Markets Unlocked: Christian Businesses Bless Israel

March 26, 2007

Every Christian around the world who works in a company can now bless Israel as well as their own business in a practical way. A Christian company called Markets Unlocked has opened an office in Israel to match the purchasing needs of companies around the world with Israeli companies who can supply those needs. The goal is to bless Israel by boosting exports and thus her economy.

Companies around the world are already benefiting commercially from using the Markets Unlocked system. Chairman Julian Watts of Markets Unlocked explains: “We have agreements for over a half billion [US] dollars of products and services to be purchased exclusively through Markets Unlocked, so there is a continuous stream of purchase requests and many great examples of companies increasing sales or reducing purchasing costs through the system.”

Before bringing Markets Unlocked to this point, the Lord took the company through an intense refining process during which He completely transformed every aspect of the business and its employees. As a result, the testimony of the company has been featured as a case study in a half dozen books by leading Christian authors.

In the process, the Lord also transformed the company’s view of Israel. Watts acknowledges: “In our original strategic business plan, we just saw Israel as one of many small economies we would get to at some point in the future. So we were really surprised that at our very first company fast––where everyone in the company prayed and fasted for the day––everything the Lord said to us was about Israel. The Lord basically told us to throw away our beautifully prepared business plan, follow Him instead, and love, serve, and bless Israel.”

As a result, the formal global launch of Markets Unlocked took place in Israel in 2002. While companies around the world pay an annual membership fee to use the system, Markets Unlocked gave the use of the system free to Israeli companies as a gift from the Christian community around the world.

Since then Markets Unlocked have been waiting on the Lord for a sense of His timing for opening an office in Israel. It became increasingly apparent that 2007 was the Lord's time. “Starting in June 2006, the Lord just lined up a whole series of events and 'divine appointments' very rapidly and neatly so that in 2007 we opened our office in Israel” said Watts.

While the system automatically matches business buyers and suppliers around the world, the role of the new Markets Unlocked office in Israel goes one step further. Each purchase request entered into the system by companies around the world is reviewed by Markets Unlocked Israel. The team then researches Israeli companies who can supply the required product or service and contacts them to help them respond to the purchase request through the Markets Unlocked system. The Markets Unlocked office in Israel is therefore delivering live sales leads from around the world to Israeli companies for free.

Watts explains: “Our vision is for every Christian around the world who works in a company to think about what is the largest item (product or service) that their company purchases during the year and then enter that item as a purchase request on the Markets Unlocked system. We will deliver that purchase request to relevant Israeli companies, and the system will also deliver it anonymously (without revealing the name of the buyer company) to other potential suppliers around the world. The suppliers respond and the buyer shortlists the best suppliers and negotiates with them directly (not through the system). If the Israeli companies come up with a good deal, they will win the business, but even if they don’t, at least they have the opportunity to compete for business which they would never have heard about otherwise.”

Whether you work in a company or you have Christian family and friends who work in a company and would like to bless Israel in a practical way, check out our link on the Bridges for Peace Web site (www.bridgesforepeace.com) under “Businesses Bless Israel/ Markets Unlocked.”

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