Best viewed together with its companion website: www.opportunities.com.

lb Issue 279 Spring – 2023

AI software developed here Four products with high potential

Local and export industrial growth Six talents in outsourcing demand

Hundreds of
new companies

USD 10
 EDITORIAL
BY THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Dare it be said?
A
dmittedly, it takes a lot of daring to announce the beginning of reversal in the
Publisher & editor-in-chief fortunes of the private sector. It will no doubt be faced with denial, skepticism,
Ramzi El Hafez
and even mockery. In this issue we undertake the challenge. We highlight the
bright corners of an otherwise still desolate situation. Hundreds of businesses have
Editorial started, branched out, or reopened after closure at the beginning of the crisis or as
Shikrallah Nakhoul a result of the Port Explosion. Manufacturers are selling more locally and abroad.
Salaries in the private sector have become respectable again — even if still below the
Printing pre-crisis levels. Local talents are being outsourced from abroad. Dare we say more?
Photogravure Vartan sarl
Daring in the dark
It takes a lot of daring to face the understandably and starkly negative general mood in
the country. The public sector remains, and will likely continue to be, deconstructed.
Respecting the environment
Scandals, whose stench is suffocating, abound. Public wages in local currency have not
Paper. Since 2006, Lebanon Opportunities has been
printed on Terrapint paper sourced from Kable. Its kept up with inflation in spite of being increased by multiples. Strikes and absenteeism
factory is approved by the Forest Stewardship Council have become daily obstacles to complete the simplest transactions with the State. The
(FSC). Its paper is made from wood from sustainably political gridlock looks much better than what’s on offer to get it unclogged. But the
managed forests certified by ISO 14001, PEFC, and ESC.
Five trees are planted for each one cut. mother of all apocalypses is the now normalized acceptance of the domineering position
Bags. Lebanon Opportunities is distributed in d2w bags, of Le Hezb, whose role has been promoted from veto holder to decider in-chief. Even
which ensures that they are 100% oxo-biodegradable.
Recognition. InfoPro, the publisher of Lebanon
the tender Gauls have acquiesced to that normalized reality, and are seeking to copulate
Opportunities, has been recognized by the Ministry of with the yellows. The reintegration of the Syrian regime into the — similar in nature —
Environment for its contribution to a cleaner environment. Arab League has added insult to injury. The people is abandoned. Those in politics are
either in denial and sheepishly protesting, daydreaming of shy forms of separatism, or
looking for ways to join the bandwagon of regional entente. They are not daring.
Distribution
The Lebanese Company for Daring to invest
the Distribution of Periodicals It takes a lot of daring to start a business nowadays. In 2019 and 2020, we were
Phone: (961-1) 368.007, (961-1) 366.684 busy counting the number of business closures. In 2021, suffering from whiplash, the
Fax:(961-1) 366.683 situation stabilized at a low threshold. In 2022, and definitely this year, the private
E-mail: colidi@inco.com.lb
sector started to stand back on its feet. Not without pain, sometimes hesitantly, or
cautiously, the will to survive is overcoming surrender and resignation. Most of those
Dedicated to Leila Osseiran who lost hope have thrown in the towel and gone to other lands. A minority has come
back. The others are sending remittances. These remittances, together with fortunes
LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES ® unwelcomed by local or foreign banks, amount to a large cash liquidity that is looking
Published quarterly
InfoPro SAL for placement. Some of it is being spent on shopping. The rest is being invested in
Hamra Street – Piccadilly Center – 2nd floor cash-generating businesses. Retail, hospitality, manufacturing, and some services are
P.O. Box 11-4355 Beirut, Lebanon selling more and hiring again. Other sectors such as construction and real estate are
Phone: (961-1) 739.777 waiting — but their turn will come soon.
Fax: (961-1) 74.90.90
E-mail: opportunities@infopro.com.lb
Website: www.opportunities.com.lb
Daring to live
It takes a lot of daring, even a bundle of denial, to live as if nothing has happened.
But there are at least two to three consecutive generations who persevered just
like that. Starting from the pre-1975 era, during the Civil War, under the thumb of
the Syrian regime, in the aftermath of the Hariri assassination, and now after all
the calamities that started in 2019, people have adapted. They are being faulted by
some pontificators for not daring to resist their oppressors and that for this reason
TO SUBSCRIBE they deserve what has befallen them. Isn’t living and ignoring the demons a form of
Phone (961-1) 739.777 resistance? If that’s not daring the devil, I don’t know what it is.
Fax (961-1) 74.90.90
Website www.opportunities.com.lb

Copyright © 2023 InfoPro SAL

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 1

IN BRIEF
TIDBITS

Soundbytes

There are some who are pushing

We shall return the depositors’ money,
for a total collapse, so as to rebuild
even if it takes a while
from scratch
Mohamed Raad
Caretaker Prime Minister
Head of Hezbollah’s bloc in Parliament
Najib Mikati

We don’t export cucumbers and

We should get more serious tomatoes. We export manpower. A single
with the IMF emigrant engineer sends to his family
more than the entire tomato season
Saadeh Chami
Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Tony Frangieh
MP

The health system is still threatened,

We are heading to oblivion
but resistant. The most vulnerable class’
access to health services is growing
Charles Arbid
Chairman of the Economic,
Firas Abiad
Social, and Environmental Council
Caretaker Minister of Public Health

Some of the political rhetoric is

The eight remaining oil&gas blocks detrimental to the tourism sector so it
are ready for bidding is better for some politicians to shut up

Walid Fayad Tony Ramy

Caretaker Minister of Energy and Water Chairman of the Syndicate of Owners of
Restaurants, Cafés, Night-Clubs and Pastries

The only solution is an open

China is still ready to invest more
general strike
than $12 billion in Lebanon
Bechara Asmar
Hassan Nasrallah
Chairman od the General
Secretary General of Hezbollah
Confideration of Workers

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 2

Did you know?
Ś
 
depositors benefit from Sayrafa
Ś

CJMMJPO
in bank loans are still outstanding down from $54 billion in 2019
Ś

is the fertility rate, down from 5.8 in 1960 and 3.3 in 1980
Ś
 
.8
is the demand for electricity, down from 2,740 MW pre-crisis
Ś

CJMMJPO
in local bank deposits are held by Arab depositors
Ś

different exchange rates are being applied
Ś

CJMMJPO
in fresh funds are deposited in local banks
Ś

NJMMJPO
passengers are expected at the airport this year
Ś

QFSDFOU
of labor is employed by the public sector

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Pixels
4ZSJBO
SFGVHFFT
$PNJOH
BOE
HPJOH

3FBM
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TVSSFBM

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5SBOTPDFBO
#BSFOUT
3JH
JT
DPNJOH
UP
CMPDL
 /FX
64
&NCBTTZ
VOEFS
DPOTUSVDUJPO

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 3

 CONTENT
SPRING 2023

What’s new?

Leaders 7
IPT and Phoenix Energy launch e-car charging network

Business 8
Green electricity made available to consumers.
Mall owned by Habtoor to reopen

Finance 10
$77 million industrial loans from Cedar Oxygen.
$20 million fund for renewable energy

Official Business 12 Matters of Fact 16

QatarEnergy joins gas exploration consortium.
Drilling for gas in Block 9 to start in autumn. Minimum
wage doubled and transportation increased. 165 MW to be
generated by 11 solar energy consortia
Property sales drop in numbers and value.
Building permits surge by 68 percent in Beirut. Airport
passengers up 50 percent to 6.3 million. Hotel occupancy
rate near 50 percent in Beirut. Containers at Port of Beirut
20 percent up. Freight at Port of Tripoli jumps 53 percent

Canceled Projects 14
Management of the airport duty-free market. People on the move 18
Second airport terminal. Operating the postal service.
Court of Accounts asked to fine Casino du Liban New companies 20

Economy
Country Report: Turnaround 23
Signs of an economic recovery have started to emerge

Socio-Economic Development
Infopro launches LebanonRevival.News 29
A news website dedicated to socio-economic development

Lebanon Revival News 30

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 4

Cover story: New Business

Hundreds of Companies are Opening 36

New businesses are being created and some that
had closed down due to the Port Explosion and
the economic crisis are reopening
Selected Listing 42
Companies opened since 2022

Business
Growth for Manufacturers 46
Strong market gains locally and abroad

Export Markets Identified 50

Agri-food industry has been a high performant
amidst the crisis

Talent outsourcing 58
Study identifies six promising activities

Artificial Intelligence Companies 64

Local AI companies are attracting global customers

InfoPro directory 72

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 5

 WHAT’S NEW
LEADERS

IPT and Phoenix
Energy launch e-car
charging network
Fuel distribution and retail
company IPT and Phoenix
Energy, part of INDEVCO
group, have established EV
Zone, a fifty-fifty joint ven-
ture, to operate a network
of electric vehicle charging
stations (EVCSs) that will be
deployed across the country.
In the first phase, 50 EVCSs
will be set up and this num-
ber will reach 150 by the
end of the current year with
much more stations to be in-
stalled afterwards, said Rabih
Osta, Vice Chairman of Phoe-
nix Group. The EVCSs will
be installed in gas stations,
shopping malls, supermar-
kets, restaurants, and cafes.
Customers could charge their
cars while shopping in a mall
or a supermarket or eating in
a restaurant, Osta said. These
businesses could also make
special offers on the cost of
vehicle charging, he said.
Osta said the cost of charg-
ing an electric car is about
half the cost of gasoline for
cars using fossil fuels because
electric vehicles convert the
energy generated by braking
into electrical power. He said
they have noticed an increase
in imports of electric cars and
that they expect this trend
to continue. A mobile app
was launched that could be
used by owners of electric
cars who will be able to start
charging their vehicles within
a week, Osta said.
L0223-01

AVAILABLE IN BOOKSTORES
ORDER DIRECT (01) 739.777 ext:143 | www.infopro.com.lb/order

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 7

 WHAT’S NEW
BUSINESS
Green electricity made
available to consumers
The Lebanese Center for En-
ergy Conservation (LCEC)
has begun receiving applica-
tions from producers of re-
newable energy to register
their power generation farms
in order that LCEC issues in-
ternational renewable energy
certificates (I-RECs) on their
behalf. An I-REC is an Energy
Attribute Certificate (EAC)
that represents the environ-
mental attributes for gen-
erating one megawatt hour
(MWh) of electricity. I-RECs
will be sold to consumers of
electricity who prefer to use
renewable energy. Since the
electricity injected into the
national grid comes from dif-
ferent kinds of power genera-
tion facilities and consumers
cannot know the source of
the actual electricity they
are using, the I-REC system
connects them indirectly
to producers of renewable
energy. The I-REC system is
expected to expand the mar-
ket for renewables and bring
new players into the sector
such as foreign companies
operating in Lebanon that
are committed to renewable
energy, according to a work-
shop launched by UNDP, in
partnership with the Euro-
pean Union (EU), the Inter-
national REC Standard Foun-
dation (IREC), and LCEC.
The I-REC system is espe-
cially suitable for businesses
that don’t have roof space
for solar panels. Renewable
energy producers will also
benefit from the increase in
demand which will encour-
age more investment in the
sector. Lebanon obtained the
approval of the International
REC Standard Foundation for
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 8
Provided by
I-REC electricity issuance last
year and LCEC is in charge of
I-REC issuance.
L0223-03
Mall owned by
Habtoor will reopen
UAE-based Al Habtoor Group
(AHG) plans to reopen its
shopping mall in Sin El Fil
by the end of 2023 in part-
nership with Triple Height,
a Lebanese company es-
tablished earlier this year
by Marc Tanios and others.
The mall is located in Hab-
toor City Place, which is
connected to AHG’s five-star
Hilton Beirut Habtoor Grand
Hotel. Triple Height will
manage the five-story mall
which will be renamed The
Sooq Avenue. It will also op-
erate other malls. The mall
closed in March 2020 due to
the crisis and the Covid-19
pandemic. It was operated
by Azadea under ‘Le Mall’
brand. A 12-month grace
period will be accorded to
qualified tenants. Shop areas
range from ten square meters
(m2) to 500 m2. The mall will
include clothing stores, foot-
wear shops, small furniture
shops, bookstores, and other
kinds of shops in addition to
restaurants, beauty salons,
bank branches, and other
facilities. It will also host en-
tertainment events. AHG re-
cently reopened Hilton Beirut
Metropolitan Palace, which
closed following the Port Ex-
plosion in 2020 while Hilton
Beirut Habtoor Grand re-
mained in operation despite
the blast. Khalaf Al Habtoor,
founder of AHG, said: “We
have a great love for Lebanon,
and I am totally confident that
better days are ahead.”
L0223-04
 WHAT’S NEW
FINANCE
$77 million industrial
loans from Cedar Oxygen
The Cedar Oxygen fund ap-
proved more than 60 loans to
the industrial sector in 2022
boosting its lending portfolio
over seven times in one year
to above 70 loans, according
Ibrahim Salibi, CEO of Cedar
Oxygen-Lebanon. The size of
a loan ranges from $200,000
to $10 million with an average
value of $1.1 million. “We also
have 25 loans in the pipeline.
The reason for the growth in
lending is that we have tai-
lored our products to suit the
needs of the market. We have
made our conditions more
acceptable to our custom-
ers and reviewed the inter-
est rates we charge. We have
also streamlined and simpli-
fied the process for obtaining
a loan,” Salibi said. Over 70
percent of the loans aim to
finance raw material imports.
The fund also provides capital
expenditure (CAPEX) financ-
ing for machinery purchases
and it discounts the receiv-
ables of manufacturers. “Our
Provided by
$20 million fund the current year. The ticket
for renewable energy size ranges from a minimum
of $200,000 to a maximum
The Trade and Investment of $2 million. The funding
Facilitation (TIF) project and will be provided through pur-
IM Ventures have launched chase or leasing. It will be
the SoLR& Renewable Energy repaid over five years with
Fund with a targeted capital a prepayment option at the
of $20 million to finance the third year. “This financing
purchase and installation of is an opportunity to reduce
renewable energy systems, energy cost,” said Nicolas
primarily solar power, by Rouhana, Chairman of IM
around 25 commercial and Fndng which operates the
industrial companies at com- IM Ventures and IM Capital
mercial interest rates. Each programs, both funded by
business sector’s allocation USAID. He said that this is
will not exceed 25 percent of also an opportunity for inves-
the fund’s size. The United tors in the fund since the tar-
States Agency for Interna- geted internal rate of return
tional Development (USAID) (IRR) for investors is 20 per-
has contributed a seed capi- cent. TIF targets investments
latest product is renewable tal of $4 million through TIF in social impact projects, agri-
energy financing. It is a hot and IM Ventures. Fundrais- food processing, manufactur-
product in high demand be- ing the remaining $16 million ing, knowledge economy,
cause it allows manufacturers from private investors and hospitality, and services. It
to save on fuel costs amid ris- other donors is under way has allocated $33 million of its
ing oil prices and after the lift- and is slated to close by the $70 million capital for grants.
ing of fuel subsidies especially end of the third quarter of L0223-11
that fuels are a large compo-
nent of their cost structure,”
Salibi said. Cedar Oxygen,
which is considering extend-
ing its lending to other sec-
tors in the future, is in talks
with potential investors to
raise additional funds beyond
the $175 million initial fund-
ing provided by the Central
Bank. The potential investors
are both individual and insti-
tutional investors, Lebanese
and non-Lebanese, accord-
ing to Salibi. “The funds that
we are seeking to raise could
consist of equity or debt. We
are presenting ourselves as
a fund involved in impact fi-
nancing in order to attract
investors who, besides finan-
cial returns, are concerned
that their investments have
positive impact on society,”
he said.
L0223-10
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 10
 WHAT’S NEW
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
QatarEnergy joins gas
exploration consortium
QatarEnergy has acquired a
30 percent stake in the three-
way consortium to explore
oil and gas in two maritime
blocks off the coast of Leba-
non. The other members are
TotalEnergies and Eni, each
with a 35 percent share. The
Ministry of Energy and Water
said it expects the launch
of exploration activities to
be brought forward from
November. A first licensing
round in 2017, covering Block
4 and Block 9, was awarded
to this consortium which in-
cluded at the time the Rus-
sian firm Novatek. Only one
inconclusive drilling attempt
was made in Block 4. No at-
tempt was made in Block 9,
which was halted due to a
dispute around the maritime
demarcation of the southern
border. Novatek pulled out in
September 2022, leaving its
20 percent stake in the hands
of the Lebanese government.
In October, the United States
brokered a resolution to the
maritime border dispute.
L0223-05
Drilling for gas in Block
9 to start in autumn
French oil company TotalE-
nergies has agreed with the
Ministry of Energy and the Pe-
troleum Administration (LPA)
to set September-November
of this year as a binding date
to begin drilling a well in the
Qana field (Block No. 9). The
well is located six to seven
kilometers north of ‘Line 23’.
The drilling cost of the first
exploration well is expected
to reach $113 million accord-
ing to some estimates. Drill-
ing operations will go through
said the Ministry of Energy
and Water. Exploratory drill-
ing in offshore Block 9 is ex-
pected to start in the fourth
quarter of the current year.
L0223-06
Minimum
wage doubled and
transportation increased
The Price Index Committee
(PIC) has raised the minimum
wage in the private sector to
LL9 million per month from
three stages. The first one allocate 8,000 m2 for petro- LL4.5 million, said Ministry
starts with an evaluation pro- leum activities. Discussions of Labor (equivalent to $84
cess by the winning bidder are currently underway to at the market rate of the day
(out of five that have applied) estimate the cost, determine of the increase). The trans-
to drill the first exploration the final location, occupancy portation allowance was also
well. The company will then period, and other technical raised to LL250,000 ($2.3)
communicate to Total the details. Total may also estab- for each day of attendance at
launch of the rig’s operations lish a backup base, probably work. The ceiling for sickness
at the work site by the end in Cyprus, that will be used and maternity compensation
of September. To speed up in emergency situations. The paid by employers to the Na-
the process, Total last No- remaining eight oil and gas tional Social Security Fund
vember requested equipment exploration offshore blocks was also doubled. These in-
from contractors for drilling are ready for bidding and the creases will be revised in line
in deep waters. The second second licensing round has with fluctuations in the ex-
stage includes obtaining the been extended to June 30, change rate in order to ensure
necessary licenses from the
relevant ministries, especially
Energy and Water, and the
Environment. The first step
will be completed in principle
next June, with the submis-
sion of the results of the ‘Envi-
ronmental Impact Study’ for
Block 9, including the specific
exploration site. After that,
the ministry is supposed to
grant a drilling license, once
the other concerned minis-
tries provide theirs. The third
stage consists of preparing
the ground for building the
‘logistics base’ at the Port of
Beirut (PoB). Total may also
lease land in another area to
store some of the equipment
used in the drilling process.
Construction of the base will
cost $13 million and will start
in July or August. PoB will
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 12
 Provided by

a fair income to wage earn- watts each, or a total of 165

ers. The minimum wage was
LL675,000 before the crisis
and was equivalent to nearly
$450 at the previous official
exchange rate. PIC, which is
officially mandated to adjust
salaries and wages in the pri-
vate sector, is composed of
the Minister of Labor and rep-
resentatives of workers and
employers.
L0223-07
165 MW to be
generated by 11 solar
energy consortia
The Ministry of Energy and
Water has signed contracts
to buy electricity from 11 pri-
vate sector consortia which
will build solar power plants
with a capacity of 15 mega-
megawatts. The solar power
stations located in the Bekaa
will sell energy to Electricité
du Liban (EDL) at ¢5.7/kWh
(US cents per kilowatt-hour).
In other regions the charge
will be ¢6.27/kWh. A year
ago, the 11 consortia were li-
censed by the government
to construct the solar power
plants. They will have to
raise the necessary financing
to implement the projects.
Caretaker Minister of Energy
and Water said that lifting the
subsidies that aimed to sup-
port the prices of fuels used
for power generation by the
private sector in addition to
the subsidies on EDL tariffs
made solar power generation
the least expensive. He said
that generating electricity at
Consortia per governorate
Baalbek-Hermel and Bekaa
Ecosys-Kaco, Dawtec-Looop-Staunch, Labwe Solar
Mount Lebanon
Joun Pv., Sibline Solar Farm, E/One
South and Nabatiyeh
South Power, Rimat 15, GDS-ET-Nabatiyeh
North and Akkar
Kfifane-Phoenix, Elect-STC-Solistis
EDL costs ¢17/kWh while solar ing the development of the
energy is cheaper, clean, and solar water heating and heat
sustainable. The country’s pump sectors, the minister
goal for 2030 is to generate said. The national electricity
3,000 megawatts of electric- plan aims to generate 30 per-
ity through solar power and cent of electricity from renew-
1,000 megawatts through able energy sources by 2030.
wind power, besides complet- L0223-08

SPONSORED CONTENT

Sagesse Sports Club Signs Three-Season

Advertising Contract with Promomedia

B eirut, May 2023 - Sagesse Sports Club - Beirut has signed

a three-season advertising contract with “Promomedia”
part of “JGroup Holding”, the leading Out-of-Home advertising
company across the Levant and Africa. Under the agreement,
Promomedia will market the club’s activities and matches
in football and basketball, as well as advertisements within
Antoine Choueiri Stadium – Ghazir.
President Elie Yahchouchi, signed the contract on behalf of
Sagesse Club, with Vice President Attorney Kamil Saadeh,
Secretary Elie Nassar, Head of Marketing Committee Jihad
Saba, and Media Advisor Bashara Khairallah in attendance.
Patrick Haber, Vice President of JGroup and General Manager
of PromoMedia, signed on behalf of the company, with Joseph
Sfeir from the group and the company also present.
The aim of the agreement is to secure the necessary marketing
for the club’s activities and advertisements within Antoine
Choueiri Stadium - Ghazir, and to establish a partnership
between the two parties in the field of sports and marketing.
Sagesse Sports Club - Beirut is one of Lebanon’s oldest
clubs that holds a significant place in Lebanese, Arab, and
Asian history. The club was established in 1943 and is actively
involved in football and basketball. It has been recognized
with the Lebanese Order of Merit award twice and has won
numerous titles, including the Lebanese Championship title
eight times in basketball, the Lebanese Cup competition title
seven times, the Arab Clubs Championship twice, and the
Western Championship title thrice. In addition to these, the
club has also won the Asian Championship title thrice, as well
as various international tournament titles in Abu Dhabi, Dubai,
Kuwait, Syria, and Qatar. The Asian Confederation awarded
the club the title of the best professional club in basketball in
1999, and it also participated in the World Club Championship
the same year. It is noteworthy that Sagesse Sports Club has
the most extensive fan base in Asia in basketball. Furthermore,
the club has won the Lebanese Football Championship twice.
PromoMedia, founded in 2006, is a leading company in the
media and advertising field in the Middle East and Africa.
It exclusively handles advertisements within Rafic Hariri
International Airport in Beirut and was the first to offer LED
advertising screens, large billboards on roads, and rooftops in
over 5,000 locations in the Middle East and Africa.
During the signing ceremony, Patrick Haber expressed his
satisfaction in investing and expanding in Lebanon, despite the
challenges and difficulties facing the country. He highlighted
the significance of sports, which will have a dedicated place
in Promomedia, stating that they will work to develop sports-
related advertisements in Lebanon and the Arab world.

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 13

 WHAT’S NEW
OFFICIAL BUSINESS

Armed with the new law

Public Procurement Authority
cracks down on four suspicious deals
T
he Department of Tenders, which has become the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), after the public
procurement law was put into effect last year, is using the prerogatives given by the new law to fight corruption
and safeguard public assets. From early November 2022 until the first week of April 2023, PPA cancelled three
contracts awarded by public sector entities to private companies. Later on in April, PPA asked the Court of Accounts to
impose financial fines on the Casino du Liban Co. for failing to abide by the public procurement law. Jean Ellieh, PPA’s
Chairman, said that by applying the public procurement law, Lebanon adheres to full transparency standards that
require companies contracting with the public sector to declare the owner of the economic right. This allows PPA to
identify potential conflict of interests and abuse of power when investigating procurement operations, he said.

Management of the airport duty-free market

The first deal to be cancelled was the contract awarded to Phoenicia
Aer Rianta Co. (PAC-Duty Free) to operate the duty free market at
Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport. The Ministry of Public Works
and Transport (MPWT) said it has decided to cancel the public auction
after PPA objected to the deal on the grounds that the contract was
priced in lira. MPWT said that a huge difference in the exchange rate
of the US dollar to the lira had occurred from the time when the
opening price was determined to the time of awarding the contract.
It said that in the new auction, the opening price will be revised and
will be in dollars. The revenues that will be earned by the Treasury
thanks to the cancellation of the deal are estimated to reach $60
million per year. The annulled contract comprised a fixed amount of
LL1.12 trillion ($12 million, at an exchange rate of LL94,000) and a fee
denominated in dollars at the rate of $3.5 per passenger.

Second airport terminal

MPWT had also yielded to the objections voiced by PPA, lawmakers, political
parties, and non-governmental organizations and cancelled a $122 million project
to build a second terminal at the airport just one week after announcing the
award of the deal. It declared the contract null and void in light of the legal
controversy that had arisen over the lack of transparency regarding the way
the deal was awarded which was done without launching a tender and without
involving PPA. The legal validity of the revoked contract was based on a law
issued in 1974 instead of the public procurement law. The new terminal, when
completed, will be allocated for chartered and low-cost flights and will be able to
handle 3.5 million additional passengers per year. The project would have created
500 jobs and employment for another 2,000 in related sectors. The cost of the
Terminal 2 project was to be borne by the private sector through the Lebanese Air
Transport (LAT), MPWT had said when it awarded the cancelled deal. Once the
project is completed after four years, the ownership of the facilities would have
been transferred to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Terminal 2 was to
be operated by the Irish airport management company ‘daa International’. The
government plans to boost the airport’s capacity to 20 million passengers per year
by 2030 from around eight million passengers at present.

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 14

 Links: Click this article’s entry in ‘Table of Contents’ on our website

Operating the postal service

The contract to operate the postal service was the second
deal to be canceled by PPA within one week after it was
awarded. The deal was won by the consortium of Merit
Invest and Colis Privé, which was the only bidder. The two
companies are owned by the CMA CGM group, the world’s
third largest container shipping company chaired by the
Lebanese French businessman Rodolphe Saadé. PPA pointed
to fundamental irregularities that marred the award process.
It said that the offer made by the consortium does not comply
with the book of terms and conditions and that the profit
sharing proposal reduces the share of the State and turns
it from a share in revenues to a share in a potential book
profit. PPA said the auction must be launched again after
amending the appendices of the contract and the book of
terms and conditions by replacing the term ‘gross profit’ by
‘gross revenues’. The party that will be awarded the contract
will replace the company that has been operating LibanPost
since 1998 and that had previously announced that it was not
interested in participating in the auction. This company was
formerly co-owned by the family of caretaker Prime Minister
Najib Mikati and later sold to Saradar Group, the co-investor
in which the Mikati family has a shareholding as well.

Court of Accounts asked to fine Casino du Liban

Last April, PPA asked the Court of Accounts to impose financial fines on Casino du
Liban Co. for its refusal to apply the public procurement law and its failure to abide by
the Ministry of Finance’s request to terminate the online gambling contract awarded
to Onlive Support Services (OSS) which is a company involved in the online gaming
business. The Casino operator claimed that it is not subject to the public procurement On our website
law because it is a private company since its chairman is appointed by a general More information is available by typing the numbers
below into the Reference Finder on our home page
assembly of shareholders rather than by the Council of Ministers. PPA responded
by stating that Casino du Liban Co. is subject to the public procurement law since it L0223-56 Contact information
operates as a monopoly for gaming activities in Lebanon and because the State owns
a majority stake in it through the Central Bank. www.opportunities.com.lb

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 15

 WHAT’S NEW
MATTERS OF FACT
Property sales drop in
numbers and value
Real estate sales contracts
registered in the Land Regis-
try and Cadaster decreased
both in terms of number
and value in 2022 compared
with the previous year. Total
value decreased 7.6 percent
to $14.4 billion while the num-
ber of registered transactions
dropped 27 percent to nearly
80,000. The most active pe-
riods in 2022 were the first
quarter and from the begin-
ning of summer through to
November. The number of
registered transactions had
jumped by 63 percent in 2020
and 34 percent in 2021. The
decrease in registration was
mainly the result of the fre-
quent closures of the Land
Registry and Cadaster and
the lack of power supply, said
Namir Cortas, Chairman of
the Real Estate Developers
Association (REDAL). Some
of these closures could be de-
liberate with the purpose of
forcing taxpayers to pay at
the new LL15,000 exchange
rate. Another reason for the
decline is that paying for
property purchases became
almost entirely in fresh dol-
lars last year and checks were
basically not used any more.
Cortas said the fact that value
declined at a slower pace than
numbers is that prices of built
properties, especially small
apartments, have moderately
rebounded. He said that the
purpose of most purchases
was not investment but to use
the property for residence.
According to Cortas, de-
mand for small apartments
increased last year and is ex-
pected to continue in 2023
but supply is limited. He said
that buying property for in-
vestment purposes such as
plots of land or big built prop-
erties has declined.
L0223-13
Building permits surge
by 68 percent in Beirut
Construction permits issued in
2022 were stable overall, but
have slightly changed across
areas both in terms of num-
bers and the areas covered by
these permits, according to
the statistics of the Order of
Engineers and Architects in
Beirut (OEA) and the Order
of Engineers and Architects
in Tripoli. The number of
permits fell by one percent to
over 20,000, covering more
than 10 million square meters
Number of Permits (in thousands)
20
15
10
5
0 seasons in December also wit-
2017 2018 2019
Source: Order of Engineers and Architects in Beirut, Order of Engineers and
Architects in Tripoli
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 16
(m2), basically the same as
the previous year. Beirut, the
North, and Bekaa witnessed
increases mainly in terms of
area. The figures were lower
for the other regions. In Bei-
rut, the number of permits
increased eight percent to 326
while the areas covered by
these permits surged 68 per-
cent to nearly 229,000 m2 reg-
istering the largest growth in
terms of area across the coun-
try. Namir Cortas, Chairman
of the Real Estate Developers
Association (REDAL), said that
some developers rushed to
apply for construction permits
in Beirut ahead of an increase
in their fees, in a continuation
of a trend that has started in
the previous year. The growth
2020 2021 2022
in issued permits has also
been generated by developers
who purchased plots of land
in Solidere’s waterfront area
in recent years, according to
Cortas. The permits issued by
OEA dropped by 4.4 percent
in terms of area compared
with a surge of 76 percent
in 2021. This shows that the
rush of developers to obtain
building permits at low fees
in anticipation of an increase
in the official exchange rate
slowed down in 2022. This is
reflected by cement deliveries
which changed contrariwise
to the changes in the volume
of construction permits. Ce-
ment deliveries were almost
unchanged in 2021 despite the
surge in permits. In the first
ten months of 2022 they in-
creased by eight percent com-
pared with the same period of
2021 amid a slight decline in
issued permits.
L0223-14
Airport passengers up
50 percent to 6.3 million
The number of inbound pas-
sengers using the Beirut Rafic
Hariri International Airport
surged by 51 percent to 3.1
million in 2022 compared
with the previous year. The
number of passengers, both
arrivals and departures,
jumped by 47 percent to 6.3
million. Despite the rebound,
the number of passengers is
still less than the record 8.7
million reached in 2019. The
highest passenger traffic in
2022 was recorded in sum-
mer with 2.3 million arrivals
and departures. The Christ-
mas and New Year holiday
nessed high traffic of more
than 552,000 passengers.
L0223-15

Hotel occupancy rate
near 50 percent in Beirut
The average occupancy rate
of four- and five-star hotels
in Beirut increased to almost
49 percent in 2022 from 42
percent in the previous year,
according to the ‘Middle East
Hotel Benchmark Survey’
published by Ernst & Young
(EY). The occupancy rate was
noticeably high in summer
reaching 75 percent in July
and 64 percent in August. Av-
erage room rate, in terms of
fresh dollars, rose by around
six percent last year to $46.
Revenue per available room
grew by 22 percent over the
same period to $22.
L0223-16
Containers at Port of
Beirut 20 percent up
Container traffic at the Port
of Beirut (PoB) witnessed
an improvement in 2022
compared with the previ-
ous year with the number of
handled containers increas-
ing by almost 20 percent to
more than 572,000 twenty-
foot equivalent units (TEUs),
according to PoB statistics.
Cargo, both discharged and
loaded aboard vessels, in-
creased nine percent in
terms of weight to nearly
5.1 million tons. In terms of
value, the merchandise im-
ported through PoB soared
42 percent to $12.2 billion
in 2022 compared with the
previous year while exports
fell 22 percent to $1.6 bil-
lion, according to Customs
data. Imports through PoB
accounted for 64 percent of
total imports across all cus-
toms offices in 2022. The
country’s overall imports
jumped 40 percent to $19.1
billion last year while total
exports dropped ten percent
to $3.5 billion. Overall pro-
ductive imports (excluding
fuels, precious metals, and
scrap) totaled $12 billion in
2022 while productive ex-
ports reached $3.3 billion.
L0223-17
Freight at Port of
Tripoli jumps 53 percent
Freight handled at the Port of
Tripoli (PoT), including im-
ports and exports, jumped by
53 percent to 3.6 million tons
in 2022, according to PoT
statistics. Exports from PoT
soared 2.4 times to 1.5 mil-
lion tons. Imports increased
21 percent to 2 million tons.
Ahmad Tamer, Director Gen-
eral of PoT, said that the
growth in freight movement
is not related to the situation
in the Port of Beirut and that
imports and exports of mer-
chandise have increased. He
said that PoT is distinguished
by the important size of bulk
cargo it handles. According
to Customs, imports in terms
of value through PoT soared
44 percent to $2 billion in
2022. Exports also increased
and rose by six percent to
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 17
Provided by
Imports (USD billion)
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Exports (USD million)
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Source: Customs
$308 million. A review of the port’s revenues increased to
ten-year period 2013-2022 around $18 million in 2022.
shows that both exports and He said it is difficult to assess
imports in terms of value the 2021 revenues in dollars
reached peaks in 2021 and due to the chaotic foreign ex-
2022. The number of cargo change market and that PoT’s
ships visiting PoT increased revenues usually don’t fall
21 percent to 886 vessels in below $15 million.
2022. Tamer said that the L0223-18
 WHAT’S NEW
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Change in leadership at Notre Dame des Secours Hospital

Father Wissam Khoury has been nominated as Chairman of the Board of Notre Dame des Secours
University Hospital (CHU-NDS) – known as Maaounat, in Byblos. He was previously the hospital’s
General Manager. Khoury said they started implementing a recovery plan for the hospital that is
yielding positive results. This includes a governance scheme and committees for audit and financial
issues, investment, fundraising, and remuneration and compensation. New board members have
been appointed, mainly businesspeople from the Diaspora. They are seeking to build partnerships
with hospitals abroad to keep abreast of new advances in healthcare and to adopt the latest standards
and norms. These partnerships allow doctors and nurses to benefit from training abroad, and patients
from treatment in international hospitals. CHU-NDS is affiliated with USEK’s Faculty of Medicine and
Medical Sciences. Both CHU-NDS and USEK belong to the Lebanese Maronite Order. Khoury holds
a PhD in Private Law from Université de Montpellier (France), a Research Master’s degree in Private
Civil Law, and a License in Theology both from the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK).

Elias Abou Fadel has been appointed as General Manager of CHU-NDS. Abou Fadel succeeds
Father Khoury (see above). He has been member of the board of CHU-NDS since 2000. He
is also member of the board of trustees of USEK. Abou Fadel is also Managing Partner at BD
Consult, a financial and management advisory company. He said that they aim to maintain
the sustainability of the hospital while continuing to provide high-quality medical care and to
fulfill the organization’s humanitarian mission. Abou Fadel holds an MBA from the University
of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Maîtrise en Sciences Économiques from Université
Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Ronnie Richa has been appointed as Director of the
Communication Department at the Lebanese Academy
of Fine Arts (ALBA), a University of Balamand faculty.
He was previously a communications consultant
at LibanPost. He holds a Master’s in Architecture
from ALBA and a degree in Management from Ecole
Supérieure de Gestion in France.
Maya Abou Jaoude has been elected as President of the Institute of
Management Accountants (IMA)-Lebanon Chapter. She was previously
board secretary of IMA-Lebanon. Abou Jaoude is currently Assistant
Manager-Accountant at the shared-service company Risk Operations. Nine
out of her 14-year accounting career were spent in the insurance sector.
Abou Jaoude holds a Master’s degree in Audit from the Lebanese University
in addition to a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification.

FROM THE PUBLISHER OF

Matching job seekers with employers. Free of charge.

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 18

Wael Nabil Abdel Salam
President of Beirut Arab University

Prof. Dr. Wael Nabil Abdel Salam has been named President of Beirut Arab University (BAU) for a term
of four years. Abdel Salam, who will take charge of his new office next September, will replace Prof.
Dr. Amr Galal El-Adawi. Abdel Salam is a surgeon and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Alexandria
University. He is specialized in liver, gallbladder, and pancreas surgeries and in advanced endoscopic
surgeries. Abdel Salam is a member of several scientific societies and has completed a number of
training sessions in Italy, South Africa, Germany, France and other countries. He holds a Doctor of
Medicine (MD) degree in Surgery from Alexandria University. Professor Abdel Salam will be BAU’s
thirteenth president since it was established in 1960.

Corine Kiame Dorothée Klaus

Chairperson of the Lebanese League Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon
for Women in Business
Dorothée Klaus has been appointed as
The Lebanese League for Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon.
Women in Business (LLWB) has She was previously Director of UNRWA’s
elected Corine Kiame as its new Relief and Social Services Program in
Chairperson. She will remain Jordan. According to Klaus, UNRWA
in her job as Chief Investment intends to provide cash assistance every
Officer at IM Fndng. Kiame said quarter until the end of 2023 and to scale
she will collaborate with LLWB’s up this support, which is offered to 160,000 people, if it receives
board of directors and management team to build more funding. Before joining UNRWA in 2014, she worked with
fruitful partnerships with other NGOs, governmental the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for 14 years. Klaus,
organizations, and the private sector in order to who is a German national, holds two Master’s degrees, one in
broaden their impact. She holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy and Ethnology from Freie Universität Berlin and the
Finance from Université Paris IX-Dauphine and had other in Humanitarian Assistance from Ruhr University Bochum
pursued advanced programs at Harvard Business where she had also earned a PhD in Geography with the doctoral
School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. thesis ‘Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon – Where to Belong?’

Each issue we feature new executive appointments in all business sectors. If you or someone in your company would like to share with us a new management
appointment or promotion, please email details to opportunities@infopro.com.lb or fax to (01) 74.90.90 and make sure to include a telephone number

JOB SEEKERS EMPLOYERS

Job openings in Lebanon Qualified candidates looking for middle
Top and middle management, and upper level positions in Lebanon
technical and clericals New CVs daily
All vacancies newly announced All CVs on the website are current

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 19

WHAT’S NEW
NEW BORN COMPANIES

Name Sirra Sal Name Lebanese Innovation Company Sal

Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 (300) Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 (3,000)
Directors Sandra Toni Salameh (Chairman & Gen. Mgr.) Directors Nabila Kamal Jurdi (Chairman & Gen. Mgr.) (30)
(298), Rami Aziz Torbey (01) Salam Hassan Saab (1,500)
Nabih-Claude Philippe Jabre (01) Roger Bassam Accaoui (1,470)
Reg. address Lot No. 5403 Ashrafieh, Beirut Reg. address 2nd floor, 423 Saifi Center, Arz Street, Lot No.
Object Online mental health app focused on parenting, 423/23 Saifi, Beirut
couples and individuals, overviews a proactive Object General trade, import, export, commerce and
mental health platform distribution of cars, electronics supplies and
Bank Credit Libanais equipment, pest contriol services, investment,
Solicitor Me Rami Aziz Torbey consultancy, commission, tenders and
Auditor Carmen Albert Abou-Maroun commercial representation
Bank BLOM Bank
Name Al-Beiruti Downtown Sal Solicitor Me Hidab Raef Zabiane
Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 (1,000) Auditor Ahmad Muhieddine Ghandour
Directors Samer Mousbah Zayat (Chairman & Gen. Mgr.)
(980), Ovsep Ohannes Katergi (10) Name Ivy League Sal
Christophe Joseph Aoun (10) Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 (1,000)
Reg. address M1 Building, Omar Daouk Street, Directors Cynthia Skandar Noujaim (Chairman & Gen.
Beirut Central District, Lot No. 1363, Mgr.) (350), Carine Pierre Khoueiry (350)
Minet El-Hosn, Beirut Marie Claude Louis Toutounji (300)
Object General trade, management of restaurants, Reg. address c/o Me Ragheb Georges Haddad
hotels, club and catering, services Object General trade, management of restaurants,
Bank BLOM Bank hotels, club and tourist projects,
Solicitor Me Ragheb Georges Haddad catering services
Auditor Samer Samir Tawil Bank Bank Audi
Solicitor Me Ragheb Georges Haddad
Name Bev Leb Sal Auditor Georges Vincent Accad
Capital (Shares) LL60,000,000 (1,000)
Directors Jalal Salim Nakad (Chairman & Gen. Mgr.) Name Orgone Automotive Sal
(749), Lara Salim Nakad (250) Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 (1,000)
Hala Samir Frangie (01) Directors Nadim-Christian Henri Tewtel (Chairman & Gen.
Reg. address 5th floor, Younes Building, Sami Solh Street, Mgr.) (899), Bahige Samir Takieddine (100)
Lot No. 5249/20 Mazraa, Beirut Gap Car Rental Sal (01)
Object General trade, import, export, commerce, Reg. address Lot No. 5036/4 Mousseitbeh, Beirut
production and distribution of wines, Object General trade, import, export, commerce
arak and derivatives and distribution of equipment, furniture, cars,
Bank SGBL motorcycles and accessories
Solicitor Me Hala Samir Frangie Bank BLF
Solicitor Me Ziad Elie Maatouk
Name Gem Cafe Sal Auditor Mazars Saade
Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 (1,000)
Directors Samir Houssameddine Boubes Name Sol Bio Food Sal
(Chairman & Gen. Mgr.) (395) Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 (1,000)
Tarek Houssameddine Boubes (395) Directors Joseph Ghassan Haddad (Chairman & Gen.
Premier Leisure Sal (Holding) (210) Mgr.), Hassan Nasser Nasser (425)
Reg. address 1st floor, Hatab Building, Amine Mneimne Street, Serge Pierre Asfar (425)
Ras Beirut, Beirut Shareholders Ghassan Joseph Haddad (150)
Object General trade, financial studies and Reg. address Lot No. 1517/8 Dekouaneh
consultancy, management of restaurants, Object General trade, commerce, industry, preparation
catering services, organization of festivals, and packaging of food, organic and agricultural
and commerical representation products
Bank Arab Bank Bank Byblos Bank
Solicitor Me Rayan Hussein Kouatly Solicitor Me Gilbert Maroun Ghostine
Auditor Rabih Albert Makhoul Auditor Elie Nabil Karake

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 20

Name Global Manufacturing Hub Sal Name Debbane Energy Sal
Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 (1,000) Capital (Shares) LL240,000,000 (24,000)
Directors Georges Milad Hajje (Chairman & Gen. Mgr.) Directors Etienne Georges Debbane (Chairman & Gen.
(998), Rabih Elias Naufal (01), Mgr.), Gebrael Georges Debbane, Raphael
Elias Abdalla Bitar (01) Georges Debbane, Pierre Georges Debbane
Reg. address 7th floor, Georges Hajje Property, Lot No. Fadi Georges Debbane
1046/43 Ashrafieh, Beirut Shareholders Raphael Debbane(Holding) (4,800)
Object General trade, commerce, industry, marketing EGD Sal (Holding) (4,800)
and advertising of electrical and lighting Octopi Sal (Holding) (4,800)
supplies, equipment, raw materials, textiles, MGA Sal (Holding) (4,800)
furniture, contracting and decoration Stemipad (Holding) (4,800)
Bank BLOM Bank Reg. address 5th floor, Debbane Building,
Solicitor Me Rabih Elias Naufal Lot No. 2110/10 Zouk Mikael
Auditor Antoine Jean Chemali Object General trade, industry, commerce, rental,
marketing, distribution, packing, packaging,
Name Hosri Insurance Services Sal installation and maintenance of solar energy
Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 (100) Bank Bank Audi
Directors Fernand Antoine Hosri (Chairman & Gen. Mgr.) Solicitor Me Georges Louis Zeinni
(97), Richard Fernand Hosri (01), Auditor BDO, Semaan, Gholam & Co.
Carine Fernand Hosri (01),
Joumana Fernand Hosri (01) Name Debbane Agro Industry Sal
Reg. address Lot No. 1938/18 Mazraa, Beirut Capital (Shares) LL240,000,000 (24,000)
Object Insurance and reinsurance brokerage Directors Etienne Georges Debbane (Chairman & Gen.
Bank BLOM Bank Mgr.), Gebrael Georges Debbane, Raphael
Solicitor Me Malek Farouk Arslan Georges Debbane, Pierre Georges Debbane
Auditor Antoine Boutros Harfouche Fadi Georges Debbane
Shareholders Raphael Debbane(Holding) (4,800)
Name Levant Trading Solutions Co. Sal EGD Sal (Holding) (4,800)
Capital (Shares) LL100,000,000 (10,000) Octopi Sal (Holding) (4,800)
Directors Nicolas Constantin Photiades (Chairman MGA Sal (Holding) (4,800)
& Gen. Mgr.) (4,995), Ghassan Naim Stemipad (Holding) (4,800)
Moughabghab (10), Ghassan Afif Chammas Reg. address 5th floor, Debbane Building,
(4,995) Lot No. 2110/10 Zouk Mikael
Reg. address 1st floor, Younes Building, Lot No. 4787/6 Object General trade, industry, commerce, marketing,
Mazraa, Beirut distribution, packaging of agricultural products,
Object General trade, industry, import, export, fertilizers, pipes, irrigation supplies, landscaping,
software solutions installation and management of agricutural
Bank Arab Bank Bank Bank Audi
Solicitor Me Ghassan Naim Moughabghab Solicitor Me Georges Louis Zeinni
Auditor Gina Jamil Chammas Auditor BDO, Semaan, Gholam & Co.

Name Soma FNB Sal Name In Depth Sal

Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 (30,000) Capital (Shares) LL30,000,000 (100)
Directors Mohamed-Omar Malek Sinno (Chairman & Directors Ali Ghassan Noureddine (Chairman & Gen.
Gen. Mgr.) (22,499), Ghilaine Roger Chouchani Mgr.) (34), Ibrahim Hassan Mneimne (33)
(7,500), Zahia Imad Rajeh (01) Mohamed Abdelrahman Farideh (33)
Reg. address 9th floor, 4883 Ashrafieh Building, Karm Rahal Reg. address c/o Me Nadine Mounir Ferghol
Street, Lot No. 4883/27,28 Ashrafieh, Beirut Object General trade, studies, research, consultancy,
Object General trade, industry, import, export, real human development and social protection
estate, management of restaurants, hotles, network, engineering and civil organization
club and tourist projects, catering services and Bank BLOM Bank
commerical representation Solicitor Me Nadine Mounir Ferghol
Bank Credit Libanais Auditor Samir Fathi Ismail
Solicitor Me Aline Michel Khoury
Auditor Lea Youssef Zogheib Information prepared in collaboration with Khalil Masri et Fils sarl

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 21

 ECONOMY
COUNTRY REPORT
Links: Click this article’s entry in ‘Table of Contents’ on our website

I Household spending is improving

I Forecasts revised up on positive signs
I Key growth-driver products identified

Genuine signs of an economic recovery have started to emerge. The dynamic life-affirming forces of the market
have begun to overcome the negative impact of the crisis that was pulling the economy down. Increases in
tourism revenues, remittances, salary dollarization, and other factors are fueling consumption which in its turn
spurs economic growth.

Better-than-
expected indicators
The World Bank has revised upwards
its forecast for economic growth
for last year. “In 2022, the economy
continued to contract, albeit at a
somewhat slower pace. Owing to
better-than-expected high-frequency
indicators data, we have revised our
real GDP contraction estimate to 2.6
percent from a previous 5.4 percent for
2022,” the World Bank said in its ‘Macro
Poverty Outlook 2023-Lebanon’. The
improvement was noticed in private
sector activity and a surge in tourist
arrivals. “Subject to extraordinarily
high uncertainty, real GDP is projected
to contract by 0.5 percent in 2023.
Our economic forecast pays heed to
the persistent lack of political will
for comprehensive reforms, and an
institutional vacuum, both assumed to
last throughout the whole of 2023,” the
bank said. The four-year contraction
in real GDP over 2018-2022 has wiped
out more than 15 years of economic
growth, according to the report. The
government, the Central Bank, and
other economic observers’ have wide
differences in their forecast of growth.
The government and the Central Bank
(BDL) predict at least two to three
percent growth.

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 23

 ECONOMY
COUNTRY REPORT

GDP may grow GDP growth forecasts

five percent in 2023
The country returned to a slight positive 2022 2023
GDP growth in 2022, according to Bank World Bank -2.6% -0.5%
Audi, following a 33 percent contraction Goldman Sachs -3.6% -2%
in the first two years of the crisis. “The Bank Audi (Positive scenario) 2% 5%
Central Bank (BDL) and the government Bank Audi (Medium scenario) 2% 2%
announced a two percent real GDP Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) NA 2.7%
growth for the past year. The analysis of Institute of International Finance (IIF) -6.5% -7%
real sector indicators show that out of Source: InfoPro Research
17 indicators 11 were up last year,” said
Bank Audi in its ‘Lebanon Economic
Report’ for the fourth quarter of 2022. It
said it expects a growth of five percent in
2023, in the case of a positive scenario.
Improvements in the tourism sector,
growth in remittance inflows, and an
increase in salary dollarization were
some of the major positive indicators
recorded last year, according to the
bank. Tourism revenues reached more
than $6 billion in 2022, according to
the Minister of Tourism. The number
of inbound passengers using the Beirut
Rafic Hariri International Airport surged
51 percent. The average occupancy rate
of four- and five-star hotels in Beirut
increased to almost 49 percent from 42
percent in 2021. Revenue per available
room grew by 22 percent over the same
period to $22. Remittance inflows are
expected to have grown seven percent
to $6.8 billion.

Consumption is rising
Rising remittances and the rebound in
tourism revenues are spurring a growth
in consumption. Household spending
is expected to grow 3.5 percent in
2023 driven by a likely increase in
remittance inflows resulting from
escalating emigration amid worsening
economic and social conditions,
according to Fitch Solutions. This is
considered an improvement compared
with the 2.7 percent growth recorded
last year. Remittances and the recovery
in tourism revenues are expected to
offset the negative impact on household
spending resulting from the removal of
subsidies and weakening purchasing
power caused by the continuous
deterioration of the lira. Domestic
consumption is also strengthened by
Political uncertainty complicates economic forecasts
the fact that an increasing number of
companies are paying salaries in fresh
dollars, according to Bank Audi.
Economic
scenarios depend
on political decisions
“In case of a positive political-economic
scenario, the economic and social
pressures would start to ease, and the
country would begin to recover from its
acute depression to register circa five
percent real GDP growth in 2023 and
an inflation rate of less than 30 percent
amid relative stability in the exchange
rate,” Bank Audi said in its ‘Lebanon
Economic Report. The positive
scenario assumes that the election of
a new president, and the formation
of a credible and efficient Cabinet are
achieved quickly, and that an agreement
is concluded with the IMF. “As for the
adverse scenario, it supposes that the
political stalemate would continue to
prevail, which would lead to deepened
economic recession with negative real
GDP growth, a severe currency collapse
amid dwindling foreign exchange
reserves, a large lira money creation,
hyperinflation in consumer prices, and
severe socio-economic pressures on
Lebanese households,” the bank said.

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 24

Potential IMF program
may spur growth
Economic growth is likely to resume
starting from the current year thanks
to the disbursement of donor funds
and the impact of an IMF program
expected late in 2023, according to the
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The
EIU forecasts an average annual growth
rate of 2.7 percent in 2023 and 2024.
This modest growth is constrained by
the impact of several years of crisis, the
required structural adjustment, serious
operational problems, inadequate
investment, and electricity problems.
The EIU said: “Political venality, the
lack of a government and rifts over the
selection of a new president will delay the
finalization of the IMF program agreed in
April 2022 into late 2023. Even as reforms
and debt restructuring negotiations start
and multilateral funding begins to flow,
the recovery will be slow and partial
in 2023-27, reflecting the depth of the
ongoing economic, currency, financial
and debt crises, as well as the impact of
hyperinflation and political instability
on domestic demand.” The Institute of
International Finance (IIF) has forecasted
the most pessimistic economic outcome
with a GDP contraction of seven percent
expected this year. It said that the
economy will continue to deteriorate as
long as reforms are not implemented and
the political stalemate lingers. According
to the IIF, the only financial assistance
is coming from a Lebanese diaspora of
at least eight million emigrants, a large
portion of them are in GCC countries.
Their remittances to their relatives
account for almost one third the size of
the economy.
The most vulnerable
bear the brunt of the crisis
Remittances are badly needed in light
of the sharp decline of the purchasing
power of the poorest segment of
society. “Absent a crisis resolution plan,
the bulk of the economic adjustment
continues to fall on the most vulnerable
segments of the population. Rapid
currency depreciation and triple-digit
inflation rates continue to shape the
unstable macroeconomic dynamics in
the country, resulting in a severe erosion
of purchasing power for the local labor
force, pensioners, and retirees whose
wages are denominated in lira,” the
World Bank said in its Macro Poverty
Outlook 2023-Lebanon. According to
preliminary data from the ongoing World
Bank’s 2022-2023 Lebanon Household
Survey (LHS), poverty continues to
rise and household living conditions
continue to deteriorate. “Around three
out of every five households considered
themselves to be poor or very poor.
Households that do not receive any
form of private remittances are even
more likely to feel impoverished. While
there are indications that adult (15+)
employment rates have risen from a year
ago, an increasing share of people are
working in low-quality, informal jobs out
of necessity,” the World Bank said.
Employment
rates have risen
from a year ago
IMF mission chief: Inaction will prolong the crisis indefinitely
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 25
IMF to revisit
$3 billion funding level
In the first ‘Article IV’ mission report
released since 2019, the IMF said that
the $3 billion funding – that it would
provide if reforms were implemented –
must be revisited because the economic
situation in the country has changed.
In April 2022, the government and an
IMF delegation reached a staff-level
agreement on a 46-month Extended
Fund Arrangement (EFF) equivalent to
about $3 billion. The policy of inaction
is going to leave the country in a never-
ending crisis, said Ernesto Ramirez
Rigo, chief of an IMF staff delegation
after completing a mission to Lebanon.
The ‘Article IV’ mission is a periodic
exercise undertaken by the IMF at
the request of the government. In its
previous missions, the IMF had warned
from the consequences of continuous
public deficits, but had not foreseen
the large deficit in the balance sheet of
the Central Bank and it saw the banking
sector as resilient. The previous reports
also described the peg as vital for the
economy, advocated for higher interest
rates and advised against the immediate
cessation of BDL’s financial engineering
operations which it also labeled
as “unconventional.”
 ECONOMY
COUNTRY REPORT
Sluggish reforms
impede recovery
During the 2023 visit, Rigo said that the
progress achieved so far is very slow
while a lot more was expected but the
IMF is not considering walking away
from a deal with Lebanon. The country is
at a dangerous crossroads but there is an
alternative path to stability and growth
that could be achieved by implementing
a package of comprehensive reforms,
according to the statement of the
delegation. The statement read: “Poverty
and unemployment will remain high,
and economic potential will continue
to decline. A continuation of the status
quo would further undermine trust in
the country’s institutions and additional
delays in implementing reforms will
keep the economy depressed, with
irreversible consequences for the whole
country, but especially low-to-middle
income households.” The stalemate is
preventing a possible recovery especially
with the emergence of indicators of
economic stabilization. According to
the statement, the economy seems to
have stabilized somewhat in 2022 thanks
to “some recovery in tourism, further
deleveraging of the corporate sector, and
continued strong remittances inflows,
which have supported consumption.”
The government’s
costly ‘ostrich policy’
According to the statement of the IMF
staff, the reforms that would lead to
stability and growth include a medium-
term fiscal strategy, credible restructuring
of the financial system, unification of
exchange rates and tightening monetary
policy in addition to ambitious structural
reforms. The required reforms also
include strengthening the public
finance management framework,
reforming state-owned enterprises,
enhancing the governance and anti-
corruption frameworks, as well as the
anti-money laundering/combating the
financing of terrorism frameworks. The
country’s failure to implement reforms
will undermine its credibility, make
the IMF more rigid in its positions,
and would eventually lead to more
Government lingers in a state of denial
Major GDP-boosting industries
Top ten products by growth rate
Prepared culture media for microorganisms
Unpackaged medicaments
Trailers and semi-trailers
Aluminum plates (Thickness above 0.2 mm)
Centrifuges
Articles of aluminum*
Radars
Articles of zinc*
Electric heaters
*They include nails, screws, bolts, nuts, washers and similar articles in addition to netting and fencing
among other products
Source: ESCWA
tragedies, according to the Deputy Prime
Minister in the caretaker Cabinet. He
said: “The light at the end of this long
tunnel is dimming little by little and is
almost extinguished.”
Current account
deficit widens again
The current account deficit widened
substantially to over 25 percent of GDP in
2022 after a significant improvement in
2020-2021. The current account’s major
components include the trade balance
and net remittance flows (balance of
inflows and outflows). The IMF staff
statement attributed the worsening
current account deficit mainly to high
oil and food prices and an increase in
imports in anticipation of raising the
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 26
World growth rate 2014-2018
56%
49.1%
25.2%
24.5%
20.7%
20.7%
19.9%
19%
18.2%
official exchange rate. “High uncertainty
will further weaken the external position
and BDL will continue to lose scarce
international reserves,” it said. Foreign
reserves plunged to about $9.5 billion
at the end of April 2023 from $36 billion
before the crisis. The steady decline in
foreign currency reserves resulted from
the country’s weak external position
and ad hoc monetary policy decisions,
according to the IMF staff.
Key products to boost GDP
Lebanon could add an estimated average
of 1.2 percentage points per year to
its GDP growth rate over a decade if it
focuses on the manufacture of 50 key
products identified by a recent study by
the United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
These products are within the country’s
current set of capabilities, they have a
high degree of sophistication, and can
be produced swiftly and with less risk,
according to ESCWA’s ‘Transformation
and Strategic Growth: Path to Economic
Complexity and Recovery in Lebanon’
report. The government must address
business climate constraints and give
high priority to these key products,
which are capital intensive and require
high-skilled workers, ESCWA said.
The report detailed the growth rates
achieved by each of these products
on the global market over the period
2014-2018.
Untapped export
potential is $1 billion
Regarding exports, the ESCWA report
said that the country’s total untapped
export potential is estimated at $1 billion.
The level of potential exports to Arab
markets is estimated at $1.2 billion taking
into consideration current trade patterns
and capacities. Potential exports for the
European Union are just $254 million.
Markets with the highest export potential
include Saudi Arabia, with an untapped
export market of around $130 million,
followed by the United Arab Emirates
at around $107 million and Egypt at
$96 million. “Despite the implemented
preferential agreements with European
and Arab countries, exports to these
markets remain relatively small,
showing persisting non-tariff barriers to
exports, high transport costs, low price
competitiveness, and limited productive
capacity,” ESCWA said.
Urgent need for tax reforms
As tax revenues dropped to less than half
their value in 2022 compared to 2019,
the government is urged to immediately
adopt several reforms in order to avoid
the continuation of the decline through
2023, the IMF said in its ‘Putting Tax
Policy Back on Track’ report. Immediate
proposed reforms include using one
exchange rate for all taxation purposes,
resetting the excises and thresholds that
are set in nominal values to the current
Saudi Arabia is one of export markets with highest potential
inflation rates, ceasing the under-
taxation of the affluent, and abolishing
the exemption of vacant properties in
order to reach the full potential of the
built property tax. Near term measures
should focus on broadening the Value-
Added Tax (VAT) base and removing
the distortionary exemption of inputs
into specified sectors, according to
the IMF report which was released in
January 2023. These measures must also
include increasing excises on certain
commodities such as diesel, which can
generate environmental benefits and
significant revenue with a modest impact
on prices, in addition to abolishing
wasteful corporate income tax incentives
and the regimes of offshore and holding
companies that no longer conform to
international standards.
IMF calls for
new income tax law
The IMF said in its ‘Putting Tax Policy
Back on Track’ report that in the
medium term, the government should
introduce a new income tax law that
ensures tax neutrality across income
sources and legal forms. The new law
must comprise up-to-date anti-tax
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 27
avoidance rules as well as efficient and
effective cost-based tax incentives.
Simultaneously, the government should
continue fine-tuning the VAT, removing
the exemption on diesel and improving
the design of the cross-border rules.
The IMF’s reform recommendations
were given at the request of the
government, after a team from the
fund’s Fiscal Affairs Department and
Legal Department conducted a mission
in Beirut in September 2022, to assist
the authorities in reviewing tax policy.
On our website
More information is available by typing the numbers
below into the Reference Finder on our home page
L0223-58 Macro Poverty Outlook-Lebanon
2023 World Bank
L0223-59 Lebanon Economic Report - Q4 2022-Bank Audi
L0223-60 IMF Crystal Ball 2022 InfoPro
L0223-61 IMF statement
L0223-62 Ernesto Ramirez Rigo press statement
L0223-63 Transformation and Strategic Growth-Path
to Economic Complexity and Recovery in
Lebanon 2023 ESCWA
L0223-64 Putting Tax Policy Back on Track 2023 IMF
www.opportunities.com.lb
 WHAT’S NEW
LEBANON REVIVAL
Focused on socio-economic development
Infopro launches
LebanonRevival.News
I
nfoPro, the publisher of Lebanon
Opportunities and other print
and online media, has launched
‘LebanonRevival.News’, the only news
website in Lebanon dedicated to socio-
economic development. The website is
a go-to portal for information on aid
and projects undertaken by international
donors, international and local NGOs,
and implementing agencies. The local
footprint of these organizations has
greatly expanded in the past three years,
and represents now a sizeable share of
the economy and employment. “Socio-
economic news and issues are not getting
their fair share of coverage in traditional
media, whether in print or online,” said
the website’s publisher Ramzi El Hafez.
“Filling the gap is a natural extension of
InfoPro’s work, as much discussion has
started around the work being done and
money spent,” he said.
Focus
The website publishes news on all issues
of concern to stakeholders in socio-
economic development. The long list
includes relief and development projects
in fields like livelihood, gender, refugees,
poverty, health, education, social
cohesion and protection, and more.
The website also publishes interviews
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 29
with leaders in their fields, opinion
articles by researchers, and reviews of
books about any of the covered sectors.
News stories are tagged with related
organizations, topics, and people.
Users have free access to databases
containing a full roster of actors in the
development ecosystem as well as all
reports published by them.
Info.Center
The portal allows open access to
‘Info.Center’, a continuously updated
database containing hundreds of
reports published by socio-economic
development institutions such as
UN agencies, think tanks, NGOs and
implementing organizations. The
reports, organized under more than 30
topics, are uploaded to the database as
soon as they are published. It is the only
database of its kind in the country. Info.
Center has already gained traction and is
being relied on by dozens of researchers.
Who’s Who
Active organizations and their leadership
are listed in a one-of-a-kind ‘Who’s
Who’ database. In addition to the usual
contact details, each organization is
identified by its areas of intervention and
a background description. The database
is searchable by organization and by the
name of its top manager.
Powerful search
A powerful search facility allows
crosstabs between organizations, people,
news, published reports, areas of NGO
interventions. A customizable notification
system is also available. It alerts users
when new reports are published.
 WHAT’S NEW
LEBANON REVIVAL
Canada donates
$26 million to WFP
The government of Canada
has granted the World Food
Program (WFP) a donation
of $26 million that will be
allocated for cash assistance
to vulnerable citizens via the
National Poverty Targeting
Program (NPTP). The assis-
tance will be provided in col-
laboration with the Ministry
of Social Affairs (MoSA). The
number of citizens that will
benefit from cash assistance
through the NPTP is 371,000
according to WFP. Each ben-
eficiary will receive $20 per
month for food and $25 per
household for other needs.
The payments will be made
through e-cards redeemable
at ATMs and shops. Canada
has so far provided $33.65
million to the WFP for cash
assistance through the NPTP.
The NPTP is the first poverty
targeting social assistance
program that supports the
poorest and most vulner-
able households. It was es-
tablished in 2011 by MoSA
and the Presidency of the
Council of Ministers. WFP
has been supporting the food
assistance component of the
NPTP since 2014. In 2022,
cash assistance through
NPTP reached 430,000 ben-
eficiaries, with $11 million in
monthly transfers.
World Bank and UK
support public schools
with $10 million
The UK’s Foreign, Com-
monwealth and Develop-
ment Office (FCDO) and the
World Bank have repurposed
a grant funding of $10 mil-
lion to support a productiv-
ity allowance program for
public schools through the
academic year 2022-2023.
The Lebanese government’s
financing contribution to the
program is LL1,050 billion.
The Teachers’ Productiv-
ity Allowance Program, an-
nounced by the Ministry of
Education and Higher Educa-
tion (MEHE), will support eli-
gible public school teachers
and school personnel who
attend schools according to
the attendance schedule set
by MEHE. Eligible individuals
include teachers for morn-
ing and afternoon shifts, ad-
ministrative staff, bus drivers
for morning shifts, cleaning
service staff and guards for
morning and afternoon shifts.
It excludes teachers who
don’t administratively be-
long to MEHE including reli-
gious education teachers and
teachers working through
NGOs. In early March 2023,
a first payment of the pro-
ductivity allowances to teach-
ers for the month of October
2022 was released from the
grant financing on a retroac-
tive basis. Further financing
by donors is contingent upon
three commitments from the
government, including verifi-
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 30
cation that only eligible per-
sonnel receive the allowance,
the government contributes
financing to the program,
and that it implements ef-
ficiency measures that will
allow it to self-finance per-
sonnel adequately and timely
in the next school year.
$1.9 billion gap in
2022 LCRP funding
A number of national and in-
ternational organizations in-
volved in humanitarian and
relief work have received 45
percent of the $3.6 billion re-
quested under the Lebanon
Crisis Response Plan (LCRP)
for 2022. The education
sector received the highest
amount of funding in 2022,
with a total of $297 million,
followed by cash assistance of
$245 million, and funding for
food security of $237 million.
The plan initially allocated
$975 million for food security,
but only 24 percent of this
amount was received. The as-
sistance reached more than
two million people, includ-
ing around 992,000 Syrian
refugees, 954,500 Lebanese
citizens, 110,600 Palestinian
Refugees in Lebanon (PRL),
and 30,300 Palestinian Refu-
gees from Syria (PRS). The
assistance included three mil-
lion subsidized health con-
sultations that were provided
through primary healthcare
centers, a 44 percent in-
crease from 2021. The LCRP
budget requested for 2023 is
$3.6 billion. It will have an
increased focus on nutrition
and food security, according
to UNHCR. LCRP is a joint
plan between the government
and international and na-
tional organizations, updated
annually to specify the value
of assistance needed to ad-
dress the needs of vulnerable
residents, including citizens,
Palestinian refugees, and Syr-
ian refugees.
EU project to help
transform technology
finds to products
Bery tech has launched
‘Lebanon Innovate’, a pro-
gram aiming at transforming
technological findings into
market-ready products. The
project, which is funded by
the European Union with a
budget of €3 million, was
launched in collaboration
with ANIMA Investment Net-
work, European Business and
Innovation Centre Network
(EBN), Industrial Research
Institute (IRI), Industrial Re-
search Achievements-Leb-
anon (IRALEB), and Leitat
Technological Center. LEI-
TAT is a Spain-based non-
profit organization involved
in technological R&D and in
technology transfers to in-
dustrial sectors. The project
will focus on the agri-food,
healthcare, and Information
and Communication Tech-
nology (ICT) sectors. It will

provide €180,000 to eight
universities where technol-
ogy transfer units will be set
up. These universities will be
selected based on their plans
to develop or grow a technol-
ogy transfer unit. The proj-
ect will allocate €100,000
for grants to ten researchers.
They will be selected through
the Lebanese Industrial Re-
search Achievements Pro-
gram (LIRA), a yearly com-
petition program that was
launched in 1997 to support
and motivate researchers.
The venture will cooperate
with local legal firms to sup-
port intellectual property
rights and will train lawyers
on writing patents. An office
for the European Enterprise
Network (EEN) will be estab-
lished in Lebanon to manage
partnerships between local
and European stakeholders,
and organize matchmaking
events between visiting del-
egations from Europe and
local stakeholders. “Universi-
ties, research centers, poli-
cymakers, SMEs, industrial-
ists, and entrepreneurs are
invited to join the program,”
said Krystel Khalil, Berytech
Programs Director.
Prison healthcare
project to be expanded
to all locations
The second phase of a proj-
ect aiming to strengthen the
prisons’ health system and to
increase access to health ser-
vices in prisons was launched
by the World Health Organi-
zation (WHO) and the Min-
istry of Interior and Munici-
palities. It is funded by the
embassy of Norway. Services
undertaken in the first phase
will continue to be provided
in the Roumieh prison, and
will be extended to Zahle and
Qobbe, and to women’s pris-
ons as well. Health clinics in
prisons will be equipped with
basic medical equipment and
supplies. “Phase two is a con-
tinuation and an expansion of
phase one. All three entities
are contributing in cash and
in kind to the success of this
project,” said WHO’s acting
representative Dr. Abdinasir
Abubakar. “WHO’s target is
to include all prisons in this
project. This is because we’ve
seen the positive impact of
the first phase,” Abubakar
said. “Access to healthcare
services is a universal human
right that everyone is entitled
to, including prisoners.” He
said: “Prisoners don’t have
the freedom to move to
healthcare facilities, that’s
why we have invested in on-
site clinics and provided them
with the required equipment.
The clinic of the Roumieh
prison was upgraded into a
primary healthcare center. It
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 31
Provided by
can now provide all kinds of
basic health services.” Special
emphasis will be given to pris-
oners with chronic conditions
including mental disorders
and those above 50 years old.
The first phase involved im-
proving access to health and
mental health services in the
Roumieh prison. The services
included health education,
mental health consultation,
ophthalmology consultation,
and renovation of the medical
clinics. These services were
provided by a team of nurses,
social workers, physicians,
and a psychiatrist.
UNICEF and
LOST start a dairy
incubator in Baalbeck
The United Nations Chil-
dren’s Fund (UNICEF), in
collaboration with the Min-
istry of Agriculture and in
partnership with the Leba-
nese Organization for Stud-
ies and Training (LOST),
have launched ‘Al Qaria’, an
incubator dedicated to the
production of dairy prod-
ucts, in Iaat, a town in the
Baalbek district. UNICEF and
LOST aim to provide jobs
to 200 youths through this
project which has a budget
of $800,000. This will start
gradually as it expands and
increases its production, ac-
cording to UNICEF Lebanon
Country Office. The project
focuses on supporting young
people to become entrepre-
neurs and lead their own
businesses. The founders
provided training and em-
 WHAT’S NEW
LEBANON REVIVAL
ployment to 334 youths in
different occupations when
they were setting up the
incubator. These youths in-
clude 68 persons who were
trained and employed in live-
stock and dairy production,
92 in construction work, 26
in sanitation, and 148 in the
maintenance of agricultural
machinery and equipment.
The incubator will train at
least 100 farmers on livestock
management to improve the
quality of their milk produc-
tion. This will enable them to
sell the milk to the incubator
which will also buy fodder
from 60 farmers on a daily
basis. More than 200 farmers
will have access to coaching
and technical support and
will be allowed to use the
facility ten hours per day to
produce their own cheese,
butter, and yogurt. The proj-
ect will provide affordable
dairy products to around
100,000 families in neigh-
boring villages and commu-
nities. When the incubator
is fully operational, it will
be capable of collecting 15
tons of milk on a daily basis,
and supplying two to three
tons of dairy products to the
local market, at prices up to
15 percent less than market
prices. Five percent of the
incubator’s production will
be donated to vulnerable in-
dividuals. In 2022, the UNI-
CEF-LOST partnership sup-
ported 8,000 young people.
This is part of UNICEF’s focus
on addressing the increas-
ing vulnerabilities of young
people aged between 15 and
24 through learning promo-
tion, skill building, economic
empowerment and entre-
preneurship, youth leader-
ship, active citizenship, and
social protection.
Urban farming and
solar projects in Tripoli
The United Nations Human
Settlements Program (UN-
Habitat) and the Embassy
of Japan have launched a
$900,000 project to sup-
port urban farming activi-
ties in Shalfeh, Tripoli. The
project will provide training
sessions on urban farming
techniques and methods to
150 households. It will also
equip two schools and one
health dispensary with solar
systems. This will ensure a
steady supply of clean water
to minimize water-borne dis-
eases and other health risks,
such as cholera. The project
will serve 5,000 direct ben-
eficiaries. It will indirectly
benefit the entire community
of Shalfeh by transferring the
knowledge acquired from the
trainings on urban farming,
and by providing access to un-
interrupted services and clean
water in the dispensary and
the two schools, according
to UN-Habitat. Shalfeh is lo-
cated in Tripoli’s Abou Samra
district. It has a population
estimated at 11,000, living in
poor housing conditions and
lacking basic services such as
water, electricity, and waste
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 32
management, according to
UN-Habitat’s neighborhood
profile. It highlighted the dete-
riorating food security and in-
efficient operation of schools
and health dispensaries.
Solar power to
water station in Akkar
by UNHCR and RMF
The United Nations Refugee
Agency (UNHCR) and René
Moawad Foundation (RMF)
have inaugurated a solar
power generation system at
the Qobayat water station in
Akkar. The system will en-
sure constant access to clean
water for 25,000 residents.
The project was funded by
UNHCR with a total budget
of $87,000. It involved the
installation of 197 solar pan-
els (545 watts) to generate
105 KWp during the day, for
a minimum 300 sunny days
per year. The system enables
the water station to supply
clean chlorinated water to 20
villages. Thanks to the proj-
ect, the North Lebanon Water
Establishment (NLWE) is now
saving a minimum of $5,000
per month on generator fuel
and maintenance costs, while
it is minimizing carbon emis-
sions. If maintained properly,
the system can remain op-
erational for three to four de-
cades, according to UNHCR.
Prior to the implementation
of this project, and due to the
increase in fuel costs, NLWE
introduced strict rationing
policies, reducing power
supply to six hours, once a
week. In 2022, UNHCR im-
plemented 74 energy-related
projects benefiting over 1.5
million persons. These proj-
ects have expanded the ac-
cess to solar-powered energy
of local residents and refu-
gees by providing electricity
to primary healthcare cen-
ters, government hospitals,
and water stations.
Qalamoun fish market
rebuilt by UNDP and KfW
The United Nations Develop-
ment Program (UNDP) and
Germany’s KfW Development
Bank (KfW) have rebuilt a fish
market in Al-Qalamoun (near
Tripoli) to support fishermen.
The market will serve 150 fam-
ilies dependent on the fishery
sector by increasing their
revenue, creating additional
jobs, and enhancing food se-
curity. A budget of around
$250,000 was allocated for
the project which was funded
by KfW. The project involved
the construction of a new
building to replace the old
hangar and included an En-
vironmental Impact Assess-
ment (EIA) conducted during
the design phase, capacity
building for the management
board, and the promotion
of better hygiene practices
among the fishermen. The
project took 14 months to be
completed. The new market
was built on a plot of land
owned by the Lebanese Gov-
ernment, where the old mar-

ket was located. UNDP has
executed this project in col-
laboration with the Coopera-
tive of Fisheries in Qalamoun,
Ministry of Public Works and
Transport, and Qalamoun
Municipality. UNDP has im-
plemented projects in other
coastal cities that include Al
Mina (Tripoli), Okaibe (Kesr-
ouan), Dbayeh, Dora, Jiyeh,
and Saida. The fishery sec-
tor supports more than 4,000
households across coastal cit-
ies. It is expected to generate
revenues estimated at $377
million in 2023 achieving an
annual growth of 8.5 percent,
according to the World Bank.
Persons with disability
blocked from working by
misperceptions
Attitudinal and environ-
mental barriers are prevent-
ing persons with disabilities
from participating equally
in the labor market, accord-
ing to a survey conducted by
the United Nations Economic
and Social Commission for
Western Asia (ESCWA). Em-
ployers’ perceptions of hir-
ing persons with disabilities
include believing it is costly
to do so, that they are more
likely to have accidents and
injuries, and that they are not
as productive as others. Out
of 77 private and public sec-
tor enterprises included in the
survey, 75 percent of respon-
dents said that persons with
disabilities are not less pro-
ductive, 60 percent said em-
ploying them had a positive
effect, and 60 percent said
none of them needed accom-
modations in the workplace.
Three quarters of employees
with disabilities are male. Two
thirds of the disabled have a
physical impairment, 13 per-
cent have a mental or psy-
chological health condition,
11 percent are hard of hear-
ing, and nine percent suffer
from low vision. ESCWA rec-
ommends legislative reforms
including the ratification of
the United Nations Conven-
tion on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities, promoting
inclusive employment among
public and private employers,
improving persons with dis-
abilities’ awareness of their
rights and their capacity to
reclaim them, and strengthen-
ing coordination mechanisms
between organizations of per-
sons with disabilities at the
local and national levels.
School learning
app available offline
‘Tabshoura’, an academic app
developed by Lebanese Alter-
native Learning (LAL), will be
integrated into 60,000 tablets
to be distributed to a number
of public schools nationwide.
It is accessible off-line. The
initiative was funded by the
German Federal Ministry for
Economic Cooperation and
Development (BMZ) and im-
plemented by the Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Internatio-
nale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
and LAL. ‘Tabshoura’ was
first launched as a website
in 2016. The app tackles the
issue of limited access of
students to the Internet and
frequent power cuts by al-
lowing them to download les-
son units and use them on
their electronic devices. ‘Tab-
shoura’, which is currently
used by 50,000 students,
complies with the official cur-
riculum. It offers academic
content for early childhood
education, elementary cycle
and middle school, in Arabic,
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 33
Provided by
French, and English. The en-
tire content is available free
of charge upon registration.
The content could also be
accessed on ‘Mawaridy’, the
academic website launched
by the Center of Educational
Research and Development
(CRDP). LAL also provides
‘Lalmoudaress’ website for
teachers’ support, which was
developed with the help of
more than 500 teachers. It
offers them a variety of les-
son plans and digital tools de-
signed for remote teaching.
LAL is an NGO that provides
digital learning software and
content to students. It was
established ten years ago.
GBV protection needs
rose six times in one year
The number of individuals in
need of Gender Based Vio-
lence (GBV) protection ser-
vices increased almost six
times in 2022 compared to
2021, according to the United
Nations Office for the Coordi-
nation of Humanitarian Affair
(UNOCHA). GBV threatens
393,000 individuals, includ-
ing 297,000 local citizens,
46,000 migrants, and 50,000
Palestinian refugees. This
number was limited to 67,000
individuals in 2021. Females
represent 90 percent of peo-
ple in need of GBV protection.
Children account for 33 per-
cent of GBV-exposed individ-
uals, adults’ share is 54 per-
cent, and that of older people
is 13 percent. This deterio-
ration is caused by poverty,
political and social instability,
the economic crisis, collapse
of basic services, and family
tensions. Safety and security
concerns for women are com-
mon among local households,
of whom 25 percent reported
having fears in their commu-
nity, including being exposed
to sexual violence and harass-
ment, kidnapping, and sexual
exploitation. The challenges
are even greater among Pal-
estinian refugees, of whom
30 percent reported having
safety and security concerns
for women in their commu-
nity. GBV risks are worsened
by disruptions in assistance,
particularly in specialized
GBV services such as case
management, psychological
support, legal counseling,
safe shelter options, and cash
assistance for protection.
 WHAT’S NEW
LEBANON REVIVAL
2.3 million people
will be food insecure
Food insecurity is threatening
42 percent of local residents
and Syrian refugees, accord-
ing to a study conducted by
World Food Program (WFP)
and Food and Agriculture Or-
ganization (FAO). The study
found that two million people
were food insecure in Decem-
ber 2022, including 1.3 mil-
lion Lebanese and 700,000
Syrians. The total number is
expected to increase to 2.26
million by April 2023. The key
drivers to food insecurity in-
clude high inflation, high un-
employment, currency deval-
uation and loss of purchasing
power, in addition to limited
value of assistance provided,
and the removal of subsi-
dies that resulted in price in-
creases of food, fuels, health-
care, transport, and telecom-
munications services. Cash
assistance to Lebanese resi-
dents is expected to remain
at the current levels, but the
level of assistance to Syrian
refugees for food and basic
needs may be reduced by up
to 20 percent due to shrink-
ing aid budgets. The value
of cash transfers intended to
cover both food and non-food
needs was not sufficient to
meet minimum living stan-
dards. It plummeted to less
than 35 percent of the actual
cost of those needs in Sep-
tember 2022 compared to 62
percent in August 2021. The
study recommends that val-
ues of cash assistance should
be continuously updated to
match the cost of basic needs.
There should also be a con-
tinuous monitoring of risk
factors, including currency
devaluation, changes in the
prices of essential commodi-
ties and services, as well as
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 34
political developments. The
study is based on a nation-
wide analysis, and it is a
secondary analysis of stud-
ies previously conducted by
other entities, including the
United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF), United Na-
tions High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), and the
United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitar-
ian Affairs (UNOCHA).
$71 million funding gap
for the education sector
There is a 20 percent fund-
ing gap in the education sec-
tor, according to the United
Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR). Out
of $350 million needed, $131
million were received, and
$148 million were carried
over from 2021. In 2022, the
UNHCR fully or partially sub-
sidized registration fees for
public and UNRWA schools
for over 543,100 individu-
als. It fully and partially sub-
sidized registration fees for
regulated Non-Formal Educa-
tion and Minimum Founda-
tion Education programs for
more than 27,700 individu-
als, and provided remedial or
homework support programs
for around 23,300 individu-
als, according to the organiza-
tion’s third quarter report for
2022. The UNHCR reached
out to 43,000 individuals out
of a 260,000 yearly target
through follow-up of children
who were out of education
and those who have dropped
out and referred them to rel-
evant education and protec-
tion programs. More than
75,000 children and youth
received meals or snacks in
public schools or commu-
nity centers, representing 111
percent of the annual target.
The retention programs that
target Lebanese and non-
Lebanese children enrolled
in public schools from grade
1 to 9 and who are at risk of
dropping out due to poor
academic performance and
achievements, were provided
to more than 23,000 out of
nearly 28,500 children, rep-
resenting 82 percent of the
annual target. Challenges in-
cluded the families’ struggle
to pay for school-related costs
and fees, such as school sup-
plies, transportation, and
food. There is also the risk
of children dropping out of
school to engage in child labor
or child marriage, in addition
to the massive learning losses,
that were addressed through
summer catch-up programs
to all Lebanese and non-
Lebanese children in grades
1 to 8. Priorities included sup-
porting the Ministry of Edu-
cation and Higher Education
in cholera preparedness and
response and developing edu-
cation sector needs analysis
and the response-plan docu-
ments for 2023, in addition
to prioritizing cash for edu-
cation throughout UNHCR’s
partners programs.

Food insecurity threatens
Syrian refugees
Food insecurity is the most
concerning issue among Syr-
ian refugees, according to
the 2022 Vulnerability As-
sessment (VASyR), a study
that analyzes Syrian refugee
households to provide a multi-
sectoral update of their situ-
ation. It is carried out by the
UN Higher Commission for
Refugees (UNHCR), the United
Nations World Food Program
(WFP), and the United Na-
tions Children’s Fund (UNI-
CEF). The study revealed
that households are cutting
down on meals. Adults are
consuming less food to allow
their children to eat. They are
also reducing expenditures
on health and education to
prioritize buying food. Most
households have accumulated
high debt burdens, with the
majority borrowing to buy
food. Nearly 87 percent of
them listed food as their main
priority followed by housing
and healthcare. Children’s
nutrition is at risk, with less
than half of infants under five
months of age being exclu-
sively breastfed, and only 11
percent meeting the mini-
mum number of meals and
food groups per day. Shelter
is another problem, where
rental prices (in lira) have in-
creased by 176 percent com-
pared to 2018. More than
half of renters are late in pay-
ments. The number of evic-
tion threats also increased:
66 percent of households are
expected to leave their place
of residence within a month.
The study also featured lim-
ited access to medical ser-
vices, where 18 percent of in-
dividuals had health problems
that required healthcare in
the last three months, but 27
percent of them didn’t receive
it. The rate of school atten-
dance among 6-14 years old
children increased to 60 per-
cent compared to 53 percent
last year, but the attendance
rate dropped to eight percent
for older adolescents at upper
secondary school levels (15-17
years old). The costs of trans-
portation and of school mate-
rials were the two top reasons
for not attending school. The
VASyr study noted that local
communities are also strug-
gling to cope. The study is
the tenth annual survey as-
sessing the situation of a rep-
resentative sample of 5,090
Syrian refugee households
across the country, including
25,381 individuals.
900,000 doses
of cholera vaccines
Over 900,000 doses of chol-
era vaccines were received by
the Ministry of Public Health
(MoPH). They will be used
during phase two of the oral
cholera vaccination campaign
led by MoPH starting from De-
cember 17. MoPH had already
received 600,000 doses. An-
other 900,000 doses are still
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 35
Provided by
being expected. The vaccine
supply was provided with the
support of the World Health
Organization and the Inter-
national Coordination Group
on vaccine provision. It is
funded by the United Nations
Central Emergency Response
Fund and the Contingency
Fund for Emergencies. The
vaccination’s first campaign
began in mid-November. Over
90 percent of the previously
received doses were delivered
earlier this month. The vacci-
nation campaign is targeting
refugee camps and host com-
munities in areas affected by
the cholera outbreak such as
Akkar and the Bekaa.
Transmed
offers scholarship at
London Business School
Transmed, a consumer goods
and foodservice company,
has offered a grant of £1 mil-
lion ($1.23 million) to London
Business School (LBS) which
will set up the ‘Transmed
Scholarship Program’. The
program will provide a full
tuition award to two students
on an annual basis over the
next five years. It will be open
to Lebanese candidates with
financial need. The funded
programs include: A Mas-
ter’s degree in Management,
Global Master’s in Manage-
ment, Master’s in Analytics
and Management, Master’s
in Financial Analysis, MBA,
Master’s in Finance (full-time
and part-time), LBS Sloan
Master’s in Leadership and
Strategy, EMBA London, and
EMBA Dubai.
EU allocates €229
million for reforms
and development
The European Union (EU) has
allocated €229 million to sup-
port reforms and economic
development projects. This
package will be deployed
starting from December 2022
and will continue through
2023. The EU will cooperate
with UN agencies and local
and international NGOs for
implementation. This will in-
volve a call for interested ap-
plicants to submit proposals
for evaluation. The EU has
identified four priorities for
this financial package: Pub-
lic administration reforms,
women empowerment, sup-
porting the transition to re-
newable energy, and assisting
vulnerable local communities
and Syrian refugees.
 COVER STORY
Hundreds
of companies
are opening
I
n a prelude to a V-shaped recovery
for the private sector, hundreds of
companies have been established or
reopened, reminiscent of the pre-crisis
era. New businesses are being created
and some that had closed down due to
the Port Explosion and the economic
crisis are reopening especially that the
impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has
subsided locally and at the global level.
Vibrant sectors include manufacturing,
information technology, and hospitality
and tourism. Some businesses, such
as supermarkets, are expanding their
branch network to new regions, and many
neighborhood minimarkets are opening.
There are opportunities for creating
new enterprises in emerging key sectors
like outsourcing, artificial intelligence
(see page 64), and guesthouses (see
our Autumn 2022 issue), in addition to
sectors that have been traditionally the
backbone of the economy like agri-food
and restaurants.
Restaurants back and ready
More than 250 hospitality businesses
have opened or reopened. These include
hotels, guesthouses, tourist resorts,
restaurants, and nightlife venues.
Moreover, major nightclubs in downtown
Beirut have reopened after closing
following the Port Explosion. According to
a survey carried out by InfoPro Research
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 36
in March 2023, restaurants account for 45
percent of the total number of businesses
that have opened/reopened or expanded
or were in the process of doing so. The
survey was conducted in Greater Beirut
and some parts of Mount Lebanon.
Tony Ramy, Chairman of the Syndicate
of Owners of Restaurants, Cafés, Night-
Clubs and Pastries said that they are
ready for the summer of 2023 and that
around 200 businesses in their sector
are opening across the country. About
30-35 percent of them are in Greater
Beirut, mainly in Beirut Central District
(Downtown), Gemmayzeh, Mar Mikhael,
and Hamra. The rest are opening in
coastal and mountain areas like Ehden,
 Links: Click this article’s entry in ‘Table of Contents’ on our website

Faraya, and Batroun. According to Ramy,
a large portion of these businesses are
reopening. “Most of them are being re-
launched by new professional investors.
The remaining enterprises are opening
as new investment shell and core,” he
said. Graffiti Street Food, a fast food
restaurant in Beirut’s Salim Salam street
that mainly sells hamburger, is one of the
new enterprises. Its founder Ali Alawiya,
who still runs the Magnifico Food Truck,
said: “I wanted to benefit from the good
location. I took the risks as I saw that
many people are re-opening or opening
new restaurants. The new restaurant
allows me to reach a larger segment than
the one reached through the Magnifico
hotels InterContinental Phoenicia Beirut
and Hilton Beirut Metropolitan Palace.
The number of registered guesthouses
grew to around 120 by mid-2022, but their
real number is likely to be much larger
as many of them are not registered. The
boom in the guesthouse sector is driven
by the growth of domestic tourism as
a substitute for traveling abroad which
has become largely unaffordable to most
Number of restaurants, cafés,
night-clubs and pastries in the
process of opening
people due to the sharp weakening of
purchasing power. The expansion also
results from the growing importance of
ecotourism and more demand for the
amenities provided by guesthouses
such as experiencing nature, rural
life, traditional food, historical
sites, arts and culture, sports, or just
relaxing and unwinding in a quiet and
charming environment.

66
Food Truck which gave me a valuable
experience.” The name combines Graffiti
which is done in streets and street food.
“Our business concept is to sell street Greater beirut
food at affordable prices,” Alawiya said.
The restaurant also provides delivery
service and taps social media such as
Instagram to promote its business.

Guesthouses are
134
Rest of country
mushrooming and
hotels reopening
The hotel and guesthouse sector is
also witnessing a turnaround driven
by resumption of tourism activity with
the waning impact of the Covid-19 40 New 160 Re-opening
pandemic on global travel. The number
of tourist arrivals, excluding Lebanese Approximate numbers
expatriates, more than doubled in 2021 Source: Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafés, Night-Clubs and Pastries
and surged by 65 percent in 2022 to 1.5
million foreign tourists. The number of
inbound airport passengers, including Number of tourist arrivals
Lebanese expats, jumped by 51 percent 1.4 million
to 3.1 million last year. Some of the hotels
that closed due to the Port Explosion
have reopened such as the two five-star 890,000
414,000
+
120
registered
guesthouses
2020 2021 2022
in 2022
Source: Ministry of Tourism

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 37

 COVER STORY

More grocery stores, less

expensive fashion brands
In the retail sector, the creation of new
companies, reopening or expansion
of existing ones, is mainly confined
to supermarkets and grocery stores,
according to Nicolas Chammas, Chairman
of the Beirut Traders Association.
“Not much is happening nowadays
in other retail sectors such as luxury
goods and durables,” he said. Tawfeer
Supermarkets opened last year a branch
in Zouk Mosbeh and another one in
Baabda. Clothing stores account for 13
percent of the businesses covered by
the InfoPro survey. Fashmore, which
sells foreign clothing brands mainly from
Europe and especially Italy, opened eight
branches since the end of 2021 and until
the first quarter of 2023. “We are adding Retail of basic consumer goods is active
new brands and new branches. We
used to sell luxurious brands. We have
decided to shift to less expensive brands
(commercial brands) such as the Italian Factory licenses
brands Calliope, Terranova and Piazza 300 270
Italia which make more special offers
250
to clients. This is what most customers
want amid the current economic crisis,” 200
144
said Haytham Alwan, Retail Operations 150 118
Manager at Fashmore. He said that 95
100
their goal is a minimum hit rate of 20
38
percent and that they plan to continue 50 25 19 31
to focus in the future on commercial 0
brands. They plan to open new shops in 2019 2020 2021 2022
areas like Tripoli, Saida, ABC-Ashrafieh,
Number of licenses to establish a new factoy*
Choueifat, and City Centre Beirut. Low
Number of licenses to exploit (operate) a new factory
prices in the real estate sector are likely
to trigger a recovery in the shopping
mall sector. UAE-based Al Habtoor Group
(AHG) plans to reopen its mall in Sin El Number of licenses to establish a new factoy (2022)*
Fil by the end of 2023 in partnership
Food Chemical Other
with Triple Height, a newly-established
Lebanese company (see page 8).

Licenses for new factories

The creation of new companies in the
industrial sector is recovering but has
not yet reached pre-crisis levels. The
licenses granted for establishing new
51 23 70
manufacturing businesses reached 96
licenses last year, recording a decline
of 34 percent compared with 2019 but * The figures also include the number of licenses both to establish and operate a new factory which are
a jump of 32 percent compared with given in a single permit for industries that don’t have any significant environmental impact
2021, according to statistics provided Source: Ministry of Industry

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 38

by the Ministry of Industry (MoI). Dany
Gedeon, Director General of MoI, said:
“Though the number of new licenses
is less than in 2019 and much less than
in 2014-2015, it is a jump compared to
2020 and 2021.” According to Gedeon,
difficulties that some countries, like
Egypt, are facing have pushed some
Lebanese industrialists who were
considering investing in these markets
to change their mind and choose their
own home country instead. He said that
other factors are preventing a stronger
recovery in the industrial sector such
as higher cost of transportation, lower
purchasing power in the domestic
market, capital controls, banking crisis,
Saudi ban on Lebanese exports, and
problems in some export markets like
Europe due to the war in Ukraine.
Focus on food
and consumer products
The biggest chunk of the licenses granted
last year (27 licenses) was for establishing
new factories for food production. The
second largest portion of the licenses
(21 licenses) was given to businesses in
the chemical industry which mainly
consists of cleaning products like
detergents and similar basic consumer
products. In the case of establishment
and exploitation permits which are
granted in one license for factories that
don’t have any significant environmental
impact, 24 licenses were given to the
food industry in 2022 representing half
of the total. Paul Abi Nasr, board member
of the Association of Industrialists said:
“Expansions (opening new production
lines) and creation of new factories are
mainly happening in the fast moving
consumer goods (FMCG) sector and in
food production such as pasta.” There
are five to six new pasta factories.
According to Gedeon, some clothing
factories are opening or reopening due to
the earthquake in Turkey and as most of
those who used to travel to that country
to buy clothes in a suitcase cannot afford
to do it anymore. Some clothing factories
are also sub-contracting tailoring work to
women who work from home to save on
location cost. This is also done in food
Fearing to
deposit money in
banks, investors
are establishing
companies
production. “Only few footwear factories
have reopened due to the decline in the
number of tanneries for environmental
and cost reasons. Moreover, footwear
and leather bags and leather apparel
could be produced at a lower cost
in countries like Italy thanks to their
potential for mass production. The cost
of land in Egypt is also much lower than
in Lebanon,” Gedeon said. According to
Abi Nasr, a few clothing and footwear
factories are reopening at a small scale
because they are facing contraband
from countries like Turkey and China.
“Contraband of products like clothes,
footwear, and socks is preventing the
growth of these industries,” he said.
Small fashion houses that sell online are
also reactivating their businesses.
Covid-19 presented an opportunity for the IT sector
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 39
IT businesses find
potential amidst calamities
New companies are being created in
the information and communications
technology (ICT) sector especially in
the fields of artificial intelligence (AI)
and other advanced technology. “Some
companies, including big ones, which
relocated during the crisis to countries
like Cyprus and Egypt, have also
returned home. The crisis in Egypt has
contributed to this trend,” said Camille
Moukarzel, Chairman of the Professional
Computer Association (PCA). Unlike
other sectors, the ICT industry was
basically unscathed by the crisis because
it focuses on exports. The ICT sector was
also shielded from the crisis because
it does not depend on imports of raw
materials but it is a labor-intensive
industry that relies on skilled human
resources that are being paid relatively
lower salaries compared to advanced
economies. “Covid-19 ironically
presented an opportunity for the sector.
Sales of hardware increased during the
lockdowns due to online learning and as
many people worked from home. Those
who couldn’t afford to buy desktops or
laptops purchased tablets,” Moukarzel
said. Hardware companies also
benefited from the booming solar power
business to sell some of their devices to
 COVER STORY
this sector. The thriving ICT business
allowed the sector to accumulate
capital that was used in the creation
of new companies. The cash flow
position of ICT companies was furtherer
strengthened by the prevalence of cash
sales and the lack of debt, according
to Moukarzel. “As businesspeople are
still unwilling to deposit their money in
banks, they are using their liquidity in
new investments such establishing new
companies,” he said.
Dawn of the
outsourcing age
The occupancy rate at the Beirut Digital
District (BDD), an office complex
targeting new and technology firms,
Beirut Digital District (BDD)
Pre-crisis
Occupancy rate 95%
Source: Beirut Digital District
Most of BDD’s corporate tenants are involved in outsourcing activities targeting global markets
has increased again and reached over
90 percent. The recovery in occupancy
rate was driven by a rising demand for
offices by outsourcing businesses and
low rent which last year still represented
55 percent of its pre-crisis levels. “Our
occupancy rate had dropped from 95
percent before the crisis to 60-65 percent
in the 2019-2020 period due to the
economic and financial crisis, the Covid-
19 pandemic, the Port Explosion, and the
Central Bank’s decision to put an end to
Circular 331,” said Mouhamad Rabah, CEO
of BDD. The aim from Circular 331 was
to provide equity financing to startups
operating in the knowledge economy
(ICT, technology sectors, and creative
services) and to incubators, accelerators,
2019-2020 2022
60-65% >90%
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 40
Entrepreneurs
are still investing
in the country
despite the crisis
and venture capital funds that support
them. According to Rabah, the crisis has
caused a shift in the composition of BDD’s
corporate tenants. About half of tenants
are currently involved in outsourcing
activities targeting global markets mainly
the Gulf region, US, and Europe. “New
opportunities in this sector are emerging
especially that working from home has
become more prevalent thanks to Covid-
19. The importance of outsourcing was
intensified by the scarcity of talents
in sophisticated and creative jobs on
global markets and the availability of
such talents in Lebanon at a relatively
lower cost,” Rabah said. According to
Moukarzel, outsourcing IT services is
growing thanks to the country’s talented
trilingual workforce and the depreciation
of the lira. “This has enabled local
software companies to compete with
their Indian, Pakistani, and Egyptian
rivals,” he said. A recently published
report by MENA Forward and the Boston
Consulting Group has reached a similar
conclusion (page xx).
Serving global markets
with back-office at home
Around a quarter of BDD’s corporate
tenants consists of startups which
mainly operate in sectors like education
technology (EdTech), fashion, IT
solutions, financial technology (Fintech),
and e-commerce. The balance is made
up of established companies operating
in various sectors. Many local companies
that have moved abroad as well as
some foreign companies carry out
their back-office and other operations
in Lebanon. These operations include
data entry, accounting, auditing,
documentation, call centers, software
development, digital marketing, and
customer relationship management
(CRM) activities. One of the foreign firms
is a Saudi engineering company that
carries out part of its activities in BDD.
“Doing back-office work in Lebanon
while targeting global markets makes
business sense since the local market is
small on the one hand and the country
has competitive advantages on the other
hand consisting of low office rent and
skilled human resources with a high
value-to-cost ratio,” Rabah said.

Healthy startup survival rate

Out of 80 startups launched at
Berytech last year, 30 have survived
and are operational. “It is healthy to
see entrepreneurs invest in the country
despite the crisis and the credit crunch.
These businesspersons have used their
own savings or obtained funding from
relatives or friends. The lack of financing
is the major hurdle that businesses are
facing. For this reason they are growing
organically,” said Ramy Boujawdeh,
Berytech’s Chief Operating Officer. The
startups and small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) benefiting from
Berytech’s programs are witnessing
a growth in their business, according
to Boujawdeh. Berytech is engaged in
several programs provided to early-
stage startups in the fields of agri-food
innovation, clean technology, and waste
to energy valorization. It also provides
fewer programs to startups involved in
IT development and that mainly focus
on export markets. Berytech also helps
SMEs in the agri-food and agriculture
sectors bolster their resilience and boost
their productivity and export potential.
Tennis club
versus real estate
Low rent and the stagnation in the real
estate sector acted as an incentive for
businessman Mansour Boudames to
launch a sport’s business, the Tennis
Club. “The previous owners of the tennis
project didn’t launch it. They invested
$750,000. I invested an additional
$100,000. It was a good deal. The rent is
30 out of 80
startups survived
last year
extremely cheaper than pre-crisis levels.
I am in the real estate rental business. I
know about the rental market,” he said.
Boudames invested in the Tennis Club
part of the proceeds from selling a real
estate property he owned in Ukraine.
He said: “I have a stock of real estate
properties but sales are at a standstill
while tennis is a promising business.
Players continue to practice it even
when they grow old. The country is
good for business despite everything and
also at my age I find more opportunities
in Lebanon instead of starting anew
abroad.” The next step for the Tennis
Club will be online booking. The club
has its own solar power system and
diesel generator.
The trend is likely
to gain momentum
The creation of new companies is
expected to surge at a faster speed than
pre-crisis levels, once full-confidence
in the country is restored. Regaining
trust will abolish the risk premium
required by entrepreneurs who will
rush to invest before the costs of the
factors of production rise again. Unlike
the dollar peg, which weakened the
country’s comparative cost advantage
for a quarter of a century, the floating of
the currency will reassure investors that
their businesses will remain competitive
on global markets. Moreover, launching
one’s enterprise will become a better
option than seeking a job in Gulf
countries where the salaries offered to
Lebanese expatriates have declined.
On our website
More information is available by typing the numbers
below into the Reference Finder on our home page
L0223-52 Contact information
www.opportunities.com.lb

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 41

COVER STORY

Selected listing

Companies opened since 2022

Food and Beverage

Achrafieh Chérie Beit Kanz Chocolate Bar Beirut

Achrafieh Achrafieh Hamra

Al Beiruti Belbol Afandi Classic Sandwich

Downtown Beirut Hazmieh Jnah

Aria Cali Burger CLUSTER 001

Aishti By The Sea, Antelias Ain Saade / Jounieh Mar Mikhael

Ast Candyfornia Café Croissanji

Jeita Beirut Choueifat

Avanti Caruso Beirut Croissant Saab

Downtown Beirut Saifi Al-Malla, Beirut

Bakerloo Chatimelb Cupola

Hamra ABC Verdun Gemmayze

Batchig Chiyabani Fire Bird

City Center Hamra Mar Mikhael

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 42

Food Hub Lord of the Wings Pizza Hut
Centro Mall ABC Verdun Badaro

Food Vaccine Marzano Praliné

Roueiss Kaslik Hamra

Frunch Eatery Mhanna Café Seven Sisters Beirut

Centro Mall Starco Downtown Beirut Beirut Waterfront

Goodmen Neighbourhood Swiss Butter

Gefinor Gemmayze Verdun

Graffiti Street Food OCD Hooka & Coffee Lounge The Brick House Beirut
Salim Salam Highway Centro Mall Achrafieh

Kalila Our Circle The Park by Elefteriades

Berytus Park Downton Beirut Saifi Zaytouna Bay

Lakkis Pastel Beirut The Witty Bun

Minet El Hosn Saifi Badaro

LEO La Terasse Pazzi Yamas

Downtown Beirut Badaro Aishti By The Sea

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 43

COVER STORY

Grocery
OneStop
Sanayeh

Stop and Shop

Ras el Nabah

Tawfeer Discount Store

Baabda / Zouk Mosbeh

Wine Store
Saifi

Fashion
hi
Calliope Levis
Hamra Zalka

Cbrands Mavi
Mansourieh Centro Mall / City Centre

Clara Boutique Nine T Nine

City Center Basta Tahta

Flo Lebanon Petit Yo

City Center Sehaileh

Greyder Tape a L’oeil

City Mall ABC Dbayeh

Hashtag Terranova
Verdun Hamra / ABC Verdun

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 44

Guesthouses / Hotels
Beit Noun
Mechmech

Dream House Laqlouq

Laqlouq

Eureka
Chouf

Galleria Hotel Beirut

Jnah

Hilton Beirut Metropolitan Palace

Sin El Fil

Marimba Hotel
Damour
Other
Phoenicia
Minet el Hosn American Household
(Department Store)
Centro Mall

Habitat Plus
(Home Appliances)
Centro Mall

Hexa Lebanon
(Coworking Space)
ABC Verdun

Gravitygym
(Sport)
Bourj Abi Haidar

The Tennis Club

(Sport)
Dbayeh

Thunder Bird Fitness

ess
(Sport)
Mkalles

Protein District
(Vitamins and Supplements Store)
Bechara El Khoury, Beirut

Salon Berjawi
(Barber Shop)
Tariq Jdide

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 45

 BUSINESS
INDUSTRY

Strong market gains locally and abroad

Growth for manufacturers

T
here are indicators that things are
getting better for manufacturing,
which has been and continues
to be one of the most resilient sectors
during the crisis. Shrewd industrialists
are seizing available opportunities to
expand and modernize their business.
Locally-made goods are expanding their
share in the local and global markets.
Early signs of a possible solution to the
credit crunch are emerging, though they
still are the first steps in a journey of a
thousand miles. A thriving industrial
sector triggers a multiplier effect that
contributes to the revival of other sectors
and the economy at large.

Local market
share almost triples
The share of products manufactured
in Lebanon as a percentage of total
sales of local supermarkets has surged
to 60-65 percent from less than 25
percent before 2019. According to Salim
Zeenni, Chairman of the Association
of Industrialists (ALI), the factors that
have allowed manufacturers to replace
imported products include the economic
crisis, the depreciation of the lira, and
the good quality of local products, in
addition to the pandemic which had
paralyzed international transportation
and gave local manufacturers the
opportunity to become almost the
only players on the domestic market.
Fuel subsidies, which were still in
place at that time, also contributed
to enabling the industrial sector to
significantly strengthen its footprint
on the market in the last two years,
he said. Ziad Bekdache, ALI’s Deputy
Chairman, said: “Consumers have
switched to locally produced goods. This
is mostly noticeable in basic consumer
goods including cleaning products
like detergents and personal hygiene
products like shampoos. Footwear
factories and clothing factories that had
closed in the past have reopened and are
selling on the local market and they are
even exporting as local products have
become competitive again.”
Exports recover
in terms of volume
The major overseas markets with large
potential for Lebanese exports mainly
include UAE, Saudi Arabia (when the
ban will be lifted), Qatar, Canada, USA,
UK, and Germany, in addition to African
countries like, Nigeria, South Africa,
Angola, and the Ivory Coast. Total
exports, 80-90 percent of which are
manufactured products, started growing
in 2019 and hit a high of $3.9 billion in
2021. The uptrend still continues despite
a ten percent drop in 2022 in terms of
value. According to Zeenni, looking only
at values could be misleading because
prices of locally manufactured products
have decreased in terms of fresh dollars.
He said: “In terms of quantity, the output
of the industrial sector has increased
a lot and so did its exports which are
much higher than pre-crisis levels.”
Promising industrial sectors with large
untapped export potential include agri-
food, wooden furniture, and jewelry
products. The untapped export potential
of wooden furniture is $192 million and
that of jewelry products is $179 million.
Agri-food represents the largest share
of industrial output (39 percent in 2019)
and has the highest untapped export
potential. It represented 18 percent of
total industrial exports in 2020. The agri-
food industry grew at a compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4 percent over
the 2009-2019 period. “This is significant.
It is an almost double-digit growth rate.
The agri-food sector achieved this growth
despite the fact that economic growth
started to slow down in 2011 and GDP
contracted in 2018 and 2019,” said Elie
El Khoury, economic consultant at the
United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO).

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 46


When manufacturers
and farmers are
happy bedfellows
The agri-food industry includes six
key products that have strong export
potential, according to pre-feasibility
studies carried out by UNIDO in
collaboration with the Ministry of
Industry (MoI). These products are
chocolate, dried fruits and dried
vegetables, fresh juices, healthy snacks
and bars, pickles, and other ‘mouneh’
products. Most of these products
rely on raw materials from the local
agricultural sector with the exception
of chocolate. They are also mainly
produced by micro-, small and medium-
sized enterprises (MSMEs). Even
though the raw materials used in the
local chocolate industry are imported,
producers can still obtain a certificate
Chocolate,
dried fruits and
vegetables, juices,
and pickles have
strong export
potential
Better quality opens new markets
Links: Click this article’s entry in ‘Table of Contents’ on our website
Exports (USD billion)
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
2013 2014 2015 2016
Source: Customs
of origin that allows them to benefit
from trade agreements when exporting
their products. According to Zeenni,
there is a mutually beneficial symbiotic
relationship between agriculture and
the agri-food industry. Developing the
agricultural sector benefits the agri-food
industry because it is the source of its
raw materials. At the same time, boosting
the industrial sector has a multiplier
effect on other related sectors as is the
case of agri-food and its positive impact
on agriculture. “Many industries in other
countries even though they rely on
imported raw materials are performing
well. You need to find ways to cut your
costs and access markets. The quality
of our products has improved which
allowed us to enter many markets. We
have niche markets where we have a
comparative advantage,” Zeenni said.
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 47
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Know thy
customer’s taste buds
Industrialists must base their innovations
and product development efforts on
market research in order to make data-
driven decisions. They need to know
about consumer behavior and taste and
be aware of what their competitors are
offering on the market. “For instance,
consumers in foreign markets can buy
tasty French wine at cheaper prices
than Lebanese wine,” El Khoury said.
It is advisable, according to El Khoury,
that agri-food exporters promote their
products as Mediterranean food since
the Mediterranean diet is considered
healthy and this allows them to
meet the growing global demand by
health conscious consumers. “Other
Mediterranean countries are already
doing so,” he said. Food exporters could
also benefit from the fact that Lebanese
ethnic food includes a large segment
of vegetable-based dishes which meet
the demand of an increasing number
of consumers preferring a vegetarian
diet. The export markets for Lebanese
ethnic food are mainly the Diaspora and
multi-cultural countries like the UK and
Canada. Non-Lebanese nationals in multi-
cultural countries could be interested
in Lebanese ethnic food especially if
producers can make little changes to
their products to fit the taste of these
potential customers. “For example, in
Canada, people with different ethnic
backgrounds, consume different varieties
of pickles. Lebanese pickle producers
can fine-tune their products to adapt
 BUSINESS
INDUSTRY
them to different tastes. This can unlock
a broad market segment and expand
their customer base,” El Khoury said.
Exporting ready-to-eat meals, such as
Hummus, with a sufficient shelf life also
has potential especially in industrialized
countries with fast-paced lifestyles where
people don’t have time to cook and want
a speedy meal that doesn’t require much
time to prepare.
Meeting
international standards
The quality of locally made products
matches European standards and they
are exported to advanced countries
with high quality requirements,
Bekdache said. The export markets
for pharmaceutical products include
European markets like, France, Germany,
and Denmark. Advanced markets like the
US, Canada, Australia, and Germany are
amongst buyers of Lebanese detergent,
soap and other cleaning and hygiene
products. The local clothing and
apparel industry exports its products to
countries that include France, UK, Spain,
Belgium and the Netherlands. According
to Zeenni, manufacturers who export to
Arab countries have already learned to
comply with the quality requirements
of these countries which are not less
stringent than European or American
standards. According to Zeenni,
stringent quality standards enforced by
European regulators are not disguised
import restrictions because they are also
imposed on their own manufacturers.
In order to support the quality of the
products and of the production process
of small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) involved in agri-food production,
the Ministry of Industry and Fair Trade
Lebanon (FTL) recently established the
National Export Center (NEC). NEC aims
to help agri-food SMEs and cooperatives
apply Lebanese and international
standards to ensure food safety and
quality, and meet export conditions at
the level of products and packages. NEC’s
tasks also include providing training
to ensure sustainability, offering the
necessary information to ease export
procedures, and facilitating access to
exhibitions. FTL is an NGO that supports
the production and marketing activities
of traditional small producers in the
agricultural and agri-food sectors at fair
terms and conditions.
Financing needs
The lack of a functioning banking system
is crippling the economy and represents
a serious challenge to manufacturers
who need financing to carry out their
day-to-day business and expand their
operations in order to seize emerging
opportunities and upgrade their
machinery. The problem is not confined
to the collapse of the banking system.
The difficulties were further exacerbated
by the fact that the manufacturers’
foreign suppliers have imposed more
stringent conditions in light of the
country’s heightened risks. “Foreign
suppliers, who used to defer payments
for 30-90 days, now require cash down
payments upon order confirmation
with the remainder to be settled before
shipment. Some of them even require full
payment upon confirmation,” Bekdache
said. The lack of financing is also
preventing a number of manufacturers
from renewing their machinery which
must be done every two to three year.
The Association of Industrialists is in
talks with international donors to secure
financing for machinery purchases.
Some manufacturers were able to inject
Pharmaceutical export markets include France and Germany
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 48
additional investment in their companies
in order to increase automation and
boost their productivity, according to
Zeenni. “Boosting productivity has
enabled the industrial sector to keep
most of its workforce despite the crisis.
It is also a major tool that can be used to
face the increase in basic costs mainly
fuels and electricity costs,” he said.
Cedar Oxygen
intensifies lending
Amid the gloomy financing landscape,
a ray of hope emerged last year, when
the Cedar Oxygen fund suddenly started
pumping up loans boosting its lending
portfolio sevenfold. The fund had
provided only ten loans from its inception
in mid-2020 to the beginning of 2022.
Cedar Oxygen is a private sector initiative
supported by the Central Bank (BDL) to
provide financing to manufacturers to
help them face the credit crunch. The
size of a loan ranges from $200,000
to $10 million with an average value of
$1.1 million. “The reason for the rapid
growth in lending is that we have tailored
our products to suit the needs of the
market. We have made our conditions
more acceptable to our customers and
reviewed the interest rates we charge. We
have also streamlined and simplified the
process for obtaining a loan,” said Ibrahim
Salibi, CEO of Cedar Oxygen-Lebanon.
Cedar Oxygen is in talks with potential

Cedar Oxygen mainly funds raw material purchases
investors to raise additional capital
beyond the $175 million initial funding
provided by BDL which is not enough to
meet the needs of the industrial sector.
Over 70 percent of the loans provided
by the fund aim to finance raw material
purchases. The fund also provides capital
expenditure (CAPEX) financing for
machinery purchases and it discounts the
receivables of manufacturers. “Our latest
product is renewable energy financing. It
is a hot product in high demand because
it allows manufacturers to save on fuel
costs amid rising oil prices and after the
lifting of fuel subsidies especially that
fuels are a large component of their cost
structure,” Salibi said.
Tax and non-tax incentives
Good news has also come from the
government which has introduced and
intends to create a number of tax and
non-tax incentives in order to support
the industrial sector. One of the tax
incentives included in the public budget,
allows industrial companies to benefit
from a 50 percent tax discount on profits
generated from their exports in case
they are transferred to banks operating
in Lebanon for the purpose of investing
these funds in the country. Startups and
SMEs are also granted a discount on the
income tax on profit for five years. The
Ministry of Industry (MoI) also plans to
introduce a ten percent Customs tax on
imported products that have substitutes
made in Lebanon in order to protect the
local industry provided three to four local
factories are producing such products
to ensure that there is competition. The
ten percent tax could be implemented
because the trade agreements signed
by Lebanon allow a country to impose
customs barriers in times of crisis. MoI’s
non-tax initiatives to support the sector
include the creation of IRA-Lab as a
research center to support innovation
in collaboration with universities and
manufacturers. MoI has also decided
to suspend re-exports of recyclable
materials on a seasonal basis when
supply of recyclables is high in order to
protect the recycling industry which is
very promising and exceeds $1 billion.
The government has also banned imports
of furniture except for brands that cannot
be manufactured in Lebanon.
Addressing the power
issue opens new horizons
Notwithstanding these incentives,
manufacturers are still facing a major
challenge, especially the high cost of
electricity and frequent outages. “An
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 49
available, reliable, and affordable power
supply is one of the basic demands of
industrialists. The government ought
to generate electricity and sell it at
affordable prices,” Zeenni said. One
kilowatt-hour costs the government
18 cents while it charges industrialists
37 cents. The government ought to
charge industrialists 19 cents in order
to support this big sector which brings
inflows of hard currencies, according
to Zeenni. “Most manufacturers are
installing alternative energy sources,
mainly solar power, but they cannot
do without government electricity
especially during winter and in the
case of factories operating 24 hours a
day. Addressing the electricity problem
will have a substantial impact on the
industrial sector and will open new
horizons,” Zeenni said.
One hand alone cannot
clap, but sometimes it does
Players in the industrial sector as well
as international organizations and
some people in the public sector are
determined to continue to do their best
to come up with creative solutions to
empower the sector and enable it to
seize available opportunities on the
local market and abroad. The success
of these efforts does not only depend
on these actors but also on the goodwill
of other players in the economy and
political landscape. Their attitude could
jeopardize or advance the cause of
manufacturing which together with other
key sectors like information technology
and hospitality could significantly
contribute to the revival of the economy.
Sometimes a laissez faire approach could
work better. Bekdache, ALI’s Deputy
Chairman, said: “At times we feel we
have to tell the government to leave us
alone, we can succeed on our own.”
On our website
More information is available by typing the numbers
below into the Reference Finder on our home page
L0223-46 Contact information
www.opportunities.com.lb
 BUSINESS
TRADE

Products with high potential

Export markets identified

T
he agri-food industry has been a high performant amidst
the crisis. It is the largest manufacturing sector in terms
of output and has the highest untapped export potential.
Sauces and condiments, olive oil, pickles, and wine are agri-
food products with high growth potential and promising export
markets, according to reports launched by the Ministry of
Economy and Trade (MoET) on its LEBTRADE online platform.
The reports were prepared by the LEBTRADE research team at
MoET (See BOX). The platform currently supports exporters
of fruits and vegetables and of agri-food products by providing
information about trade and export markets in addition to
other services. According to Roula Nasrallah, Head of Quality
Department at MoET-LEBTRADE, the platform will expand the
scope of its support to all kinds of products and even services
especially the information and communication technology
(ICT) sector.

Greater Arab Free EFTA-Lebanon Free Trade Agreement Generalized System of

Trade Area (GAFTA)
GAFTA allows exports with
a Lebanese certificate of
origin to enter 17 other Arab
countries including Gulf states.
Exports of agri-food products with
a Lebanese certificate of origin to
Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and
Switzerland are exempted from duties
in these countries
Preferences (GSP) with USA
Lebanese sauces and pickles are eligible for
GSP when entering US. The GSP preference
program is currently put on hold amid calls
from trade partners of the US to reinstate it.

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 50

 Links: Click this article’s entry in ‘Table of Contents’ on our website

Sauces, condiments, and seasonings

Exports of sauces, condiments, and

seasonings almost tripled in 2021 Total exports of sauces, condiments, and seasonings
in terms of weight while more than 60
doubled in terms of value and grew by 51
50 46 46
an additional ten percent in 2022 to $51 40 40 39
million, their highest value over the 40 37
31
2013-2022 decade. Over the period 2001- 30 24 21
2020, they achieved a compound annual 17 17.7 20 18
20 15 14.5 13.5
growth rate (CAGR) of 21.3 percent, the 13
7.8 6.5
highest among the agri-food products 10
under-review. Sauces, condiments, and 0
seasonings include food preparations like 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard paste,
Value (USD million) Weight (thousands of tons)
chili sauce, soya sauce, salad dressing,
gravies, cheese sauce, cream sauce, and
Lebanese dips like hummus, mutabbal,
garlic paste, muhammara, and tarator. Exports of sauces, condiments, and seasonings to USA
15 12.5
Markets with highest export USD million
12 10.3
potential: USA and UK
There is potential to boost Lebanon’s 9 6.8
market share in the imports of most
countries because it is currently low and 6 3.8 3.9
the US and the UK are the most promising 2.3
markets. “Global trade in sauces, 3
condiments and seasoning products 0
surged significantly over the past 20 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
years. The rise in the consumption of
ethnic food as well as fusion tastes and Source: Customs
flavors is pushing the demand for taste-
enhancing products, including spicy, “For consumers as well as restaurants
sour and sweet sauces,” LEBTRADE and food producers, sauces are no longer
said in its ‘Promising Markets for Sauce the after-thought in meal planning, but
Exports’ released in 2022. Culinary the main and leading component of new
fusion involves blending ingredients and dishes, especially in the UK. New trends
merging recipes from different cultures. show that consumers are abandoning
Rising global demand for healthier food traditional sauces for new exciting and
drives up demand for organic and natural exotic products.” According to the report,
sauces and seasonings and increases the existing Lebanese products could have a
consumption of salads and fruit and large market potential in the UK but some
vegetable mixes which usually require of them must be adapted to the tastes of
seasoning. Demand for healthier food the market. In a similar roadmap report
is typically high in Western countries about the US market, LEBTRADE said
such as the US, Canada, the UK and that the US market is shifting to healthier
some European countries. Fusion taste food choices and that online shopping
and demand for ethnic food are also is growing in importance. LEBTRADE
prevalent in these markets. LEBTRADE said in its ‘Promising Markets for Sauce
said in its ‘Commercial Roadmap for Exports’: “Countries in the GCC provide
Sauces Exports into the United Kingdom’: a good market for Lebanese sauces due

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 51

 BUSINESS
TRADE

to the proximity, the Greater Arab Free

Trade Area (GAFTA), and the position of
most of these countries as net importers
of sauces, condiments and seasonings.”

Top existing export markets

A review of the period 2017-2022 shows
that the US has been the top importer
of Lebanese sauces, condiments and
seasonings each single year. Its imports
soared more than five times in 2021 to
$12.5 million, the highest value over
the period. Its share was 11.5 percent in
2020. Around 11 percent was exported to
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and eight
percent to Australia.

Customs duty
Free-trade agreements and reduced Total oil olive exports
30
customs duty provide Lebanon with 30
26 26
a competitive advantage in the main 24
25 22 22 23 23
markets for Lebanese sauces, condiments 21
and seasonings. The other markets 20 18
include Australia, with an applied tariff of 15
zero percent on Lebanese sauces in 2022. 10
10 7.5 7.7 7.5 7
7 6 7
4.6 4.4
5
0
Olive oil 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Value (USD million) Weight (thousands of tons)

Lebanon’s annual production of olive oil

is estimated at 25,000 tons. It was the
world’s 15th largest producer in 2018 and Olive oil exports to USA
was among the world’s top 20 exporters 8
for at least the last 20 years. Olive oil USD million
7 6.3
exports grew at a CAGR of 14.5 percent 5.8 5.7
6 5.3 5.5
5
over the period 2001-2020. During the 5
last decade, average annual exports 4
totaled $23.5 million in terms of value 3
and almost 6,900 tons in terms of weight 2
and reached a peak of $30 million and 1
10,000 tons in 2016. 0
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Market with highest Source: Customs
export potential: Germany
There is room for boosting olive oil promising opportunities include Saudi Germany’. “Imports of extra virgin
exports to most countries because Arabia, Canada, USA, Brazil, Ukraine, olive oil are increasing, while imports of
the share of Lebanese olive oil in their and especially Germany. Olive oil non-virgin olive oil are decreasing. This
imports is low with the exception of consumption in Germany grew at a CAGR indicates that higher quality olive oil is
Kuwait and Venezuela. Exports from of 5.8 percent between 1990 and 2020, gaining share in the German market,” it
Lebanon represent 76 percent of the faster than the 2.1 percent global rate, said in the report. The growing interest
olive oil imports of Kuwait and 82 percent according to LEBTRADE’s ‘Commercial in olive oil in Germany and Europe is
of those of Venezuela. Markets with Roadmap for Olive Oil Exports into the result of the mounting popularity

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 52

of the Mediterranean diet and the rising
awareness of the health benefits of olive
oil and of the quality of certain types of
olive oil. “Authenticity of olive oil is an
important issue in the German market.
It revolves around oil composition and
oil origin. With the increased interest
in specialty olive oils, opportunities
for oils with a geographic indication or
coming from a specific origin or terroir
are growing,” the Commercial Roadmap
read. Global olive oil consumption,
which has almost doubled over 30
years, is expected to grow particularly in
countries without an olive oil tradition.
“While traditionally consumption of
olive oil was mostly concentrated in
producing countries, it has also been
on the rise in non-producing countries
in recent years. Still, in 2018 the top ten
countries by per capita consumption of
olive oil consisted of only Mediterranean
countries,” LEBTRADE said in its report
‘Promising Markets for Olive Oil exports’
published in 2021.
Pickles
Lebanon became one of the world’s
top 20 exporters of pickled products
in recent years. It ranked 18th in terms
of export value and 17th in terms of
export volume in 2020. Exports grew
at a CAGR of 8.5 percent over the 2001-
2020 period. The most known types
of Lebanese pickles include cucumber,
gherkins, mekti (known as Armenian
cucumber or wild cucumber), wild
thyme, eggplants, turnips, olives,
jalapeno pepper, almond, carrots,
cauliflowers, and mixed vegetables.
Markets with highest export
potential: USA and Canada
Lebanon’s share in the imports of most
countries is low, which leaves room
for future market share expansion.
Promising opportunities exist in the US
and Canada. In 2020, Lebanon was the
10th largest source of Canada’s imports
of pickles ($1.8 million). The US was the
second biggest destination for Lebanese
pickle exports in 2020, accounting for 11.4
percent of the total after Saudi Arabia.
Lebanese pickle exporters can still tap
into the US market as the unexploited
export potential for pickled products is
valued at $475,000. “Pickles seem like a
good side dish in countries with a high
level of multiculturalism, where multiple
cuisines exist. These trends typically exist
in Western developed countries such
as Canada, the US, and some European
countries. In addition, countries in the
GCC provide a good market for Lebanese
pickles due to proximity, the Greater

Top existing export markets

Saudi Arabia, Canada and the USA are
among the top importers of Lebanese
olive oil with a combined share of over 45
percent in 2020. A review of the period
2017-2022 shows that the USA has been
the top importer of Lebanese olive oil
all over the period with average annual
imports of $5.6 million or a quarter of
Lebanon’s total olive oil exports.

Customs duty
Some markets, like Europe, do not offer
a level playing field for exporters of
olive oil to give each country a fair
and equal chance of succeeding in
selling their products in these markets.
Lebanon is charged a high tariff (30.5
percent) on exports to Europe while
Palestinian and Moroccan exports pay
much lower tariffs. The tariff paid by
Lebanon is, however, slightly lower
than the tariff paid by Turkey (32.5
percent) and Tunisia (35.8 percent).
Lebanon is one of the countries that pay
a zero tariff or low tariffs on olive oil
exports to the Arab world and to some
other countries.

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 53

 BUSINESS
TRADE

Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA), and

the position of these countries as net
importers of pickles,” LEBTRADE said in
its report ‘Promising Markets for Pickle
Exports’ released in 2021. According to
its ‘Commercial Roadmap for Pickles
Exports into Canada’, the varieties in
Canada’s culinary experience provide
opportunities for different recipes and
different types of pickled vegetables,
fruits, and nuts. “While existing
Lebanese pickled products could have
a large potential market in Canada,
some of the products might require an
adjustment to the tastes requested by the
Canadian market. However, such product
innovation requires a deep study of the
target market before launching new
products,” LEBTRADE said. According
to the Ministry of Industry’s ‘Pickles
Industry-Pre-Feasibility Study’ issued in
2021, as traditional ‘Mouneh’ products,
pickles are in high demand locally and by
the Lebanese diaspora because Lebanese
consumers prefer local pickles over those
produced by other countries.
Total pickle exports
Top existing export markets 25
22
In 2020, exports to Saudi Arabia 19
20 19 19
represented 34 percent of Lebanon’s 17 17 16
16 16
total pickle exports. The other major 15 14
13
export markets included the US with a 12 11 11 11 12
10 10 10 9
share of 11.4 percent, and Canada with 10
a share of nearly nine percent. A review
of pickle exports over the period 2017- 5
2022 shows that Saudi Arabia was the 0
top importer until 2021 when it became 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
the third largest importer. It had zero
Value (USD million) Weight (thousands of tons)
imports in 2022 due the ban on imports
from Lebanon. Canada replaced Saudi
Arabia as top importer in 2021 but the
value of its imports was equivalent to less Pickle exports to Saudi Arabia
than half Saudi imports. 8
USD million 6.5
7
Customs duty 5.8
6
4.9
The country benefits from free trade 5
4
agreements and reduced customs duties 4
that raise the competitiveness of its 3
pickles in a number of markets like Arab 1.8
2
and European countries. The conditions 1
differ in other countries, for instance in 0
0
2021, customs duties on Lebanese pickles 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
were 5.42 percent in Canada and five
percent in Australia. Source: Customs

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 54

LEBTRADE reports
In order to produce its reports, the LEBTRADE team used data from
several sources including the Lebanese Customs and the ITC Trade
Map online platform which is an international database of export
and import statistics covering all countries. Roula Nasrallah, Head
of Quality Department at MoET-LEBTRADE, said they are working
for affiliation with ITC Trade Map to allow users to access several
tools on the ITC Trade Map platform directly through the LEBTRADE
website. LEBTRADE also obtained access to trade data through the
French-based company Export Enterprise. The information, which
is updated on a yearly basis, was used in the reports and could be
accessed by exporters through LEBTRADE’s ‘Find Your Buyers’
tool. The LEBTRADE team has produced three types of reports,
general reports about promising markets, reports that feature
commercial roadmaps for exports to the most promising markets
selected using a particular methodology, and reports about legal
requirements and standards for exporting a particular product
to a certain country such as quality, packaging, and labelling
requirements in addition to various certifications such as organic
certification, gluten-free certification, ethnic food certification, and
vegan certification.

Export support platforms

The LEBTRADE platform provides detailed practical information
about export markets and export procedures. It also allows users
to access other useful websites and reports. The main support for
LEBTRADE came from René Moawad Foundation (RMF) which has
provided the financing. Nasrallah said Netherlands’s government
agency Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing
countries (CBI) helped the LEBTRADE team in capacity building
and in training on the research methodology. The Netherlands
also provided funds through RMF for reports about key fruits
and vegetables. The United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) also provided help in the preparation of the
trade guide and in few reports. At the beginning of 2023, MoET
launched LEBFRESH, another online platform to support exports.
Nasrallah said that this platform is focused on export markets and
is specialized in promoting Lebanese fresh fruits and vegetables
abroad. LEBFRESH targets producers holding certifications such
as the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification. Nasrallah
said LEBTRADE is more technical while LEBFRESH is a marketing
tool to attract foreign customers and to promote a national brand.
For instance, the Lebanon brand could be displayed in the country’s
pavilion in exhibitions abroad where a unified theme is adopted such
as national colors, she said. Besides LEBTRADE and LEBFRESH,
other websites have been launched to support exports including
Lebanon Export Academy (LEA) which was the fruit of cooperation
between UNIDO, UNDP, and Berytech. Lebanon Exports is another
platform that was launched by the Investment Development
Authority (IDAL) also in cooperation with UNIDO and UNDP.

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 55

 BUSINESS
TRADE

Total wine exports

35
31
30
25
25
21 21
20 17 17 18 17
14 15
15 Wine
10
2.2 2.3 2.5 2.6 2.1 2.8 3.4
5 1.9 2 2.1
0 Wine production plunged from a peak of
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 33,000 tons per year in 1995 to an average
of 10,000 tons in recent years. Average
Value (USD million) Weight (thousands of tons)
annual exports were nearly 2,400 tons
during the last decade representing
around a quarter of the country’s output
Wine exports to UK and duty free zone but exports are growing and reached
8 7.7 almost 3,400 tons in 2022. Wine exports
USD million 7.1
7 6.5 6.5 increased at a CAGR of five percent in
6 terms of value over the 20-year period
5.2 4.7
5 2001-2020. But the CAGR rises to seven
4 percent if the period is extended to 2001-
3 2.8
3 2022 thanks to the surge in exports in
2 2022. Exports soared by 48 percent in
1.2 1.1 0.7
1 2021 after falling in the previous year due
0.1
0 to the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 international trade. Exports increased
by an additional 22 percent in 2022 to
Exports to UK Duty free zone (Airport)
reach $31 million, their highest level in
Source: Customs the last decade.

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 56

Wine exports 2022
15%
Belgium
m
Duty free (Airport)
21%
Source: Customs
Markets with
highest export potential:
Denmark and Poland
There is room for expanding Lebanon’s
share in export markets since their
imports from Lebanon mostly
account for less than one percent of
their overall wine imports. Promising
markets include Norway, Belgium,
Latvia, and Romania and chiefly
Denmark and Poland. “Denmark is
characterized by a ‘free market’ for
alcoholic beverages while the markets
of its Northern European neighbors
are monopolistically controlled by
the government. This allows foreign
producers to work with hundreds of
highly specialized wine importers,” said
LEBTRADE in its ‘Commercial Roadmap
for Wine Exports into Denmark’.
The Danes also enjoy a world-class
restaurant scene and high per capita
income. On the other hand, Poland
is considered the fifth most attractive
wine market in the world. According
to LEBTRADE’s ‘Commercial Roadmap
for Wine Exports into Poland’, the
market has growth potential because
wine is still consumed in small amounts
13%
Fr
France
SA 12%
USA
but it is gaining popularity. “Poles
are traditionally known for their love
of beer and spirits, wine sales have
strongly increased since the country
joined the EU in 2004 and are expected
to continue to do so in the future as
the country continues to experience
economic growth. This could be
attributed to the growing access to
the product and, correspondingly,
the wine drinking habit, courtesy of
Poland’s wine-loving EU neighbors,”
LEBTRADE said.
Top existing
export markets
In 2022, top wine export destinations
were Belgium, France, US, and UK but
the duty free zone at the Airport has
recorded the highest sales reaching $6.5
million. A review of exports over the
period 2017-2022, shows that the UK was
the top importer of Lebanese wine until
2020. The duty free zone at the Airport
became the top sales destination in 2021
and 2022 with Belgium becoming the
second top export market. The UK fell
to the third place in 2021, and to the fifth
place in 2022.
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 57
Other countries
30%
9%
UK
Customs duty
Lebanon is among the highest tariff
paying countries in many export
destinations while very few markets
offer a level playing field. It is one of the
countries that pay the highest tariffs on
wine exports to Switzerland, Japan, and
China. Switzerland imposes a tariff of 0.7
percent on wine imports from South East
Asian and African countries and tariffs of
16.9-18.7 percent on other countries with
Lebanon on the higher end. Lebanon is
also among the countries that are charged
a tariff of 4.9 percent in the European
Union (EU) while Egypt and EU countries
are exempted and other countries like
Morocco, Jordan, Palestine, Turkey, and
Tunisia pay lower tariffs. Lebanon is also
among the countries that are subject to
high tariffs in the US and Australia.
On our website
More information is available by typing the numbers
below into the Reference Finder on our home page
L0223-44 All LEBTRADE reports
L0223-45 Contact information
www.opportunities.com.lb
 BUSINESS
LABOR
Talent outsourcing
Study identifies six promising activities
T
he country is well equipped to
supply six categories of services
on the global outsourcing market,
according to a recent study by Boston
Consulting Group (BCG) and Forward
MENA that addresses the issue of the
future of outsourcing and potential
opportunities for emerging countries
in the Middle East and North Africa
(MENA) region. The short-term focus
in Lebanon must be on customer
relationship management (CRM)
(including call centers), engineering
design and consulting services, as well
as business consulting and market
research services. On the long term,
the focus must be on the development
of software programs and applications
(apps) and similar services in addition
to marketing services, and telemedicine
and remote education services, said
the ‘MENA Talent Map’ report. The
report has identified 12 talent personas
suitable for outsourcing. An employee
persona is a fictional character that
represents the profile and common
features, characteristics, and attributes
of a specific group of employees. The
personas were analyzed to assess labor
qualifications and abundance.
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 58
General strengths
in talent supply
Lebanon’s general competitive advan-
tages for talent outsourcing mainly in-
clude education quality, multilingual and
digital skills, and labor cost. According
to the study, labor cost is 27 percent less
expensive than GCC countries and 55
percent cheaper than developed coun-
tries. The country’s strategic geographi-
cal location offers two additional advan-
tages, a time zone difference with far
away countries and proximity to well-
known demand hot spots for outsourcing
services like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
and major European countries. The time
difference between Lebanon and these
markets is just one to two hours. The
time zone advantage with distant coun-
tries allows local providers of outsourc-
ing services to benefit from demand by
global companies, especially those lo-
cated in North America and East Asia.
The country also enjoys cultural similar-
ity with well-known demand hot spots.
“Lebanon has a multilingual population
and vast diaspora bridging the cultural
gap between Lebanon and the other
Arab, European, and American coun-
tries,” the report said. Challenges to out-
sourcing services include political insta-
bility that can cause business disruptions
in addition to inadequate infrastructure
and slow Internet which could prevent
workers in rural areas from properly
performing their jobs. However, access
to co-working spaces with proper infra-
structure is available which could offset
infrastructure-related problems.
Short-term areas of focus
The supply-side attractiveness of the
short-term areas of focus, namely
CRM, engineering, business consulting
and market research, is that they are
quick to market. Skilling, upskilling
and re-skilling these services could be
 Links: Click this article’s entry in ‘Table of Contents’ on our website

achieved through internships, non-

certified short-courses, and micro-
certifications. As for demand-side
attractiveness, it varies from sizeable
but diminishing demand in the case of
CRM (including call centers) to sizable
demand with a steady growth trajectory
for engineering design and consulting
services as well as business consulting
and market research.

Customer
relationship management
Labor supply for CRM and call centers is
abundant and qualified. Local talents are
proficient in at least two languages and
are paid low average salaries compared
to peers like Morocco. There are also
government incentives to encourage the
creation of call centers. Only minimal,
quick, and low-cost skilling, re-skilling
and upskilling are required for various
population segments, including
disadvantaged communities and the
unemployed, to make them attractive
to employers. There is a need to
encourage those involved in this service
at an elementary level to obtain micro
certifications in CRM tools and enroll in
non-certified short-courses on soft skills,
according to the report.
Engineering design
and consulting services
A large pool exists of experienced
professionals in engineering design
and consulting services with qualified
engineers and architects graduating
every year. Average salaries are low
compared to GCC countries. There is
an established ecosystem for companies
serving overseas markets that include big
players like Dar Al-Handasah and Khatib
& Alami. Experienced professionals can
enhance their qualifications by getting
certifications in emerging or niche
fields. Fresh graduates, who lack real-
life work experience, can benefit from
internships and could develop soft and
multidisciplinary skills. Unlike hard
skills, which are specific to individual
professions, soft skills are applicable to
all professions. Examples of soft skills
include communication, leadership,
problem solving, critical thinking,
and teamwork.

CRM

Qualifications Abundance

The Operator High High

Talent that can perform basic customer • Top 25 countries worldwide on digital skills • Almost all the workforce qualifying, including
service tasks such as call center work • Trilingual labor public sector employees (around 15 percent
and IT support of total workforce)
Sources: Boston Consulting Group and Forward MENA

Engineering

Qualifications Abundance

The Design Engineer High High

Talent that can conduct engineering • One civil engineering university program in top • Well-established and reputable design firms,
design work (construction, urban 700 worldwide such as Dar Al-Handasah and Khatib & Alami,
planning, etc.) • Notable players with strong local talent base employing over 1,500 employees
operating in the field (e.g., Dar Al-Handasah) • Around 1,500 engineering and architecture
graduates annually
Sources: Boston Consulting Group and Forward MENA

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 59

 BUSINESS
LABOR
Business advisors
The Business Strategist
Talent that can perform business
consulting work
The Finance and
Accounting Specialist
Talent that has expertise in
finance and accounting
The Legal Specialist
Talent that can perform legal-
related tasks
Sources: Boston Consulting Group and Forward MENA
Business consulting
and market research
Human resources involved in business
consulting and market research services
are plentiful, qualified, trilingual, and
skilled in problem solving and critical
thinking. The country also enjoys an
established ecosystem for these services
with existing companies that match
freelance consultants with big consulting
firms. According to the report, there is a
need to promote formal and non-formal
career guidance for fresh graduates
by drawing attention to potential
opportunities in this field. They must
also be enabled to develop the required
soft and multidisciplinary skills.
Long-term areas of focus
The long-term areas of focus include
software and app development,
marketing services, and telemedicine
and remote education services.
Unlike short-term areas of focus,
Qualifications Abundance
High High
• Global consulting firms established in country • Abundancy of management consultants (including
(e.g., Strategy&, Kearney) freelancers), as well as unemployed fresh
graduates from top universities that, if properly
trained, can fit role
Medium Medium
• Only one finance and accounting university • Around 2.5 percent of the workforce part of the
program in top 700 worldwide (American finance and insurance activities sector
University of Beirut) • Around 2,000 business major graduates annually
Less than two years of relevant work experience
Low Medium
• No Lebanese law university programs on list of • Between 300 to 400 law graduates annually
top law programs worldwide
More than two years of relevant work experience
Medium Low
• No notable/global law firms operating in the • More than 10,000 registered lawyers in the
country Syndicate – about 50 percent of which are
practicing and have obtained their licenses
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 60
the supply of these services requires
further enabling. Their demand-side
attractiveness varies. In the case
of software and app development,
it consists of sizable demand with a
steady growth trajectory. As for
marketing services, and telemedicine
and remote education services, their
demand-side attractiveness consists
of a small-size demand with strong
outsourcing prospects.
Software and
app development
The software programing and app de-
velopment, integration, implementation
and management sector enjoys a work-
force of qualified, trilingual software
and computer engineering graduates
and experienced professionals. Obtain-
ing a certification in the field is a signifi-
cant plus for experienced professionals
and for workforce segments with high
similarities to jobs in software and app
development which could enable them of fresh graduates. Other weaknesses
to become eligible to occupy jobs in that need to be addressed are the ab-
this field. “Promote career guidance for sence of data protection laws and weak
fresh graduates, highlighting opportuni- enforcement of intellectual property
ties in software and app development (IP) protection laws.
related fields,” the report said. It also
pointed to the necessity of expanding
existing tertiary education programs
in the sector and of launching new rel-
evant programs. Another advantage
of the software programming and app
sector is that local average salaries are
lower than GCC and European coun-
tries. However, human resources are
not too abundant with just 1.5 percent of
the population working in the informa-
tion and communications technology
(ICT) sector. There is a low abundance
of experienced professionals due to loss
of talents resulting from the severe eco-
nomic crisis which is making retaining
mid-career professionals highly chal-
lenging, said the ‘MENA Talent Map’ re-
port. But there is a medium abundance

IT wizards

Qualifications Abundance

Less than two years of relevant work experience

High Medium
• Four computer engineering university programs in • Around 500 computer and software engineering
top 700 worldwide (American University of Beirut, graduates annually
The Functional Tech Guru Lebanese American University, Université Saint-
Talent that can conduct software Joseph, and Lebanese University)
and computer engineering work More than two years of relevant work experience
Medium Low
• Well-developed ecosystem of companies with • Around 1.5 percent of the workforce part of the
notable players (e.g., Murex) and strong local ICT sector (sector dominated by SMEs with one
talent base operating in the field large player – Murex)

Less than two years of relevant work experience

The Specialized Tech Guru
Talent that can conduct data
science, AI, and machine
learning work
Sources: Boston Consulting Group and Forward MENA
High Medium
• Four computer engineering university programs in • Around 250 computer science graduates annually
top 700 worldwide (American University of Beirut,
Lebanese American University, Université Saint-
Joseph, and Lebanese University)
More than two years of relevant work experience
Low Low
• No notable /global players operating in the • Industry dominated by startups (no more than ten
AI/machine learning field to 20) – most with funding less than $100,000
• Other industries (e.g., banking, etc.) hiring very
few data and AI analysts

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 61

 BUSINESS
LABOR
Market experts
The Audiovisual Maker
Talent that can fulfill audiovisual
related roles
The Marketing Guru
Talent that is well-versed in
marketing related work
The Graphic Designer
Talent that has expertise in
graphic design
Sources: Boston Consulting Group and Forward MENA
Qualifications Abundance
Less than two years of relevant work experience
Low Low
• No Lebanese media university programs on list of • Less than 100 audiovisual, media, and TV/film
top media programs worldwide graduates annually
More than two years of relevant work experience
Medium Low
• Notable media outlets with regional outreach and • Very few small players operating as pure audiovisual
strong local talent base operating in the country makers. However, many of the marketing firms also
(e.g., MTV, LBCI) have internal audiovisual makers
Less than two years of relevant work experience
Medium Medium
• Two marketing university programs in top 700 • Around 400 marketing graduates annually
worldwide (American University of Beirut and
Lebanese American University)
More than two years of relevant work experience
Medium Medium
• Existing marketing ecosystem in place with • Existing marketing ecosystem with ten to 20
notable/global players (e.g., Leo Burnett) SMEs (ten to 50 employees each), most of which
serve markets beyond Lebanon
Less than two years of relevant work experience
Low Low
• Only one art and design university program in top • Less than 200 graphic design graduates annually
700 worldwide (Lebanese University)
More than two years of relevant work experience
Low Low
• No notable/global players operating in the • Very few small players operating as pure graphic
marketing field designers. However, many of the marketing firms
also have internal graphic designers
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 62
Remote healthcare and education

Qualifications Abundance

Less than two years of relevant work experience

High High
• Three medical university programs rank in top • Around 600 medical doctor graduates annually
700 worldwide (American University of Beirut,
The Doctor Université Saint-Joseph, and
Talent that has studied medicine Lebanese University)
and performs medical work More than two years of relevant work experience
High High
• Several renowned hospitals with regional • Over 15,000 registered medical doctors in the
outreach in the country (e.g., American University Syndicate
of Beirut Medical Center, Hôtel Dieu de France) • 21 doctors per 10,000 people

High High
The Educator • High ranking (18th in the world) for quality of • Around nine percent of employed population
Talent that can fulfill teaching education system working in the education sector
related jobs • Around 16 EdTech startups, a number of which
have gained global recognition for their solutions
Sources: Boston Consulting Group and Forward MENA

Marketing services tutoring exist and medical doctors and

The labor force involved in marketing
services is not too abundant. The
existing marketing ecosystem is made
up of ten to 20 small and medium-
sized enterprises (SMEs) serving
markets abroad with a workforce
of ten to 50 employees each. There
is also medium abundance of fresh
graduate supply which is being
depleted due to the severe economic
crisis and the unattractiveness of their
salaries compared to other markets
like GCC countries. Graduates are
qualified but there is a potential for
upskilling their soft skills and technical
abilities, including digital marketing
certifications. There is also a need to
promote career guidance for fresh
graduates to highlight opportunities
in marketing services. Moreover,
existing tertiary education programs
in marketing-related fields require
expansion and new programs must
be launched. Regarding experienced
professionals, the report said that
they are qualified but certifications
in related fields like digital marketing
certifications could be a significant
additional advantage.
Telemedicine
and remote education
Labor supply in the telemedicine and
remote education sectors is abundant.
Several renowned hospitals are
operating with regional outreach such
as the American University of Beirut
Medical Center (AUBMC). There is also
an established ecosystem of online
education platforms of around 17
education technology (EdTech) startups.
Fresh graduates and experienced
practitioners in these two sectors are
qualified. Few training and upskilling
initiatives on telemedicine and online
teachers require skilling and upskilling
on remote interactions. According to
the report, it is advisable to encourage
experienced medical practitioners to
obtain certifications in telemedicine and
experienced teachers to get certifications
in remote tutoring.
Talent hub,
a farfetched goal?
There are many cross-cutting advantages
for outsourcing but key challenges must
be addressed for it to achieve its full
potential. “With its highly qualified,
multilingual, and cost competitive labor
force, Lebanon has great potential to
become a talent supply hub for offshore
work. However, challenges, including
political and economic risks, may
threaten its outsourcing prospects,” said
the ‘MENA Talent Map’ report.
On our website
More information is available by typing the numbers
below into the Reference Finder on our home page
L0223-50 MENA Talent Map 2023 BCG, Forward MENA
www.opportunities.com.lb

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 63

 BUSINESS
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
Servicing many multinational and some local clients
Artificial intelligence
companies multiply
L
ocal artificial intelligence (AI)
companies have successfully
attracted global customers, such as
BMW and Thomson Reuters. They provide
a wide array of AI services that have a
broad range of applications in different
sectors from manufacturing to insurance
and education. These services include
content recommendation tools that help
publishers boost audience engagement
and search engine optimization in
addition to chatbots used in customer
support. The AI solutions also include
face recognition technology applied
in retail sales and virtual simulation
which is used in many fields including
manufacturing. AI companies carry out
their development work tapping local
talents to produce high quality services
that are cheaper than their counterparts
in the West, but more expensive than
competitors from developing countries.
Developing advanced solutions requires
substantial computing power which is
costly and consequently AI businesses
are using a big chunk of their revenues to
exploit this processing capacity. This is
preventing some of them from growing
especially that the country’s high risk is
discouraging new investments.
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 64
Boosting the
business of publishers
CognativeX provides an AI content
recommendation tool that increases
audience engagement and retention
for publishers and content creators. It
maximizes the time spent by viewers on
its customers’ platform. This is achieved
by suggesting content and pictures that
attract viewers based on their interests
that CognativeX determines by analyzing
the way they use a publisher’s platform.
“The recommendations provided to
publishers help them increase page
views and the time spent by users on

their platform. This allows them to
maximize monetization and attract
more ads,” said Wissam Sabbagh, CEO
of Alpha Technology Group (ATG), the
parent company of CognativeX. ATG,
formerly known as DOTCOM Group, is
a holding company with subsidiaries
providing different information
technology (IT) and digital services.
Klangoo also serves the publishing sector
through its first product: ‘Magnet’, a
newsroom software that enables
publishers to boost lead generation
and search engine optimization (SEO).
Magnet offers personalized contextual
recommendations and performs
content clustering.
Analyzing
natural language texts
The challenges faced by the traditional
media industry with the rise of social
media led Klangoo to introduce ‘Klangoo
NLP API’, an Application Programming
Interface (API) that provides text
analysis services using natural language
processing (NLP). “Our goal from
launching this API is to diversify outside
traditional media which was displaced
by the rise of social media. It is used for
large amounts of texts,” said Johnny Azzi,
the company’s co-founder and Chief
Technology Officer (CTO). The tasks
the API performs include summarizing
transcripts, recognizing text categories,
and extracting topics. It can be used
in many sectors such as advertising,
stock exchanges, chatbots, and security
and political intelligence. Editors can
double-check the results generated by
the API to mitigate potential errors.
According to Azzi, users must be tech
savvy and need to be skilled in coding.
He said that Klangoo plans to expand
the functionality of its API solution first
to fintech, and later on to medical tech,
and advertising.
Chatbots for
customer support
“The AI service that is most in demand
and that our company Koein is providing
is the chatbot service which is used by
businesses to provide customer support.
Links: Click this article’s entry in ‘Table of Contents’ on our website
Computer interface system using natural language
This is mainly used in e-commerce in
the retail sector,” said Nagib Abdelnour,
founder of Koein which provides digital
solutions such as website design, user
interface design, web development,
e-commerce and online ordering
solutions. Abdelnour said that their AI
business, which started at a small scale,
is now their fastest growing activity.
Koein is also developing a new AI service
that uses the computer interface system
to enable employing natural language
processing for handling operations in
business administration activities such
as accounting, stock management, and
enterprise resource planning (ERP).
“This product is also in demand. We look
at the need of customers and we develop
a product that meets their requirements.
We don’t engage in research. We do
Digital twin
technology
currently used in
manufacturing
and surgical
operations
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 65
instead product development. We create
only the products that our customers
want,” Abdelnour said.
Virtual simulation
and robot programming
Inmind.ai provides AI-related services
by using machine learning, NLP, and
computer vision such as face recognition.
Its services include developing the
localization and navigation software
of robots. It is also involved in virtual
simulation and the creation of digital
twins of real objects. According to its
CEO Bechara El Bouna, virtual simulation
and digital twin technology have many
applications but they are currently
used by their existing customers in the
industrial sector. For instance, before
a factory is set up, virtual simulation of
how the factory will operate gives an
idea to the owners or managers about
the outcomes before implementation.
“Our simulation software has multiple
uses including the medical sector such
as simulating an operation before it is
carried out by a surgeon,” El Bouna said.
Real-time ads
adapted to customers
MaliaTec, which is one of the companies
of the Malia Group, has added three
AI solutions to its existing information
technology services. These solutions
include dynamic signage, fleet
 BUSINESS
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

management, and route optimization
and dispatch management. The dynamic
signage solution mainly targets retail
outlets such as malls. The content of
advertising on screens inside these
outlets is automatically adapted to
the profile of the clientele passing in
front of the screens and displays where
small cameras are installed. Using AI
technology, these cameras collect
real-time non-personalized data about
customers. They can recognize the age,
gender, ethnicity, and the emotions
of the customers and adapt content
accordingly thanks to the content
analytics feature made possible through
AI technology. The three AI solutions
introduced by MaliaTec have contributed
to boosting its overall sales by around 20
percent over 16 months since they were
launched in early 2022 and until the
first quarter of 2023, according to Mario
Akl, the company’s General Manager.
“AI is not merely a buzzword for us. The
AI modules were introduced based on
key performance indicators (KPIs) and
after making sure that they will provide
significant added value to customers.
The aim is to offer clients real tangible
benefits that make a difference,” he said.
Evaluating
students and quizzes
Paragon Shift provides a broad range of
data-related services from data collection
to data visualization and AI solutions. Its
AI services are based on machine learning,
image and voice recognition, and natural
language processing. The company has
developed AI solutions tailored to various
sectors including education, insurance,
distribution, retail, and banking. One
of the projects in the education sector
consists of predicting after the first month
of the school year whether a particular
student will succeed or fail based on

AI services provided by local IT companies

Provides an AI content recommendation tool that helps publishers and content creators increase audience
engagement and retention by suggesting content and pictures that attract viewers based on their interests.

Fleet management service that includes analytics to improve fleet activities and ensure timely delivery in
addition to allowing route planning and real-time monitoring and tracking of vehicles. The system consists of
sensors and an app on a mobile phone or a laptop and it uses the GPS system.

AI-related services by using machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision such as
face recognition. It develops the localization and navigation software of robots. It is also involved in virtual
simulation and the creation of digital twins of real objects.

Newsroom software enables publishers to boost lead generation and search engine optimization. This software
offers content clustering and personalized contextual recommendations. It also has an application programming
interface (API) that is capable of analyzing large amounts of text by using natural language processing.

Chatbot service which is used for customer support mainly in e-commerce.

Dynamic signage solution targeting malls. Advertising content on screens is automatically adapted to the
profile of customers as detected by cameras which recognize the age, gender, ethnicity, and emotions of
viewers. Another solution detects the behavior of drivers of school buses and fuel tanker trucks to improve
safety and fuel consumption. A third solution consists of route optimization which allows distributors to
select the best logistical criteria to deliver goods.

Service to distribution companies that uses machine learning to optimize their work. It offers face recognition
technology for use in retail sales. It employs machine learning to speed up an insurance company’s approval
of patient hospitalization. It provides a customer classification service that allows banks to identify early
adopters of a new product. It also provides AI education solutions to predict student performance.

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 66

data collected on their educational
performance. Another project for a
university determines the likelihood
that a student who has chosen a major
will continue in the same educational
path. “These tools use different kinds
of data sets such as attendance, marks,
and other information that can be mined
from e-learning systems that are being
increasingly adopted,” said Raymond
Younan, Data and Analytics Manager
at Paragon Shift. The company also
provides another education AI service
that evaluates the questions used in tests
and quizzes. AI solution allowing selection of best combination of logistical elements

Monitoring drivers’ behavior
MaliaTec’s fleet management solution
uses AI technology to monitor school
buses and fuel distribution trucks.
The aims of fleet monitoring include
improving driver and passenger safety
and fuel efficiency besides providing
evidence for insurance claims. A camera
is installed in these vehicles to monitor
the drivers’ behavior such as signs of
tiredness (yawning) or of distraction
such as when drivers use their mobile
phones to make calls or send voice or
text messages or whether they have put
on the seatbelt. Starting the engine of
a tanker truck can be activated after
the face of the person is recognized
as the individual who is authorized
to drive the truck. In case of school
buses, parents are also able to watch
their children while they are in the bus.
The information caught by the camera
is sent automatically to a back-office
application, called Remote Mastermind,
and then managers in charge can take
appropriate action.
Optimizing distribution
Paragon Shift also provides an AI
service to distribution companies that
uses machine learning to optimize and
make more efficient the distribution
work and the routes of cash van
salespersons. “The ideal target is that a
cash van returns empty at the end of its
itinerary,” Younan said. Decentra Tech
provides enterprise resource planning
(ERP) solutions and fleet management
services. Fleet management is carried
out using hardware (sensors) and

Monitoring system detects signs of tiredness and distraction

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 67

 BUSINESS
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
Face recognition technology helps salespeople identify a customer profile
software through applications (apps) on
mobile phones or laptops. The data is
transferred to the Cloud. “This involves
real-time monitoring and tracking
of vehicles and route planning using
the Global Positioning System (GPS),”
said Khaled Dabbous, the company’s
Managing Director. The objective of
MaliaTec’s route optimization and
dispatch management solution is to
allow distribution companies and third-
party logistics (3PL) providers with
heavy distribution loads to select the
best combination of logistical criteria,
according to Akl. This solution helps in
deciding which truck must take which
order based on the weight, size of the
order, size of the truck, time of delivery,
the customers’ preferred time for taking
delivery of the order, and other criteria.
All these criteria are entered into the
system which automatically optimizes
the dispatch of orders.
Tailored customer service
AI enables businesses to provide services
tailored to individual customers. A
project provided by Paragon Shift in
the retail sector uses face recognition
technology to help salespeople
recognize a customer when they enter
a shop. The customer data, including
their previous purchasing behavior and
preferences, is posted on a salesperson’s
mobile device which helps them better
know the customer profile, Younan
said. CognativeX is working on an AI
solution that uses actuarial algorithm
to enable insurance companies to
provide personalized services tailored
to the needs of each customer. Paragon
Shift uses machine learning to facilitate
and speed up an insurance company’s
approval of the hospitalization of
a patient. This product also helps in
assessing the hospitalization cost and
collects different kinds of data including
the various periods of time that a patient
must stay in a hospital as decided by
doctors. One of the services provided
by Paragon Shift to the banking sector
involves customer classification and
helps a bank that is launching a new
product determine the first customers to
whom it will introduce the new product
(early adopters). “We have adapted this
program to a US university to classify
donors,” Younan said.
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 68
BMW, Rolls-Royce, Forbes,
and Thomson Reuters
Almost all AI service providers have
been focusing on overseas markets. A
number of them serve multinational
corporations. The clients of inmind.
ai include UN organizations like the
United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
and the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) in addition to car makers BMW
and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. According
to El Bouna, Jimmy Nassif, a Lebanese
national who has been working with
the BMW Group since 2008 in senior IT
managerial positions was instrumental
in building the relationship with the
German carmaker. Klangoo’s customers
include international media outlets
like Forbes magazine, Thomson
Reuters, Postmedia, Graham Media
Group, and Glacier Media Group.
Going global opened huge markets to
local AI companies and enabled them
to grow. “Inmind.ai was founded
in 2018 with two people. It has now
a workforce of 90 full-time and part-
time employees. Our revenues have
increased exponentially,” El Bouna
said. Paragon Shift’s revenues increased
by 30 percent in 2022. “Paragon Shift
has expanded its customer base and
continues to do so. We are also hiring
more employees for work on new
projects. We have grown especially
in the US. Our US business accounts
for 60 percent of our revenues with
the remainder 40 percent generated
in Lebanon,” Younan said. The local
customers that have benefited from
Paragon Shift’s AI services include Bank
Audi, GlobeMed, Nextcare, Sabis school
network, American University of Beirut
(AUB), and ESA Business School. It has
sold its AI services abroad to companies,
organizations, and public sector entities
like MetLife-UAE, Walsh University, Case
Western Reserve University, Ministry of
Finance of Georgia, Ministry of Finance
of Jordan, and US-based companies
Hinkley Lighting and The Andersons.
MaliaTec sells its AI solutions in Lebanon,
Iraq, and Gulf countries like Kuwait,
UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Its customers
include Kuwaiti Danish Dairy Co. (KDD),
UAE-based Transcorp, and the global
education network SABIS.
for opportunities abroad. “With the
outbreak of the crisis we focused more
on the US market. We don’t actively look
for new customers on the local market
though we continue to serve existing
clients.” Younan said. Paragon Shift is
now based in Cleveland while it still has
its Lebanon office where its main team
continues to develop AI solutions that
target global markets. It also has a small
team in the US in order to be close to
the market. “We are Microsoft certified
and this opens doors in the US. The
Covid-19 restrictions which have led to
an increase in online work have enabled
us to enter markets beyond the state
where we are located. For instance, even
though we are based in Cleveland, we
can serve a customer located in Florida,”
Younan said.
Further global expansion
ATG, which exports almost all of its
services to markets like the USA,
European countries, and Asian markets,
sells its AI solutions in Gulf countries
through its subsidiary CognativeX.
AI companies
moto: Develop
locally, sell
globally
Inmind.ai, which entirely focuses on
global markets, including Germany, UK,
and Switzerland, has opened an office in
the US and is in the process of opening
anther office in Qatar. “We will continue
to carry out our development work in
Lebanon,” El Bouna said. Decentra Tech,
whose overseas market generates 80
percent of its total revenues, is working to
expand into Iraq, Portugal, and Angola.
The company currently sells its services
in Lebanon and the UAE. “Our business-
to-business (B2B) products mainly target
distributors of Fast Moving Consumer
Goods (FMSG) and waste management
companies,” Dabbous said.

The crisis was a

blessing in disguise
Around 95 percent of Klangoo’s business
is abroad. The company is present in 60
countries but it mainly serves the North
American market (US and Canada).
“We started to focus more on overseas
markets when we saw that our market
share in Lebanon was declining over
the last three years due to the crisis and
the difficulties that our customers in the
media sector were facing,” Azzi said.
Besides North America, the company
exports its services to Europe, South
Africa, Brazil, Salvador, and the Arab
world. Klangoo, which launched its
operations in Silicon Valley nine years
ago, has local offices in Jounieh, and
overseas offices in Hoboken, New Jersey,
and in the Netherlands. “The European
market is more challenging. It is very
heterogeneous with many languages.
While North America is a huge market
with one language,” Azzi said. The
crisis also pushed Paragon Shift to look The crisis pushed local companies to look for new opportunities abroad

SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 69

 BUSINESS
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
Competitive advantages
Providing services with high quality-to-
price ratio and having human resources
with comprehensive skill sets are the two
main competitive advantages of local
AI companies. Younan said: “We have
three main competitive advantages in
the US market. We have well-rounded
engineers experienced in a wide range
of activities while US engineers are very
specialized, our cost of human resources
is lower, and we can benefit from the
time difference between Lebanon and
the US to offer services needed round the
clock.” Inmind.ai has opened a pipeline
with universities to ensure a constant
supply of skilled human resources said El
Bouna who is also a university professor.
Fostering
valuable talent
Education is key in AI. Inmind.ai has four
senior employees holding PhD degrees
including the CEO. The company has
created ‘inmind.ai Academy’ that trains
students. Some of them were selected to
have internships with BMW. The brain
drain has forced AI companies to hire
and train newly graduated students and
employ people who have completed
some training by companies like Zaka
(See BOX) even if they don’t have work
experience. According to Akl, due to
scarce human resources in AI skills,
MaliaTec invests in training and in
enhancing the knowhow of its existing
team. “This is a niche specialty with
a small labor supply,” said Younan of
Paragon Shift which is employing 17
engineers. “We have a very low employee
turnover,” he said. According to Azzi,
there was a scarcity of talents, when
they launched operations nine years ago.
Then the situation improved until the
outbreak of the crisis. He said: “We lost a
lot of talents during the three-year crisis
but the situation has improved a little
now but it is still difficult.” According
to Sabbagh, the university curricula
must be updated and must focus more
on practical issues. “Fresh university
graduates in computer science have to be
trained for at least six months to become
operational in an AI environment,” he
Zaka, a provider of practical AI training
Zaka is an online training platform that is filling the gap in the availability
of human resources with AI experience. It provides practical basic training
(AI Bootcamp program) for beginners. The four-week program is designed
to introduce apprentices to AI fundamentals. It also provides a more
advanced 16-week intensive training program (AI Certification) to equip
trainees with the necessary tools and know-how that enables them to be
market ready. Candidates for this program must have some knowledge of
mathematics and statistics. “We are expanding our training programs to
enhance the career track of our customers. Besides machine learning, we
have added data science and data engineering to our 16-week program
and we will introduce data analysis,” said Christophe Zoghbi, founder and
CEO of Zaka. In addition to training individuals as a business-to-consumer
(B2C) service, the company also provides business-to-business (B2B)
training services that include employee upskilling in the AI field. The B2B
package also includes consultation services for companies adopting AI
solutions from Microsoft. These services are provided under Microsoft
Global Training Partner (GTP) program. “Our training programs are more
affordable than similar programs provided in Gulf countries. We charge
$3,000 for a 16-week program. For instance, a company in the Gulf region
offers its training program at $8,000,” Zoghbi said. Nearly 40 percent of the
company’s turnover is generated on the local market with the remaining
60 percent made in the MENA region mainly in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait,
Oman, Jordan and Egypt. Zaka gets support from donors for trainees with
financial difficulties in Lebanon and Egypt with 30 individuals in Lebanon
having profited from this support while 50 women in Egypt will benefit
soon. The company also provides access to jobs to apprentices through
its Zaka Partner Network which links them to companies looking for
employees. This talent and employer matching program allows potential
employees to have internships in these companies. Zaka also engages
in competitions such as hackathons in the fields of AI and data science.
Ironically, the company that is trying to address the lack in experienced AI
workers is itself facing the same challenge. “We find the required talents
in Lebanon but they are mainly juniors due the brain drain,” Zoghbi said.
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 70
Most AI companies rely on self-financing resources
said. Salaries depend on the experience
of the employee and vary from one
company to another depending on
their size. Fresh graduates in computer
science or computer engineering and in
AI specializations like machine learning
engineers, data scientists, and data
engineers could start work with a salary
that could range from $800 to $1,500
or more if they have completed some
training before their employment. Some
companies pay $600 for fresh graduates
with no experience or training. Salaries
of senior employees with long experience
could range from $3,000 to $5,000.
Self-financing of
high processing capacity
AI companies, as export-oriented
businesses, benefit from their overseas
sales to meet their financing needs. As
a result, most of them enjoy a balanced
cash flow position. ATG, the mother
company of CognativeX, has grown
organically since day one by relying on
its self-financing resources, according to
Sabbagh. He said: “We plow back a big
chunk of our profits into the company for
R&D and product development purposes
because if you attract outside capital
you lose your flexibility and agility. We
have invested so far nearly $3 million in
AI solutions only.” On the other hand,
performing AI activities requires high
computer processing power which
necessitates buying powerful computers
or using the computational capacity of
the Cloud. These two options are costly
and they are among the main challenges
facing some AI companies. “Klangoo
has the skills to develop any AI service
in Lebanon but the problem is that we
need large processing power and big
servers. This requires financial resources
but investors are not willing to risk
their money in Lebanon in the current
circumstances. This is slowing the growth
of some AI businesses especially that an
AI company that has reached a certain
size needs more financial resources to
use higher computer processing power,”
Azzi said. There are risks of doing
business, lack of a trustworthy judicial
system in case of disputes, and risks of
US sanctions, he said.
Drivers of
growth momentum
The development and growth of the AI
industry could gain momentum if certain
actions and projects are carried out.
According to the ‘Advisory Report on
Development of an Artificial Intelligence
Strategy for Lebanon’ released by ESCWA
in 2020, these initiatives must include,
among other things, establishing special
SPRING 2023 | LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES | 71
digital zones and/or clusters throughout
the country that are similar to the Beirut
Digital District (BDD) where an adequate
broadband Internet service is available.
Another proposal involves incorporating
coding and 21st century soft skills into
the educational system and setting up
continuing education training centers
for AI programming languages. ESCWA
also recommends a number of initiatives
to allow the AI sector to benefit from
research and new technology. These
measures include incentivizing linkages
between industries and universities,
creating the National Center for
Technology Transfer at the National
Council for Scientific Research (CNRS),
encouraging private investments in
local research and development, and
establishing strategic partnerships
with regional and international
research centers.
On our website
More information is available by typing the numbers
below into the Reference Finder on our home page
L0223-47 Contact information
L0223-48 Advisory Report on Development of an
Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Lebanon
2020 ESCWA
www.opportunities.com.lb
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