GMBS Business Support

10-year-anniversary

Maarten — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 09:23:52 +0000

29 APRIL 2020

GMBS Business Supports celebrates 10 year anniversary

Today GMBS Business Support celebrates its 10th anniversary!

A lot has happened over the last 10 years; many new markets were discovered and introduced to Dutch, Middle East and Asian clients, business concepts were developed, partnerships formed, entrepreneurs coached in kick-starting their export, projects formulated and implemented, and so on and so forth. This would not have happened if it was not for the trust of our clients, embassies and funding agencies and the warm and open relationships with the professionals and partners we work with.

I am humbled and privileged to have learned and experienced so much from and with my clients, partners and co-workers. Though now celebrating this day in moderation in these surreal and challenging times, I am confident there is a bright future ahead of us.

May distancing bring us closer together.

Virtual hugs, Maarten Smit

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Inspiring and interactive forum on Vitamin D deficiency in Dubai

Maarten — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 16:55:52 +0000

11 DECEMBER 2018

Inspiring and interactive forum on how to combat Vitamin D deficiency in Dubai

The Healthy Food Healthy Lifestyle initiative and GMBS proudly participated in the “Vitamin D forum – The future of healthy products”. The forum was held Tuesday 11 December at the Roda Al Murooj Hotel in downtown Dubai. The event was organized by the Agriculture Affairs team of the Netherlands Embassy in Riyadh and the Netherlands Consulate-General in Dubai together with Al Rawabi Dairy Company.

Valuable contributions were delivered by Al Rawabi CEO Dr. Ahmed El Tigani, the agricultural counselor to the GCC, Mr. Erik Smidt, Mr. Sumeet Mathur, managing director of FrieslandCampina Middle-East, and Dr. Waffa Helmi Ayesh, director of the Clinical Nutrition Dept. of Dubai Health Authority. Maarten Smit spoke on behalf of Healthy Food Healthy Lifestyle about an integrated approach towards combating healthy deficiency and acted as forum moderator. Video credits go to Al Rawabi professional team.

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Marketing presentation at 1st International Dates Conference, Riyadh, KSA

Maarten — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 14:19:19 +0000

13 APRIL 2018

Marketing presentation at 1st International Dates Conference, Riyadh, KSA

The Dates International Conference was held 11 and 12 April 2018 at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The conference aimed to demonstrate major investment opportunities of this sector in presence of decision makers and businesspersons. It confirms the importance of Saudi Arabia as the most important country in producing dates. Several companies and institutions were represented at the exhibition room.

GMBS was invited to introduce the Cold Chain Cluster, a brand new agro-food public private partnership. GMBS, Maarten Smit, shared his views on cooperation and value chain marketing. Presentation slides can be made available upon request.

Cold Chain Cluster. The cold chain cluster is a Dutch initiative to assist GCC countries in providing holistic cold chain solutions that facilitate efficient agro-logistic infrastructures and reduced food losses for perishables. Practically, the Cold Chain Cluster seeks to assist GCC eligible counterparts in the design, built and operations of fresh produce distribution centers, packing houses, auctions, wholesale markets and related infrastructure. It does so by providing quality products and services in close cooperation with its qualified host country counterparts. The cluster comprises of ten carefully selected member companies and is growing. More details can be found on www.coldchaincluster.com.

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Myanmar Flower Sector Report available online

Maarten — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 14:51:40 +0000

21 FEBRUARY 2018

Myanmar Flower sector report online

The Myanmar Flower Sector Quick Scan as conducted by GMBS Business Support for RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency) and to the benefit of the Agricultural Counsselor of the Netherlands Embassy in Yangon, is as of today available for download online.

download now

Last week the results of the quick scan were presented to Dr. U Tin Htut, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MoALI). Present were several government representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Planning, Research and Yezin Agricultural University.

The report will be presented for Dutch floricultural sector around Mid April 2018 in The Hague. Specific date, venue and program will be announced by RVO in the following weeks.

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Myanmar Flower Sector fact finding mission

Maarten — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 11:14:11 +0000

14 NOVEMBER 2017

Myanmar Flower Sector fact finding mission shows potential

With the support of the Dutch Embassy in Yangon, GMBS Business Support was awarded by the Dutch Enterprise Agency (‘RVO’) a sector study project of the Myanmar Flower Sector to which a first fact finding mission took place late October.

The study purpose is to provide to-the-point details for Dutch agribusiness to elevate Myanmar flower sector through investments and/or export of plant material, knowledge and technology, and provide further insight and food for directed interventions to both Myanmar relevant supervisory, facilitating and regulatory bodies and key chain actors.

To find out which opportunities were revealed, stay tuned; The study results will be presented to Myanmar and Netherlands flower sector stakeholders in the first Quarter of 2018.

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HFHL productive visit and workshop in Doha, Qatar

Maarten — Fri, 19 May 2017 10:57:15 +0000

15 May 2017

Exercise your Health workshop, Doha, Qatar, was well received by the Ministry of Public Health

The fourth Healthy Food, Healthy Lifestyle event, entitled ‘EXERCISE YOUR HEALTH’ was held at the Aspire Academy in Doha, on Monday, May 15, 2017. The highly interactive workshop on health, nutrition and sport brought together government officials, industrial leaders, scientists and professionals who shared knowledge and gained further insight in pursuit of a healthier and more active society of the State of Qatar.

Dietary and lifestyle related diseases and associated high medical bills, their negative effect on quality of life and significant economic and societal impact, is a global challenge. With stunning rates of obesity, diabetes type two and numerous cardiovascular diseases in the Gulf region, The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands together with GMBS Business Support found the need to establish the Healthy Food, Healthy Lifestyle™ (HFHL) initiative (www.hfhl.nl). This initiative aims to contribute to Gulf country governments and industries for its citizens to increase awareness, embrace healthier habits and adopt a more nutritious and balanced diet. It does so, by organising a series of seminars and highly interactive workshops throughout the Gulf region.

Besides Qatari expert speakers in the fields of health and nutrition, the workshop EXERCISE YOUR HEALTH also featured Dutch speakers, such as from GMBS Business Support, The Choices Program and the Netherlands Knowledge Centre for Sports. Participants shared their knowledge, experience and views to jointly tackle health related issues and present causes and possible solutions to their fellow participants. A most healthy and delicious lunch was provided by The Torch hotel. Each food item on the buffet had a label describing its key characteristics and a bronze, silver or gold label to indicate its healthiness.

The following day visits were made to the State of Qatar Ministry of Public Health, Shell CSR Management, SAIC farms amongst other, and supermarket fresh produce surveys. We hope to initiate, co-formulate and implement fresh produce and health awareness projects in the State of Qatar in the near future in collaboration with our reputable Qatari contacts. For more info on Healthy Food Healthy Lifestyle™, visit the HFHL website.

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HFHL Workshop ‘Fresh Produce: your health, our future’ successful

Maarten — Tue, 31 May 2016 08:17:07 +0000

Healthy food, Healthy lifestyle Workshop ‘Fresh Produce: your health, our future’ successful

Made possible by:

The second edition of the “Healthy Food, Healthy Lifestyle” workshop series has been another success. This edition was titled “Fresh Produce, your health, our future” and took place 31 May in Radisson Blu, Riyadh.

Dietary and lifestyle related diseases and associated high medical bills, their negative effect on quality of life and significant economic and societal impact is a global challenge. With stunning rates of obesity, diabetes type 2 and numerous cardiovascular diseases in the Gulf region, The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Riyadh has developed an initiative to contribute to Gulf country governments and industry for its citizens to increase awareness, embrace healthier habits and a more nutritious and balanced diet. These strategy, initiative and campaign support oriented series of workshops and events are focussed on Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, Kuwait and other Gulf States.

Just as last year’s first event, this workshop was organised together with Saudi Greenhouses Management & Agri Marketing Co., formerly known as Al-Rasheed Greenhouses, a leading agricultural production and marketing company in the Middle East North Africa region.

Fruits and Vegetables are key in a healthy diet, yet in many countries 9 out of 10 do not reach the WHO daily recommended intake of 200 gr of vegetables and 200 grams of fruit. Unhealthy eating habits, resulting from a fast-food, fast-lifestyle way of living is more and more affecting the Gulf region and its young population, with tremendous medical bills that will have to be paid. The question is ‘How can we prevent, rather than cure?’.

The workshop “Fresh Produce, your health, our future” was opened by Eng. Mohamed Al-Rasheed, Chairman of Saudi Greenhouses Management & Agri Marketing Co. and Chairman of the Agricultural Committee of the Riyadh Chamber for Commerce and Industry, followed by a most interesting speech by Dr. Hans van der Beek, Agricultural Counsellor of the Netherlands Embassy in Riyadh, on the impact of increasing our low fresh produce consumption to recommended standards. Dr. Van der Beek fired some challenging statements on for instance the willingness to invest in improving health and lifestyle, and whether the focus should be on increasing production rather than the reduction of waste in fruit and vegetables. All participants were urged to agree or disagree with the statements and justify accordingly.

Mr. Sérgio Nicolau, M.Sc., General Manager of Saudi Greenhouses Management & Agri Marketing Co. elaborated on the challenge to not only build the need for fresh produce, but also the desire; “If we would have to double our consumption of ice cream for health reasons, we would not have any problems in achieving same”, he cheerfully mentioned.

Co-organiser and strategic marketing associate of Saudi Greenhouses Management & Agri Marketing Co., Mr. Maarten Smit, M.Sc., spoke about the importance of having a holistic approach towards significantly increasing both consumption and sustainable production of fruit and vegetables, whilst reducing the enormous amounts of food waste generated by the supply chains and consumers alike. Smit’s highly interactive contribution included a brainstorming session to determine underlying reasons behind the low fruit and vegetable consumption.

The healthy lunch with indications of the amount of calories per dish, motivated the participants from different ministries, large retail chains, farming enterprises and other government institutions and industry leaders to be more conscious in filling their plates.

The afternoon program involved group exercises, where different decision makers of both industry and government bowed their heads on themes, such as “What approach and measures should Saudi Arabia take on combatting food waste in fresh produce” and “How can we make the fresh produce shopping experience more fun, responsible, sustainable and health conscious?”.
It was concluded that government, industry and other stakeholders should work closely together on this daunting task involving Public Health, Education and Agriculture related components. The Healthy Food, Healthy Lifestyle initiative is most willing to assist therein.

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Article “Minder efficient is soms meer effectief” in Berichten Buitenland

Maarten — Mon, 26 May 2014 12:33:46 +0000

26 MAY 2014

Article “Minder efficient is soms meer effectief” in Berichten Buitenland

Berichten Buitenland Article GMBS Maarten Smit: “Minder efficient is vaak meer effectief”

Maarten Smit shared his experience, views and ‘exportise’ on GMBS and the Indonesian market in “Berichten Buitenland”, a magazine of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs for Dutch agribusiness. The article provides the reader with some more soft background of GMBS. Also a few personal observations and tips on doing business in Indonesia gained over the last 25 years are provided in this light article.

Berichten Buitenland 2014 jaargang 40 nummer 5, mei 2014

“En er zijn kansen genoeg voor Nederlandse ondernemers in Indonesië. Smit: “De ontwikkeling van de agro-industrie staat hoog op de agenda. De Indonesische overheid wil graag in het land zelf meerwaarde creëren en zo de lokale werkgelegenheid en economie te stimuleren. Als wij maar zorgen dat we ons opstellen als partner en samenwerking het uitgangspunt is.” Lees verder >

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GMBS appointed as export coaching partner RVO

Maarten — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 10:54:57 +0000

29 APRIL 2014

GMBS appointed as SIB export coach of RVO

GMBS is appointed as qualified export coach of the Dutch Enterprise Agency (RVO – Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland) “Starters International Business” program 2014.

This program allows Dutch small and medium sized enterprises to enjoy professional support and advisory services in the early stages of structural export development. The cost for these services as rendered by GMBS are absorbed by RVO. The Dutch eligable applicant can apply for a voucher for 4 free coaching sessions with a validity of 6 months.

Since the “Starters International Business” program is aimed to promote Dutch export, more information is only available in the Dutch language. Click [here] for practical information.

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Fruitful training needs assessment mission to Bandung

Maarten — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 14:24:56 +0000

7 MARCH 2014

Fruitful training needs assessment mission to Bandung, Indonesia

Image 1: ITB Faculty of Visual Arts and Design building.

The Faculty of Visual Arts and Design under the Bandung Institute of Technology, West Java, Indonesia, was host to a first Training Needs Assessment (TNA) mission under the “Capacity Building in Visual Communication Design Methodology based on Traditional Culture Heritage in Supporting and Developing Indonesia’s Creative Economy” Project.

This project is a Nuffic/NESO funded StuNed Scholarship Program, which is to be undertaken by a consortium between MDF Training & Consultancy, MDF Asia, Reinwardt Academy Amsterdam and the Netherlands Museum Advisors Foundation.

Together with Ruben Smit from the Reinwardt Academy and a solid team of motivated and creative academic minds, the proposed program was further tailored, candidates were interviewed and meetings with the management team were conducted. The mission precedes a 3-week training program for the selected participants taking place in several locations in The Netherlands upcoming June.

Image 2: Dutch trainers and ITB FSRD Candidate participants.

Image 3: Workshop group presentation results SWOT analysis.

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