Never has the Lebanese entrepreneurial spirit been so successful in confronting adversity. Not since the freewheeling days of the civil war has it risen to the challenge of leading the way in its journey from underdeveloped economy into emerging market and its role as the region’s creative hub, in a time of raging uncertainty, both at home and abroad. In Lebanon, a complete absence of public policy for economic growth, coupled with the eroding effects of self-interest by those who claim to serve the national good, has contrived to sabotage the natural instincts of free enterprise, while from Ramallah to Falluja, the region continues to bubble and spit on the region’s hotplate. Where economic freedom is either snuffed out by the specter of terror or squeezed by those who refuse to embrace sound economic principals, the Lebanese entrepreneur survives and thrives. Lebanese industry should be out for the count. Faced
