A symposium was organized by MOUSTADAMA to bring together its cleantech startups with donor programs and venture capitalists and facilitate their funding process.
Finding a backer to grow and scale is one of the critical issues highlighted in the journey through the “Valley of Death”, the bumpy road start-ups travel before their products could generate revenue. The challenge is even greater for green-tech startups, which often need more funding to scale their solutions.
To address this challenge, MOUSTADAMA organized a symposium, "Opportunities Meet Cleantech", held simultaneously in Ramallah and Gaza, to expose and showcase the work of its Cleantech startups to the community of donor programs, banks and venture capitalists that support the entrepreneurial visions of startups in Palestine. Fourteen winners and finalists from the two national editions of the Palestine CleanTech Innovation Competition pitched their projects and answered questions from the potential funders and investors.
“Cleantech start-ups often face difficulties in accessing finance due to the high costs and long timelines associated with bringing new technologies to market. That's why networking with financing and investment organizations is crucial to their development. Designed to bring together investors and cleantech startups, this symposium is an important opportunity to discover the business potential behind these innovative solutions and help them thrive”, said Ahmed ElFarra, UNIDO Senior Programme Officer.
Discussions have been initiated with various donor funded programs and venture capitals to ensure that the entrepreneurs receive the funding and guidance they need to their growth. This exchange will further support development partners and programmes in tailoring their grants to the needs of entrepreneurs.