As the conflict between Palestine and Israel is continuing to keep the world in its grip, one entrepreneur is seeking to solve the crisis in a different way: from a business point of view. Sir Ronald Cohen, an Egyptian- born Jewish- British founder and former chairman of European private equity house Apax Partners, believes economics and the introduction of a spirit of entrepreneurship among Palestinians will bring a permanent end to the violence.

In past interviews, Cohen has put forward the idea that "economics and investment can bring peace to the Middle East”, telling the Financial Times that he believes that when people have a  good standard of living and the tools to achieve their ambition, that they will be more content.  He said: "If we provide the Palestinians with the means to make money and invest in them and their entrepreneurial spirit, I believe there will be a growth in moderation and less violence."
The vehicle through which he puts these ideas into action is the Portland Trust, an organisation formed in 2003, a private not-for-profit British foundation committed to promoting peace and stability between Palestinians and Israelis through economic development. Some projects include:

Arab-Jewish High Technology Centers
The Portland Trust is  for example supporting the Tsofen-High Technology Centers project. Tsofen aims to accelerate and increase the level of Israeli and Arab participation in the Israeli hi-tech industry. Tsofen will open Arab-Jewish R&D centres in the Galilee (the first was succesfully launched in Nazareth in October, 2008). Arab engineers will then be able to provide software development services to Israeli companies.

Microfinance and Women Entrepreneurs
The Trust is also aiming to contribute to alleviating poverty in the West Bank and Gaza by developing its microfinance sector. It works together with Palestinian microfinance organisations to give poor Palestinians access to the services needed to develop their micro enterprises, services that include financial services as well as vocational training and business development schemes. Women take a prominent place in its work, as they form 60 % of the Trust's clients.

In October 2008, the Winners of the first ever Palestine Best Micro Entrepreneur Award were announced. Among them Mrs. Fatmeh Brejieh who won the second prize in recognition of her successful Green House and Sheep Breeding project, located in Al Ma’sara village near Bethlehem, started in 2000 with a 10,000 US Dollar loan from the Palestinian Business Women's Association “Asala”, and
Mrs. Sabah Al Barri from YabadJenin who won the third prize for her success in delivering many needed services to her community with loans from the Palestinian Business Women's Association, “Asala".

Loan Guarantee Scheme for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
Another project  of the Trust is the development of a loan guarantee scheme for the Palestinian Territory. A study by The Portland Trust identified that Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) were one of the driving forces behind the Palestinian economy and were more resilient in the face of the conflict and the political uncertainty than other sectors. But they faced enormous hurdles in accessing finance. The banks were reluctant to lend finance because of the risks involved. These risks translated into high collateral requirements on the part of the SMEs.

The Portland Trust looked at ways of underwriting lending. The Portland Trust worked closely with The Aspen Institute, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the Palestinian Investment Fund (PIF). The OPIC/PIF scheme was launched in July 2007 with $160 million of funds to guarantee loans up to a total of $228 million.