Reading Time: 5 minutes Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis has highlighted the importance of well-functioning productive sectors—namely agriculture and industry—to a country’s GDP and economic well-being. This was further emphasized with the COVID-19 global pandemic significantly slowing down trade, disrupting food supply chains, and forcing each country to think of its own supply needs first. Executive spoke with Nadine Khoury,…
LAU study on COVID-19 spread estimates extreme social distancing could save 150,000 lives
Reading Time: 5 minutes On March 19, the Office of Graduate Studies and Research at the Lebanese American University (LAU) released the results of a study (see below) on the effects of different levels of social distancing on the number of COVID-19 related deaths by June in Lebanon. One note of caution for these figures is that the lack…
Lebanon’s economic crisis weighs heavy on F&B outlets and hotels
Reading Time: 5 minutes In Lebanon’s service-oriented economy, the hospitality and tourism sector is largely considered a beacon of strength. Its direct contribution to GDP by end of 2018 was 6.5 percent (according to the World Travel and Tourism Council) and it employs 150,000 people, the biggest employer after the public sector, per the tourism syndicates of Lebanon (the…
Job insecurity and unemployment on the rise
Reading Time: 11 minutes Businesses across all sectors in Lebanon, and the employees that are at their foundation, are suffering under a weakening economy. Indicators of this reality are in full display across the country and include the long lines in front of banks most mornings, the “for rent” signs now vying with the “70 percent sale” signs for…
Recent investments in property benefits Lebanese real estate developers and buyers
Reading Time: 6 minutes IN BRIEF Prior to October 17, 2019, the real estate market was suffering from high developer debt and low interest rates on deposits. Lack of trust in banks has since then lead to an uptick in real estate investments, which in turn has allowed developers to pay back their bank loans. Long-term implications on the…
Reinventing Lebanese education for an uncertain future
Reading Time: 5 minutes The third discussion in Executive’s roundtable initiative was designed to cover a broad selection of topics—regarding health, education, and labor—under the banner of social development. Already a dense focus, the third roundtable was further restrained when it became clear to Executive’s editors that plans to carry out 10 roundtables over the course of November 18…
Corruption looms over all aspects of Lebanese life
Reading Time: 6 minutes Executive has long recognized the importance of fighting corruption as an essential step toward creating a strong economy for Lebanon. Both previous versions of Executive’s Economic Roadmap (version 1.0 published in December 2018 and 2.0 published in February 2019) had sections dedicated to combating corruption, as does the reshaped Economic Roadmap 3.0 that has been…
Lebanon’s F&B operators face an economic crisis and low tourism
Reading Time: 7 minutes The once mighty food and beverage (F&B) sector is today falling under the weight of the current economic crisis—the dollar shortage, increased cost of living due to exchange rates, and lower purchasing power—and lack of tourists, with no respite in sight. Once optimistic F&B operators, who had always insisted that the sector was resilient enough…
Lebanon’s hotels facing a bleak last quarter
Reading Time: 5 minutes During the winter holiday period hotels are typically full of life, from locals dining at the in-house food and beverage outlets, to tourists checking in to their rooms at the lobby—everything and everyone is covered with a festive sheen. This year, however, if October and November performances are any indication, a busy festive season will…
Technology and agriculture meet in Agrytech
Reading Time: 8 minutes There is a need for innovation and R&D in the agro-industry sector in Lebanon and the region. Agrytech, a program by Berytech focusing on innovations in agriculture, was created to address this need. It has four major pillars including an accelerator program and an agri-food innovation cluster. Agrytech was promoted to university students and graduates…