Shadi Shaheen is the CEO of the Union of Stone and Marble Industry in Palestine (USM) and a senior private-sector development professional with more than 20 years of experience in trade policy, export development, industrial competitiveness, institutional development, and public-private dialogue.Previously, he served as Trade Policy Manager at the Palestine Trade Center (PalTrade), where he contributed to the development and implementation of the Palestinian National Export Strategy and served for five years as Coordinator of the Palestinian Export Council, chaired by the Minister of National Economy and bringing together key stakeholders from the public, private, and academic sectors. In his current role, Shaheen has led a significant transformation in Palestine’s stone and marble industry by driving the innovation, development, and localization of competitive technology for stone-waste and slurry management. Developed in partnership with the academic sector, this initiative promotes the adoption of nationally manufactured solutions, reduces dependence on imported technologies, improves resource efficiency, and advances a greener and more circular industrial model. This achievement forms part of his broader work to strengthen industry–academia collaboration, applied research, technology transfer, and capacity building, particularly through the long-standing partnership between the Ministry of National Economy, USM, and Palestine Polytechnic University, represented by the Stone and Marble Technology Center.

Mona Jaber is a member of the Jericho and Jordan Valley Beekeepers Association – Aqabat Jaber, working in honey production and the marketing of bee products. She has participated in capacity-building and market-access activities aimed at strengthening agricultural cooperatives, improving product promotion, and expanding sales opportunities.

Through additional training in soap production and value-added products, Mona was able to diversify the range of products linked to her core beekeeping activity, creating new income opportunities and strengthening the economic sustainability of her small business.

Her experience demonstrates how targeted training, product diversification, and value-added production can help women-led and community-based businesses increase resilience, improve market access, and generate additional income.

Jana Ahmad Bikawi represents the new generation of the Al-Raihana agricultural project in the Arraba Plain, Jenin, a family-run initiative led by her father, Ahmad Bikawi, and focused on advancing strawberry production through modern and sustainable agricultural solutions.

Ahmad has developed the farm by adopting soilless cultivation techniques, closed irrigation systems, and alternative growing media, with the aim of improving water-use efficiency, enhancing productivity, and reducing the environmental impact associated with conventional farming practices.

As the project evolved, Jana became actively involved as the project’s Marketing Officer, bringing a new dimension to the family business through marketing and digital outreach, while drawing on her university studies in Digital Marketing.