plastic waste can be converted into 1,000 liters of fuel. The company will offer the fuel at a lower price to factories by up to 17%.
Founders: Abdallah Aziz, Mohammed Alrayyes, Qasem Aziz, Shatha Hussein
Palgy - Solar Panels Cooling and Cleaning Device
Palgy proposes a device that cools and cleans solar panels, raising their efficiency by 30%. The system generates water from the atmosphere via a condensation process, stores it, and then sprays the water on the panels’ surface when their temperature rises. Thanks to its up-to-date cooling and condensation technologies, the device consumes less energy and hence can generate and store more water.
Founder: Ahmad Othman
Solar Food – Dry Food and Save Energy!
Solar Food has developed a hybrid solar heat pump dryer technology using a hybrid compact design and an energy-saving system by integrating a solar air heater collector with a heat pump system. The device reduces the costs of dried food production and enhances the efficiency of the food drying processes and the quality of the final products. As the proposed system has two energy saving sources, the food can be dried at any time thanks to its temperature and humidity controller.
Founders: Hanadi Abu Harbied, Maram Hanadi Abu Harbied
Sustain Tech – Technology of Sustainable Energy
Sustain Tech developed a low-cost dynamic controller for PV-Gen hybrid systems that works with both old & new generators. The controller allows the generator to operate at the minimum load and maximize solar energy utilization. Fuel consumption is meant to be reduced by up to 60%.
Founders: Maisara AbuOun, Aseel AbuHasanein
Syngas – Toward Clean Energy & better environment
Syngas team has developed a device that processes biomass to produce syngas, an alternative to petroleum and other fuels that can be used in almost all industries and factories. it’s a sustainable local alternative energy source at a lower price than the existing sources in the market. The device was successfully tested and the SYNGAS team is planning to start the production soon.
Founders: Taysir Aziz, Ghada Barghut, Abdallah Aziz, Ezzeddin Aziz
