Projects

Mohammad Meraabi, a young Lebanese man, left Australia in 2016 to take care of his family’s lands in Akkar, Lebanon. With a degree in Management, he dreamed of turning those lands into a profitable investment, not only for his family but also for the surrounding community. With passion, he founded Exim Farm, a smart farming company aimed at promoting sustainability and economic growth. The Lebanese economic crisis cast shadows on his path, but he did not give up.

Exim farm aims to adopt new technologies to cultivate its fields (focused on wheat, potatoes, and corn) to address the issue of water scarcity due to drought, such as drip irrigation system. In this way it brings forward innovation in agricultural practices for greater sustainability and efficiency (ie reduce expenses and increase production). The farm also placed solar panels to be eco friendly and reduce cost in the long run.
ProTerra Sancta’s funds were used to purchase the drip irrigation system and solar panels.

For Michael, cherries have been a part of life since his very first cry. The cherry season is sacred in his family, a ritual that has lasted for generations, and for the past 35 years, he has carried it forward with his wife Sabine, who is even more passionate about it than he is. Energetic and entrepreneurial, Michael and Sabine first created their mark with Myst, a brand of wine and spirits, before deciding to give new life to the fruit they cherish most.

Their vision? To transform cherries into a unique line of carbonated, healthy drinks. With WIP’s support, they’ve established a plant-based production facility, purchasing the equipment needed to bring this idea to life. Today, they are testing and refining their product, preparing it for market launch.

Their goal is to position Cera as an innovative beverage brand that combines family heritage, health, and modern business drive, an authentic Lebanese product with international potential.

Elias and Sam’s journey began at the age of 16, when their friendship and shared adventures with the Scouts du Liban a passion for mountains, the outdoors, capacity building, and teamwork. What started as hikes among friends eventually grew into Wolfpack Summits, a community dedicated to adventure and personal growth.

Today, Wolfpack is expanding quickly and strategically, reaching new markets in Lebanon, Dubai, and KSA. Beyond outdoor trips, they are now entering the corporate world, designing customized leadership programs, addressing generational gaps, and delivering tailored team-building workshops that strengthen company culture and performance.

The support from WIP and PTS funds played a crucial role in this growth. The fund’s goal is to promote Wolfpack to increase both sales and exposure, with the help of a professional marketing agency and a business development agent.

Yara Aoun and Joanna Khairallah have been inseparable since childhood. Despite the financial difficulties that affected their families, they have shown great determination and resilience. Together, they faced adversity with courage, finding creative solutions and supporting each other: Yara with her financial expertise and Joanna with her knowledge of chemistry.

Solvert offers skincare products made exclusively with natural ingredients to fight environmental pollution and protect its users, while also using eco-friendly packaging materials. Their goal is to increase their business turnover, particularly by selling their products to spas in Lebanon and abroad. This has led to the need to hire a marketing agency to develop a targeted strategy to ensure the essential growth of their business.

A 100% Lebanese brand. A cosmetics company created by a woman to meet women’s needs. How? By producing natural, vegan, and high-quality products that were missing from the market.

This was the original idea of Joelle Abboud, a young and determined 30-year-old entrepreneur who, after gaining her first experiences in marketing, decided to strike out on her own based on a simple fact: Lebanese women often couldn’t find the quality body care and personal hygiene products they wanted in stores.

Leveraging her experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Joelle launched Essentials by Jay, which currently sells exclusively online in Lebanon to offer more competitive prices. The next steps, agreed upon with the WIP team, include not only boosting sales in the Lebanese market but also expanding into international markets, opening a physical store, and creating new job opportunities.

Pyckd is an online platform for the sale of handcrafted products made by artisans from the geographical area known as MENA (Middle East and North Africa). The initiative aims to preserve both the economic empowerment and cultural heritage of the region, while meeting the growing demand for artisanal, sustainable products that align with the principles of ethical development.

Pyckd was founded by George Daccache, a Lebanese entrepreneur who, after earning a degree in Marketing/Business from the American University of Beirut, worked for many years at one of the world’s leading tobacco companies, gaining extensive experience across Lebanon, Switzerland, and Indonesia.

Driven by his passion for supporting local artisans and his desire to make a difference, George left his corporate career after a few years and returned home to establish PYCKD. It was a significant challenge, presenting seemingly insurmountable obstacles—from Lebanon’s economic crisis to the global pandemic. Despite everything, George has remained committed to his mission and aims to drive social change by growing his business, empowering small enterprises, and strengthening communities across the region.

Ara Abadjian’s journey in agri-tech began with a vision: to make sustainable, high-quality food accessible to everyone. In 2017, he started a professional garden, growing selected herbs and vegetables for local restaurants and hotels.

His hands-on experience soon exposed him to the main challenges many growers face: balancing productivity, labor, and limited space management, while using eco-friendly methods.

Despite the wide range of agricultural tools available, he quickly realized that none truly bridged the gap between science, technology, and practical application—especially for small-scale growers.

This insight led Ara to create Ayki in 2023, an app designed to provide farmers with advanced yet easy-to-use tools that simplify garden planning and boost productivity without compromising sustainability.

Awarded during the 2024 edition of Focus Live, the science festival organized by Focus magazine, Ara shared how Ayki is transforming garden management by combining practical experience with technology. With Ayki, growers can manage their activities more effectively, leveraging tools that help optimize yields and adopt sustainable practices.

Among the projects approved as part of the third edition of Wip is also that of Elias El Khoury, an entrepreneur who, hit hard by the Lebanese economic crisis, decided to reinvent himself by giving new vitality to the business started many years ago by his grandparents. His “treasure” is rose water, obtained by painstakingly picking high-altitude flowers in the Jazzine mountains, 70 km from Beirut, and then processing them with techniques passed down through generations.

However, it is not easy to resist the many difficulties of the country, especially if the machinery is outdated. Thanks to Wip, Elias was able to connect with some Veneto entrepreneurs who operate on the hills around Verona: not only could he expand his knowledge by following a sort of refresher course in Italy, but he also received in Beirut a professional machine, a distiller capable of enhancing his rosemary-based products, bitter orange, and other aromas. And for the future there is already hope for a collaboration to also produce soaps, perfumes, typical beverages, and foods of the tradition.

In a reality different from the Lebanese one, with his degree in Agricultural Engineering, George Mattar could have aimed for a career as an executive and a peaceful life. Unfortunately, things turned out differently for him and many others, so to keep going George decided to work alongside his father in managing a small kiosk in Bsous, at the gates of Beirut in the Baabda area, where he prepares manouche, one of the typical dishes of the local tradition, a focaccia topped with thyme, cheese, or meat.

An activity started in the 1980s, but which is increasingly feeling the weight of time: it is difficult, after all, to update the premises and the equipment, now dilapidated, without a significant investment. Also in this case the turning point was the meeting with WIP, which oversaw the Bakery renovation project, not only for the location, which was recently equipped with an outdoor space capable of hosting many guests, but also and especially for the oven and the other professional supplies.

Goal: to increase revenues, also imagining the opening of new sites and the creation of new jobs.

In 2018, Wassim El Hage, until then a physiotherapist in a center that also treated many young people with disabilities, decided to develop in a new way (and absolutely unprecedented for Lebanon) his sensitivity toward young people with “special needs”: he opened a café, Il Caffè Agonista, where he employed some young people with disabilities. Among them were George Gergi, who has Down syndrome, and Farah Ballout, a young woman with autism. The experiment worked: the young people worked well and were happy, and in 2021 Wassim was able to open another Agonista in a shopping mall.

Meanwhile, WIP was born, and in Beirut the applications of aspiring entrepreneurs began to be reviewed. Among them were Farah and George who, energized by the Agonista experience, asked to open a place of their own. Extraordinary in their enthusiasm and diligence, the two, however, did not have the ability to manage the financial side of the project. But the WIP staff had an idea: to support the Agonista project by proposing to Wassim that George and Farah become partners, with a total stake of 30 percent.

The owner accepted with enthusiasm, and from November 2023 his business was able to count on the support of WIP, which by then had reached its second edition. However, the situation in Lebanon deteriorated, and bombings forced Wassim to close.

In January 2025, the reopening of the historic location was recorded, but this could not erase the many problems that Beirut’s reality poses daily. Nevertheless, Agonista strives to endure, continuing its catering service and considering the possibility of a new, less costly location.