USAID/Compete Monthly Report January 1, 2016 – January 31, 2016

The project focuses on supporting key sectors essential to the future prosperity of the Gazan economy, including agribusiness, fishing, ICT, furniture, textile and garment, and domestic tourism. In the West Bank, the program is focused on building the production capacity of firms to grow locally and expand regionally and internationally. Agronomist Capacity Building Program is one of the initiatives implemented in the West Bank. The program aims to address the critical impediment of finding qualified agronomists to manage the quality and productivity of local farms. In January 2016, 11 agronomists who participated in the training program were hired and signed contracts with agribusiness companies. In the agribusiness sector, a strawberry farmer named Osama Abu Rub expanded his strawberry farm with the support of the Compete project. He installed a strawberry packing house in the West Bank, which was assisted by the project with the cooling room, a cooling unit, and 50% of the isolated packing house panels. The handover was finalized, and he started packing the strawberries. The Palestinian Internship Program is another initiative implemented in the ICT sector. The program provides an opportunity for Palestinian graduates to gain critical know-how from developed companies in the ICT industry. In January 2016, a social event was held for interns placed within Israeli High-Tech firms, where they got to know each other and learn about their diverse experiences. In the tourism sector, the Enhancing Access to Market initiative was implemented. This month, Compete approved three applications to the Firm Level Assistance Program (FLAP) from three Palestinian tour operators: Aelous Tours, Laila Tours, and Traveller Experience Tours. Additionally, two tour operators, Laila Tours and Travel Experience Tours, received assistance from the project. The IBDAA – Supporting Palestinian Start Ups initiative was also implemented in the ICT sector. A fund-raising event was held for IBDAA, where seven startups gave presentations about their products to the audience. The quality of the startups and the ideas presented was received well, and IBDAA received requests from accelerators to have these startups apply for the next acceleration rounds. The project's progress is monitored and evaluated regularly to ensure that the objectives are met. The report provides an overview of the key accomplishments and progress made in the past month, as well as the upcoming events and trainings planned for the future.