The aim of the EU Small and Medium Enterprise Support Program (SMESP) in Lebanon is to offer young entrepreneurs guidance and better access to financing. To do so, it donated 2.8 million euro to establish the country’s first business incubators and 4 million euro to a Kafalat-run lending scheme. However, as the SMESP reaches the end of its mandate in October, people wonder to what extent these initiatives are self-sustainable and, indeed, if they have a future. Situated on the 9th floor of the Ministry of Economy and Trade, the SMESP was founded and funded by the European Union in April 2005. With a total budget of 17.8 million euro, the program aimed to improve the Lebanese business environment for small and medium enterprises in three primary areas: policy, business development and financial access. According to Senior Enterprise Development Advisor Declan Carroll, the program first of all aimed at
