The fourth cohort of the Innovation Journey program, led by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Economy and Industry, and with the Pears Program for Global Innovation³ as the content and professional partner, was scheduled to launch in October 2023. Designed to help Israeli agritech companies forge partnerships in Ethiopia, the program was aimed to adapt Israeli agritech innovations to meet the needs of Ethiopia’s smallholder farmers and positively transform and impact their businesses, families and communities.

It was built on the growing recognition that fulfilling the impact and financial potential of Israeli technologies in low and middle income countries requires extensive, holistic support to address the various challenges they face such as market barriers, the need for adaptation in technology and business model, addressing regulation, and proving that the tech is operable in the unique environment. This insight is not only a key lesson from the Innovation Journey process but also part of a broader trend in international development. Multiple organizations are increasingly dedicating tools and budgets to support privatesector engagement in International Development efforts. Programs such as USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures (DIV)⁴, the Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges⁵, and the World Food Programme’s Innovation Accelerator⁶ were all designed to foster innovation and private-sector involvement by providing both funding and a supportive environment for companies to enter the international development and humanitarian space.

The Innovation Journey was no different in that sense. Initially designed as an introductory field trip, it evolved over the years into a comprehensive capacity-building and matchmaking program, incorporating training sessions, workshops, extensive partnershipbuilding processes, and fundraising support, including two dedicated grants from the JDC. After the first three cohorts secured the establishment of at least one solid partnership project in each cohort, the fourth cohort was set to be the most ambitious—doubling its size and success.

Then, October 7th happened.

This wasn’t the first time conflict disrupted the program; the third cohort had been relocated to South Africa due to Ethiopia’s civil war. This time, it was Israel’s war reality that created the need to postpone the program. We needed to reassess how, or if, we could bring on board apprehensive and risk averse agritech companies, shaken by conflict, for this journey. At the conclusion of the process, we reaffirmed an important lesson about effectively engaging with the private sector. 

 IJ4 Market Adaptation Workshop",  The Academic College Tel Aviv Yafo, 21.5.24

 Credit: Yonatan Bukhdruker

Knowledge Gaps, Risks, and Prioritization

When facilitating the entry of Israeli companies into a market in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is necessary to address three key challenges. First, Israeli companies often face significant knowledge gaps in these environments, making it difficult to understand unique local needs, assess opportunities, anticipate barriers, or predict success, all while requiring adaptation.  Second, these markets involve risks such as economic instability, political unrest, infrastructure gaps, and regulatory challenges, further complicating the business activity. In Ethiopia, a two-year civil war exacerbated these challenges, requiring careful planning and resource allocation. Third, markets in Sub Saharan Africa are rarely top priorities for Israeli companies, especially tech start-ups seeking quicker wins. Despite Ethiopia’s potential, with 127 million people, 15 million smallholder farmers, and strong ties to Israel, a grounded and cleareyed evaluation is essential to secure company buy-in and ensure a sustainable exploration process.

To Continue or Not?

With wars raging in Israel and Ethiopia, we debated whether to move forward. Some elements,like the planned festive program launch, were clearly out of the question. We also were fullyaware that Israeli companies would be hesitant to embark on high-risk ventureswhilefocused on preserving theirexisting activity. On the Ethiopian side,weanticipatedskepticism about our ability to deliver under such turbulent circumstances.

Yet, we also recognized challenges weren’t pausing for our reality,and Israeli companies still needed opportunities to generate business as other avenues closed."Ultimately, we decided to move forward with programmatic adjustments, understanding that the only way to bring everyone on board and follow our lead was to be fully transparent, and project a deep understanding of the realities on both sides. In the end, it all came down to building trust.

Adopting a Hands-On Approach

The Innovation Journey program was initially designed to build the capacity of participants to engage effectively, identify suitable matches for partnership, and facilitate collaborative project building. This structure addresses the key challenges mentioned earlier and requires significant mentoring on both sides. Unlike previous cohorts, where the program was deliberately managed with a lighter touch and often relied on digital communication, leaning toward respecting the autonomy and individual personalities of the players involved, this time, we deployed a closesupport methodology, providing close guidance to all parties. The Pears Program⁷ team served as the linchpin, guiding stakeholders through every step of the process.

Israeli companies were recruited through personal meetings where their concerns were addressed directly. For the first time, an in-person event was held in Addis Ababa to strengthen trust and ties. JDC’s local team, which is running, among other things, their prominent TOV program that helps Ethiopian smallholder farmers adopt high-quality seeds and precise agriculture technology, led the coordination of the event. Afterwards, we communicated ona weekly basis with our Ethiopiancounterpartsthat expressed the interest to exploreIsraeli innovative solutions, to foster dialogue, identify needs, and ensure mutual understanding. This not only built the necessary trust but also enabled the team to mediate effectively and identify promising opportunities for partnerships.

Navigating Unprecedented Challenges

Our new approach demanded flexibility and a significant investment of time. Take Ripe Guard, a company that developed a state-of-the-art technology to manage and reduce post-harvest losses. The CEO, Itamar Lupo, from Northern Israel, had to navigate both military duties and personal challenges. At times he had to join sessions virtually, skip activities, miss deadlines or have extra support. He indicated that despite the circumstances, the program opened his eyes to the huge potential his technology can bring to smallholder farmers, and he is now focusing on engaging in additional emerging markets to fulfill his impact.

On the Ethiopian side, a local startup named Birama, which supplies fresh produce to households in Addis Ababa by sourcing from smallholder farmers, relied heavily on communication with the team to navigate the program and identify the right partners. After numerous constructive interactions and steady guidance to ensure nothing fell through the cracks, they ultimately won the JDC grant and confidently advanced with their pilot in collaboration with one of the program participants.

This entire process proved fruitful. Overall, we recruited 10 Israeli companies and formed 8 partnerships. On the Ethiopian side, the program’s launch event in Addis Ababa saw the participation of 60 stakeholders demonstrating high interest in Israeli technology. Throughout the process, 14 Ethiopia-based stakeholders remained engaged, with two partnerships receiving grants from the JDC to fund pilot projects. While their engagement journey is still in its early stages, we can confidently say the program exceeded our expectations, fostering a strong commitment from all sides.

Lessons Learned: Private Sector Also Needs Trust Building

The fourth cohort of the Innovation Journey reaffirmed that operating with companies and startups in high-risk environments requires strong investment in trust-building as the foundation for all subsequent efforts. While this is widely recognized in the international development sector, it is often less obvious when engaging with the private sector in Israel. The traditional approach of simply letting companies navigate these markets on their own, or in lighttouch activities such as business seminars and overview events, is not enough.

This is something the Pears Program has long advocated, and the JDC’s Innovation Journey reinforced it beyond doubt—companies need structured support to operate in these challenging environments. With the risks involved, trust-building is critical to guiding them through long processes and encouraging them to follow our lead, even when their instinct is to take a more direct, businessfirst approach. While businesses excel in their fields, market forces often steer their priorities elsewhere. If we want companies to invest in developing markets we believe hold significant potential, we must equip them with the right tools and create the trust-based environment necessary for success.

This lesson extends beyond extreme circumstances like war. Even in less challenging environments, stakeholders— especially in the private sector—are likelier to go the extra mile when they trust, respect, and empathize with their partners, particularly in high-risk markets. This is something all stakeholders working with the private sector should remember. Ultimately, by facilitating the entry of Israeli agtech into these markets, we can support more smallholder farmers to increase their productivity and economic opportunities, which is the impact we all aim to achieve.