Reading Time: 7 minutes For those who are addicted to adrenaline rushes from springtime thrill rides, March 2020 may very well be as good as it can ever get. But only as far as the thrills of being exposed to the mother-of-all economic shocks. For the large rest of us, it is a world-engulfing nightmare. For the Lebanese, it…
Q&A with the team behind jobsforlebanon
Reading Time: 11 minutes They want to bring jobs to jobs-starved Lebanon. They also want to do something that has been tried many times and rarely been crowned by success: mobilize direct investments into Lebanon from the country’s large global diaspora. Specifically, they want to seed job investments—work opportunities that can be located anywhere in the world, yet be…
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…
Lebanon must move toward universal social protection
Reading Time: 6 minutes Decades of social and economic injustice were a driving factor in the social unrest that burst onto Lebanon’s streets in mid-October 2019, unfolding into a revolution. Lebanese had been pushed to breaking point by the effects of a longstanding economic malaise that has since worsened into a ongoing financial crisis with job losses, lowering of…
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…
Lessons from the American entrepreneurship ecosystem
Reading Time: 3 minutes Fostering a supportive culture is key for entrepreneurship. The government needs to create policies that enable entrepreneurship, such as tax incentives and intellectual property rights. Universities in Lebanon need to include real-world, hands-on engagement within entrepreneurship programs. With the current hardships and challenges Lebanon is encountering, the government needs to look to new ways to…
Lebanese entrepreneurship requires a robust regulatory framework
Reading Time: 3 minutes Regulation is key for the success of entrepreneurship initiatives. Tax breaks, a regulatory sandbox, and access to finance will aid investment in small and early stage startups in Lebanon. The Banking Control Commission of Lebanon could play a pivotal role in kick-starting the fintech sector through a regulatory sandbox. The High-Level Lebanon-UK Tech Forum, held…
New programs offer business, financial help to entrepreneurs
Reading Time: 9 minutes New accelerator, incubator, and grant programs for startups demonstrate a nichificiation of the ecosystem. Many entrepreneurs rely on these programs for financial support and in-kind services, such as office space and mentorship, to develop their young businesses. The ecosystem still has gaps that will need to be addressed to develop further. Since 2013, and the…
Lebanon needs fintech regulation to keep up with regional growth
Reading Time: 6 minutes Lacking regulation or access to licensing, fintech in Lebanon proves challenging. While there are fintech-adjacent paths entrepreneurs can pursue, these require partnering with licensed entities, such as banks and financial institutions, which are limited in the number of partnerships they can undertake. Other countries in the region have opened up regulation and created regulatory testing…
Houmal Technology Park
Reading Time: 5 minutes Houmal Technology Park (HTP) can be an example of tech manufacture and fruitful entrepreneurialism. Export orientation of tech companies can be realized independently from the Lebanese entrepreneurship ecosystem that relies on Circular 331. First-mover disadvantages of pioneering tech companies need to be compensated by state and municipal partners for creation of productive clusters. Risks pertaining…