News updates

The Minister of Industry, Frej Sabounjian, referred to monthly, quarterly and yearly exports data which continuously indicate that food processed products are first on the list of Lebanese exports.  Sabounjian also noted that the Lebanese cuisine and wine have successfully reached international markets thus the importance of securing sustainability and high quality through land reclamation in Lebanon as well as reaching out to water and soil rich neighboring Arab countries so as to scale up investments.  Sabounjian noted that strengthening production in these countries is important for building a new economy in the region.  Sabounjian added that his Ministry is now working towards subsidizing the costs of participation of Lebanese exporters in international fairs.  Efforts are also placed towards developing a new project entitled "Beirut, the capital of taste" in order to support the Lebanese industry and the marketing of its products.  
Sabounjian’s declarations came during a luncheon organised by food industrialists.  The event was organised in celebration of the former president of the Syndicate of Food Industries, Georges Nasraoui, which was attended by the Minister of Tourism, Fadi Abboud and the Director General of the Ministry of Economy and Trade, Fouad Fleifel as well as other key figures.
The new president of the Syndicate, Munir Bsat, gave a key note address and spoke of the current realities of the food industries highlighting the continuous growth in production and exports despite difficulties and challenges faced.  He called on the members of the Syndicate to support it and to participate actively in the implementation of its new plan.  The former president, Nasraoui, encouraged the audience to participate in external exhibitions and to open up to export.  He also stressed the important role played by the syndicate to lobby politicians and decision makers to take initiatives which would support the local industry and encourage the adoption of ISO and HACCP standards so as to improve the quality of production.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar, Al-Diyar 20 December 2013

The Blessing Foundation organised on November 30th in collaboration with the Women Empowerment Initiative (WE) of the BLC bank the second edition of its annual workshop on mentoring and communication with the participation of 60 women entrepreneurs.  The event took place within the framework of the mentoring programme implemented by the organization with funding from the US organisation Vital Voices which brings together entrepreneurs from all parts of the world and introduces them to business mentors listed in Fortune and which includes a rundown of the best US Fortune 500 companies.  The programme enabled this year the participation of pioneer women from various industrial sectors such as design, finance, law, pharmacy and fashion.
The Executive Director of the Blessing Foundation, Ms, Rima Kuteish el Husseini, highlighted in her speech the importance of competent business women in mentoring emerging women entrepreneurs in Lebanon.  She added that the concept of mentoring and counseling needs to flourish in Lebanon and so as to attract more women into the business community.  For her part, Nancy Stephan, from the US embassy gave a presentation on communication and networking, whilst the president of the Strategic Development and Financial Management department at the BLC bank, Tania Moussallem, introduced the Women Empowerment Initiative and the importance of creating opportunities for small and medium enterprises in order to empower women socially and economically.
The workshop has contributed to the starting up and to the development of new relations between trainees and mentors.  After a brief exchange session, women trainees chose their preferred mentors with whom they carry out the Vital Voices Mentoring Walk which stands as the backbone of the annual Blessing Foundation’s mentoring and counseling programme.
Source: Al-Nahar 18 December 2013

Within the framework of the 2013 international business entrepreneurship, and in line with the mission of Endeavour aiming to develop business entrepreneurship among younger generation, Endeavour organised during last month at AUB, two seminars the first on 18 and the second on 28 November.  The aim of these 2 events was to raise the awareness and expand the horizons of students interested in business entrepreneurship and assist them in understanding the business and economy system of Lebanon.
The seminars kicked off with lectures by four business entrepreneurs from Endeavour and who are highly influential in Lebanon namely Elie Habib, the founder of Anghami music app for smart phones, Brahms Chouity, the founder of At7addak.com the Arab World's biggest gaming website, Jad Khour the founder of Printworks, and Marc Dfouni the Co-founder of Eastline Marketing for e-commerce.  Speakers introduced their businesses and shared their journey in developing their enterprise until it became successful.
This was followed by a discussion session, during which entrepreneurs shared their experiences with students highlighting their challenges as well as available solutions and advanced technology, then followed by a cocktail party during which students had a chance to have some side discussions with entrepreneurs and seek their advice and guidance.
On this occasion, the administration director of Endeavour in Lebanon Tarek Saadi reiterated the commitment of Endeavour to strengthening relation with universities and so as to link individuals with talents and skills and facilitate knowledge exchange.  He added that similar activities will be organised in the future in collaboration with the other Lebanese universities.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 18 December 2013

Lobnani Association celebrated last Sunday the launch of its 2014 plan with the graduation of participants in its workshop entitled "24 hours change my life".  The event was held under the auspices of the Head of the Economic Committees and former Minister Adnan al Kassar, and was held at the Kassar building for Arab economy.  The workshop was implemented in collaboration with the YMCA and targeted job seekers as well as people newly employed, while aiming to empower young people and train them on communication and conflict resolution.  The general director of Lobnani Association, Mr. Nadim Mansouri, described during the commemoration event the objectives of his association, which was set up in 2011, which is to raise awareness amongst the youth, to provide them with guidance, and to link business people across the world so as to create more space for young people in Lebanon as well as those living abroad. YMCA's president, Mr. Ghassan Sayyah, noted that the collaboration between the private sector, the public sector and civil society organisations is a necessary step towards resolving problems faced by the country, especially in terms of creating employment opportunities for young people and in order to achieve economic, social and political stability.  For his part, Kassar noted that the exclusion of young people from public, political, economic and social life jeopardizes the infrastructure for economic and social development in Lebanon and undermines the capacities of young people to play a key role in political and cultural development.
Source: Al-Diyar 16 December 2013

Statistics released by the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD indicate that only 20% of companies in the Middle East and North Africa region are run by women compared to 32% in OECD countries of Europe.  These statistics were released during the OECD-MENA Women's Business Forum on nurturing entrepreneurship and improving women's access to services and financing, which was organised by MENA-OECD Investment Programme in Rabat early this month.  The event aimed at reviewing mechanisms that would potentially strengthen women’s economic role in the region as well as assess the experience of women entrepreneur and their role in economic development.  The forum also sought to identify the optimal means to address obstacles facing women entrepreneurs in accessing financing as well as services offered by various support initiatives and identify the action plan of the Forum in 2014.
The seminar extended over two days during which participants discussed various subjects such as the role of ICTs in developing women entrepreneurship, women entrepreneur's access to support services, the participation of women in the private and public sectors as well as other related subjects.
The President of the Forum, Birgitta Holst Alani noted that the organisation of this event coincides with the unprecedented transformation in the MENA region and should lead into the creation of larger economic opportunities for women.  Alani also noted that although women in the region are both intelligent and active, yet this is not reflected in local economies as only 24% of MENA women are active in the economy compared to an average of 51% in other small and middle income countries of the world.
Source: Al-Diyar 9 December 2013

Wafiq Association for Economic Development and Investments organised in collaboration with the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce a conference on “food safety development law: the new food safety matrix - Lebanese obstacles and hopes”.  The event was organised last Friday at the headquarters of the Chamber of Industry and Agriculture in Beirut and Mount Lebanon under the auspices of the Ministries of Agriculture, Economy and Trade.  The conference sought to help Lebanese industrialists in understanding the law on food safety which was issued by the American Food and Drug Administration as well as encourage them to apply it so that they can export to the USA and secure health and economic benefits for Lebanon and the region.  The Minister of Industry, Freij Sabounjian, noted that the Ministry is working to strengthen strategies seeking to improve food safety.  He highlighted that the food industry sector is growing fast internally and is also in high demand internationally.

The conference coincided with a report published by As Safir newspaper on this food safety bill which has been in pipeline since 2005.  The report notes that Judge Bassem Takieddine issued on last Friday as well, a court decision, ordering the closure of a warehouse in Ashrafyeh as it contained food items which had expired in September 2011.  The court order stipulated a sentence of one year in prison and a penalty of 50 million Lebanese pounds.  The president of the Consumers’ Society, Mr. Zouhair Berro noted that the issue of the food safety law is not addressed seriously as many commercial interests will be harshly hit if the law was to be implemented.  He expressed his concern with the nonchalance of legislative and the executive powers in dealing with this issue especially since such law will cut on the profits of those currently benefiting from total impunity.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar, Al-Hayat, Al-Safir 16 December 2013

The US Embassy in Lebanon and Hayya Bina organised a graduation ceremony for the students of the English for Women programme which is implemented with funding from the American Embassy.  The event was organised last week with the participation of the US ambassador who distributed certificates to the 800 graduates from 35 villages in Lebanon.  The programme started in 2008 with a current total of beneficiaries reaching 4000 women.
The Ambassador hailed the efforts made by the beneficiaries hoping that learning English will help them reach their goals and that they will continue to gain new skills to hep their families and communities.  The president of Hayya Bina, Lukman Slim noted that the programme seeks to empower Lebanese women especially those living in peripheral areas and also focuses on fighting the culture of violence in social and political life especially since many sessions were entitled “making peace in the classroom and within society”.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar 16 December 2013

The Environmental Fund for Lebanon outlined yesterday the outcome of its work through highlighting the achievements of 30 organisations which received funding support form the EFL for their development projects in order to implement local environmental projects through the collaboration between local municipalities, NGOs and private sector.  To be noted that the implanted initiatives sought to mitigate the environmental and economic impact of the July 2006 war in Lebanon.  The highlighting of these projects was carried out during a commemoration event held in Ain Mreisseh which celebrated their full implementation, organised under the auspices of the Minister of the Environment, Nazem Khouri, and with the attendance of a number of municipal heads, private organisations and NGO which received financial support from the Fund.
The overall aim of the project, which extended over the past six years, was to provide some 30 local initiatives with financial support amounting to circa 4.8 million Euros. The funded local initiatives were implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment and GIZ, and sought to improve environmental performance through investments which carry economic benefits namely to small and medium enterprises and which will result in economic gains for the public and non-governmental sectors.  The project targeted, in its first phase, the protection of fragile ecosystems, sustainable agriculture and rational use of energy.  The second phase focused on water pollution due to industrial waste as well as improving the situation in North Lebanon through projects seeking to increase income and to improve adaptability to climate change.
For his part, the Minister of the Environment, Khouri, noted in his speech that the success of the Environmental Fund for Lebanon can be traced to its three key principles, namely: first transparency in its management and in such a way that it is in line with national priorities and plans, secondly the development of partnership with the public sector as well as between the private and public sectors, and finally the sustainability of activities and financing.
Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Diyar 12 December 2013

Three emerging youth companies, Lebtivity, Sociatag and Etobb, succeeded in representing Lebanon at the web summit in Dublin, which is an annual event that brings together tens of thousands of young business entrepreneurs from around the world most of whom are in fact youth entrepreneurs with age ranging between 20 to 33 years.
L’Orient le Jour interviewed Randa Farah, the founder of Lebtivity who introduced the work scope of her website which monitors Lebanese cultural, artistic, and sports activities and which has attracted the interests of many of the participants in the summit especially since it portrays positive images of Lebanon.  Farah added that the website was funded by the founders themselves who are now working on marketing the idea to other countries.
Source: L’Orient Le Jour 12 December 2013