Lebanon is known to have invented soap back in ancient times. Today our country is flooded with cheap synthetic soaps and small artisans who have inherited the trade from generation to generation are exiting the market. These people have no knowledge of international trade because they are artisans. By definition, artisans are small, mostly not registered in the VAT regimen, so they cannot legally export. What I do, is help these people with proper labelling up to international standards, help them document their processes, and set in place a proper quality check procedure. All of these, in turn, improve the notoriety of the artisan in front of international retailers. We have to date helped one artisan get to the international market, he is today on Amazon in Canada and the US (Check attached photo), he also is on sale in China, and soon in Switzerland and The Netherlands. We have helped in this exporting process to create new jobs among the new generation and have helped this small country of ours take part in the trading activity. We have helped throughout the supply chain olive growers, millers, and soap masters produce value out of their trades. We have included these people who previously were excluded from any trade activity and who had no control over their fate with the advance of synthetic imports into their local markets.
With more funds into the project, we would like to develop a software that would lead these people into a step by step guide to help them get the minimum requirements (such as packaging standards, lab tests, certifications, insurance)to be eligible for international trade while putting them in contact with potential customers abroad. We will be the monitor of both sides while ensuring that the weakest party (in this case the artisan) in this relationship is protected throughout the sale process.
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