Dimension stone is one of the most promising and
fast-growing industries on the southern side of the
Mediterranean basin. Bearing this in mind, and with
the aim to sustain the growth of this industry, as
well as the development of Egyptian, Moroccan, and
Jordanian SMEs, ITPO Italy together with the UNIDO
IPU Network, organized an entrepreneurial delegation
from these countries and arranged a special B2B
session with Italian companies at Marmomacc 2008.
To help establish positive and effective business
relations between the Italian and visiting
companies, the match-making meetings were programmed
in response to the business proposals previously
received from the companies and through the
utilization of UNIDO Event Manager software, thus
ensuring a rational scheduling of personalized
meetings. As a consequence of these activities, more
than 100 business meetings took place under the
supervision of UNIDO staff.
Furthermore, a vast promotional campaign on ITPO and
IPU services was mounted to highlight UNIDO’s
activities and mandate. To this end, a catalogue of
investment opportunities in stone and marble
products was edited and disseminated to the Italian
business community before and during the fair.
Celebrating in 2008 its 43rd edition,
Marmomacc was definitely the major international
event of the year dedicated to companies working in
marble and stone. Indeed, the International
Exhibition of Stone Design and Technology that took
place from 2 to 5 October 2008, was the essential
appointment for all producers, designers, and
decision-makers seeking success in an increasingly
specialised and competitive context. Indeed, despite
the world economic situation, 1,536 exhibitors from
54 countries attended the Exhibition of Natural
Stone, Technologies, and Design.
Within this context, ITPO Italy, with the support of
the Investment Promotion Units in Morocco, Jordan,
and Egypt successfully coordinated the delegation of
Italian and foreign companies, with the aim of
encouraging partnerships and strengthening the
economic and industrial relations on both sides of
the Mediterranean. Further, MARMOMACC provided ITPO
Italy with a stand and a specially-equipped area to
facilitate the setting-up of business meetings
between Moroccan, Egyptian, Jordanian, and Italian
companies.
The B2B session, intended to match companies’
proposals, created effective business linkages in
the field of marble extraction/processing and
related technologies. Main goal of this action was
to promote industrial cooperation by encouraging the
creation of joint ventures, technology transfers,
and other economic collaborations.
As a result of this effort, about 20 foreign
companies (10 Jordanian, 5 Egyptian and 6 Moroccan),
and 20 Italian companies participated in B2B
meetings and several projects are currently under
negotiations.
