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Agribusiness stakeholders and representatives of public and private technical and financial institutions, international organizations, donors, NGOs, and academia from various countries presented over 120 new solutions at the "UNIDO International Conference on Sharing Innovative Agribusiness Solutions". More than 400 participants attended the two-day session, and over 120 solutions from over 65 countries were presented. The Conference, held in Cairo the 26^th and 27^th November, was characterized by a strong emphasis on practical sharing of solutions and matchmaking.

In the context of the global food crisis, innovation in agribusiness – one of the main drivers of sustainable development- is imperative. The solutions showcased at the Conference are already being successfully implemented and replicated in other developing countries. Of these, fifteen were short-listed for their innovative character and their potential to help developing countries attract agribusiness-related investments. Numerous interactive sessions gave valuable insights on relevant issues such as supply and value chains, market access and linkages, compliance with standards and conformity assessment, technology and value addition, and innovative forms of financing. UNIDO ITPO Italy selected 18 Italian stakeholders representing the processing industry, research and academia, technology providers for agro-industry, the financial sector, and a fisheries district. Nine Italian solutions were presented during this international conference. Sixteen Italian companies participated, making-up the biggest foreign delegation.

The closing ceremony featured awards to the best innovative solutions, based on peer selections. Winners included ITC Limited from India (on how to provide updated information on crops for remote Indian villages), the UK´s COLEACP-PIP (on how to ensure compliance with standards for the export of fruits and vegetables), Passive Refrigeration (on how to maintain the cold chain from farms to markets)  presented by the Italian company NOMOS, and Sri Lanka´s Cargills (Ceylon) Ltd (on how to link small farmers directly to markets).

Yoshi Uramoto, Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), said: "The conference will also provide opportunities for matchmaking and networking between those participants who are seeking ways to achieve sustainable agribusiness development and those with innovative solutions, as well as those with financing for development assistance and investment."

In addition to parallel sessions and discussions on central agribusiness topics, a matchmaking event was organized by the UNIDO Investment Promotion Unit/Egypt. This brought together more than 110 companies interested in replicating innovative agribusiness solutions. Over 350 bilateral meetings were organized and potential partners found common interest in access to finance, technology transfer, and trade capacity-building. The Italian delegation was second only to Egypt in the number of promising negotiations, with a total of 57 meetings in the matchmaking event.