A new cohort of 22 early-stage ventures has been recruited in Palestine to benefit from coaching sessions. After a highly intensive evaluation process headed by Leaders International, the GIMED’s Palestinian partner, the eco-entrepreneurs selected will receive support in access to finance and access to markets.

Among the selected entrepreneurs, there are a total of 10 ventures that are focused on organic food and agriculture. Other remarkable fields where green entrepreneurs are developing great ideas to tackle environmental degradation and create job opportunities are resource efficiency and sustainable waste management, sustainable clothing and textile or sustainable cleaning products and cosmetics, among others.

High quality second hand clothes at reasonable prices to combat destructive pollution, organically cultivated crops in a healthy environment or mobile apps such as ShopFever that link sellers of used items that are in good condition with buyers who would be interested in purchasing them in a fast, secure, and efficient way. These are some of the ideas that will receive coaching support to make them come true.

One of the main elements from all projects is promoting Palestinian culture and engaging young citizens in all these initiatives. Reducing the dependence on carbon dioxide and fostering electricity production generated by solar panels is an effective idea that a Palestinian entrepreneur is seeking. In this line of preventing environmental impacts, Shawahneh Company aims at collecting plastic and recycling it into plastic poles for building greenhouses instead of wooden poles.

A battle against chemicals is also done within the projects, specially on those focused on producing organic food and natural products. Honey and other beekeeping products, Nabulsi soap from olive oil for repairing damaged hair, extending the length-life of agriculture products or farming strawberries in a sustainable way are the Mother Earth gifts that are put in the centre of agricultural projects such as Orkeida or Dreez.

What about the coaching sessions?

To ensure that the complex individual needs of each participant are met, coaching is a major part of the capacity building element of the project. Each venture faces challenges when planning and the coaching sessions will focus on expand its market share based on each entrepreneur’s skill set.

The mix of group coaching and one-to-one coaching sessions means that participants will have the opportunity to learn from each other but also have their individual needs met. These sessions for early-stage ventures will last until late January 2022.

The entrepreneurs are advised by the group of experts headed by Ghassan AlJamal, Bissan AbuHawash and Ali Ramadan, the four mentors working on the coaching sessions. They are experts on green entrepreneurship and local & international markets and are currently supporting the 22 projects.