Under the patronage of Prime Minister Fayyad, the UK Government’s Department for International Development [DfID] and the World Bank held an Anniversary Event on Wednesday April 15, 2009 at the Best Eastern Hotel in Ramallah to celebrate the first year of the Palestinian Facility for New Market Development [FNMD project].

The Anniversary Event was officially opened by the Prime Minister Dr Salam Fayyad. This was followed by speeches given by Ms Helen Winterton, the Head of Office of DFID’s Palestinian Programme and the World Bank representative, Ms Ritva Reinikka.

Over 250 people attended, including representatives from the Palestinian Authority; leaders of the Palestinian business community, FNMD clients and service providers as well representatives from the international donor community and media organizations.

Since it started in April 2008, the project supported 120 companies from The West Bank and Gaza. Ms. Winterton the head of dfid said “we are here today to celebrate one year of the facility for new market development. We are here to celebrate the ingenuity, skills and resilience of the businesses which the project has supported to develop new products or reach new markets”.

According to Mr Said Abu Hijleh, FNMD Project Director and DAI Managing Director, it’s been an inspiring first year. The FNMD client portfolio comprises businesses from a wide range of sectors, including manufacturing, agribusiness, stone & marble, tourism, ICT, and handicrafts. The project supports mainly small and medium sized enterprises, including many very young companies that have solid ideas on how to grow their business.

Many companies already report success stories thanks to FNMD support – 8 companies have started to export to new international markets in the Arab region as well as in Asia, Europe and Africa. Several companies are working hard to improve their existing products and are pursuing local and international quality certificates. 15 companies are developing new, innovative goods and services.  

At the event, three Palestinian companies talked about how FNMD helped them to enter new markets and develop new products. Mr Fayez Joulani of Eagleflex (Hebron) presented his company’s new product development plans to stay ahead in the international markets for grinding tools. Dr Samer Mayaleh of PITS (Nablus) announced that with FNMD help, his company, PITS (Nablus) has been able to significantly improve their electronic vehicle tracking system. The improved product is proving very popular in the local market. Finally, Mr Mujtaba Tbeleh of Nablus Soap Factory presented his experience going for the first time to an international trade show. With FNMD support, he has updated his soap product shape and packaging. He is now selling in new markets, including Yemen and Norway.

The event ended with Prime Minister Fayyad, the British Consul General Mr. Makepeace, and the Social and economic development group director, Ms. Reinikka awarding grant certificates to 6 new FNMD clients from West Bank and Gaza.

At the event, DAI also organized an exhibition to display the wide range of Palestinian products and promotional samples provided by FNMD’s clients.

The FNMD project is a 3-year grant scheme funded by DfID with backing from the World Bank that helps Palestinian companies enter new markets and develop new products – more information can be found at www.fnmd.ps