Agricultural Machinery Leasing company in Palestine

The Dutch company Roelofs Landbouwmechanisatiebedrijf B.V. (LMB Roelofs or Roelofs) and the Palestinian company Al Shamali Ltd. set up a modern ISO 9001 certified agricultural service centre combined with a workshop, training centre and leasing company for agricultural equipment.

In the Palestinian agricultural sector is a lack of modern agricultural equipment and knowledge about how to operate and maintain these assets. A second constraint is the small financing capacity of small and medium size farmers. In many cases these farmers do not have the means to buy their own tractor and machinery, and as a result they often cannot prepare all of their land properly. This results in sub optimal yields and small profit margins, if profit is made at all.

The new company highly contributes to the development of the agricultural sector in Palestine. Farmers are given the opportunity to lease equipment. They  receive training on how to operate and maintain the equipment before the lease contract is signed. They can operate the machines by themselves or hire a professional from the new company to operate the machine. The lease of agricultural equipment is new to Palestine. Small and medium sized farmers benefit from this project as agricultural services will be more and more available. This helps them to increase their harvests and consequently increase their income and living standards. All farmer related businesses profit from increased production and better quality production.

Terwel was requested to represent Al Shamali in The Netherlands to find a Dutch partner. Terwel brought them in contact with Roelofs, that has more than 30 years of experience in servicing agricultural equipment and has been dealing with clients from many different countries. Terwel BV assisted the partners to develop the project proposal and business plan and continues to be involved in the project’s implementation.

Palestine: Nablus Soap BV

Together with our business partner Mojtaba Tbeleh , owner of Nablus Soap Ltd, we have established a new modern soap processing facility in Nablus Palestine. The family Tbeleh has been active in the traditional soap making for over 400 years. The company was established in 1971 and has focused on soap making since. The traditional soap made from natural ingredients only, are produced in relatively small quantities at the Nablus soap factory just outside Nablus in Palestine. The facility is now an example for environmental-friendly soap making. Due to new modern processing equipment, energy and resources are used efficiently.

A Dutch company Nablus Soap BV has been set up and is the importer, distributor and marketer of the soap products in the EU. Due to this project we have created 19 direct new jobs in Palestine.

Al Hayat Hospital for gastroenterology

A new hospital was set up in Sheberghan, Afghanistan by Bashir Nezami who is the owner of Privazorg Maastricht and born and raised in Afghanistan. The hospital provides specialised gastroenterological health care, with modern medical equipment, a highly trained medical staff and with a telemedicine cooperation with a hospital in Bangalore. Mr Nezami’s goal is to improve Afghanistan’s health care.

The demand for healthcare is big and the supply of high quality healthcare is low. Modern techniques are hardly available.
Besides locals, there are many people from neighbouring cities and counties that come to Sheberghan for health care. (112,000)
Every week many flights go to India and a stunning 80% of the travellers goes out for medical care. Around 1.000 patients every week travel to India for complex medical care. Many more persons looking for medical care travel from the Northern regions of Afghanistan to Pakistan by car.

To make this new hospital a success, the partners needed knowledge in the field of specialized medical care, nursing care, lab tests, medical equipment, administration and organisation management and financial management. New experienced and qualified staff was needed. Doctors from Afghanistan will receive training in the Narayana Health Centre in Bangalore and medical training in the Netherlands.

The hospital expects to treat per month 2.000 patient each receiving different medical services ranging from only consultation with the doctor, several tests, and lab blood research to diagnostic endoscopy or therapeutic colonoscopy and surgery.
Treatment of cancer, one of diseases found in digestive system, is not possible in Afghanistan. No hospital in Afghanistan is able to offer chemo radiation therapy. Nevertheless, through endoscopies, endoscopy ultrasound, biopsies, needle biopsy and cytology, and physical examination the new hospital will be able to clearly diagnose cancer.
The hospital is aiming to fill 30% of the positions with women. It is very hard to find women for the specialists positions as for long time women were not allowed to be educated.

Other companies in the medical sector benefit from the new hospital as it sets an example for profitable medical service business based on high quality service standards in Afghanistan. In other words the new hospital will prove that it is possible to run a medical service company profitably by focussing on proper management, transparent operations, clear pricing system, and fair and strict working policies. Terwel BV assisted the partners to develop the project proposal and business plan and continues to be involved in the project’s implementation.