Co-creation of Lebtrade portal

Lebanon has a good climate and long tradition in agriculture and food. However, to spur export growth, there is a strong need to improve the quality of the supply chains from farmer (cultivation, certification), to handling (post-harvest practices, certification) and to exporter. Our partner CBI commissioned us to co-create Lebtrade, a Trade Intelligence Portal with market intelligence services for the Lebanese businessmen.

The main goal of the project is to make sure that the fruit and vegetable industry in Lebanon is thriving and performing well in export markets. To achieve this, small and medium-sized businesses in Lebanon need to be able to compete with other exporters in Europe, the Gulf region, and Russia. They also need to have access to high-quality export assistance and resources.

The Lebtrade Trade Intelligence Portal is the most eye-catching result, but this project included so much more!

Activities

The first phase focuses on creating the portal for Lebanese SMEs to access export markets. The second phase involves developing market information products to help exporters choose the best markets for their products. We provided training to Ministry of Economy and Trade employees to optimize the use of the Lebtrade portal. This includes analyzing data, processing market access information, and receiving feedback from buyers and CBI experts. In addition, we also conducted a market orientation mission to Fruit Logistica in Berlin.

As part of this project, we also developed and implemented:

• promotion plan
• monitoring and evaluation plan
• maintenance plan for content and technical issues
• sustainable organizational structure
• knowledge management plan.

Results

The Lebtrade portal was successfully launched in November 2022. As a result, some first buyers from the EU market have already requested proposals !