VCs call for more updates to regulations and legislation to attract foreign investment

ENAR

It has been six years since Banque du Liban (BDL), Lebanon’s central bank, announced Circular 331, designed to boost investment in the knowledge economy. Now entrepreneurs seeking seed-stage funding, and those operating VC funds in the country tell Executive that while more capital is available for startups seeking follow-on funding, seed or early stage funding is harder to come by. While some investments are being made to seed and early stage startups, the number of deals has slowed. Following the mid-2018 collapse of Bookwitty, which had received funds guaranteed under Circular 331, rumors swirled that its failure had caused financial flows facilitated by 331 to slow. Players in the entrepreneurship scene now place a new emphasis on attracting private capital to keep the startup ecosystem on its feet and moving forward. When BDL announced Circular 331 in August 2013, it was designed to inject a potential $400 million into the