The Beirut Creative Cluster

When American author Michael Porter first introduced the notion of ‘cluster’ in 1990 in his book The Competitive Advantage of Nations, he viewed the agglomeration of companies — whether geographical or merely through collaboration — as essential to increasing productivity, driving innovation and encouraging new businesses in the field. Fast forward 22 years and Beirut-based incubator Berytech is attempting to launch, on its own, a local version of a cluster for Lebanese companies in the information communication technology (ICT) sector. Financially supported by the European Union, Berytech’s efforts to launch the cluster began in 2011 after tasking Salim Tannous, a media consultant, with finding the ICT companies that would eventually become the members of the cluster. “Most company owners said ‘leave us alone, we don’t have time’; they associated [this initiative] with a PR stunt so the first obstacle was to get their trust,” says Tannous. Cooperation for free After