News updates

The Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Saida organised in its premises yesterday a seminar entitled “Together for the financing of small and medium enterprises in Saida and South Lebanon”.  The event was held in collaboration with the Al Baraka bank within the framework of the “Economic dialogue” programme which is produced and hosted by Ghada Ballout from Arab Women TV.
The president of the Chamber, Mohammed Saleh, noted during that seminar that the collaboration between Al Baraka bank and the Chamber for the financing of small and medium enterprises seeks to support the Chamber’s various development programmes especially those targeting the agricultural sector.  These programmes include for instance the hydroponic programme financed by USAID and which seeks to create hydroponics in Lebanon and especially in South Lebanon in order to produce high quality vegetables, fruits, and flowers and thus enable producers to market internationally and raise their income.
Saleh added that a comprehensive study is being prepared with USAID support in order to identify priority needs and to create a model industrial city for light and medium production in South Lebanon.  The model industrial city will enjoy a complete infrastructure. The Chamber also seeks to organise trade exhibitions while pointing out in that context that the Chamber is organising next month a trade exhibition for agro-industry of the South.  
Source: Al-Diyar 16 May 2013

The Beirut Traders Association held a press conference in its premises yesterday in order to kick off the third round of its “grow my business” competition.  This competition aims at developing the comparative advantage of small and medium businesses improve the professional standards of the trade sector and contribute to the sustainable economic growth of the country.  The initiative focuses on existing businesses which owners seek to develop through creative ideas and plans.
The first round of competition was launched in February 2011 in collaboration with the MIT Enterprise Forum for the Arab world and with the participation of Audi Bank – Audi Saradar group. A year later, the second round was released with an increase to 80 million LBP in the size of prizes to creative ideas presented by young entrepreneurs.
Interested participants may access the participation form through http://www.growmybusiness.me. ; A jury composed of key figures from the Beirut Traders associations as well as from MIT Enterprise Forum and Audi Bank who will select the first 25 winners on July 9th 2013.  The selected candidates will then take part in a workshop organised by a number of specialists and experts and which will focus on developing sound business plans.  Following this, the jury will select the best 12 projects.  The finalist will be selected by the end of September and will receive a cash prize of 50 million LBP from Audi Bank.
Source: Al-Nahar 15 May 2013

The Ministry of Economy organized yesterday a workshop entitled: A future vision fro developing small and medium enterprises in Lebanon”. The event was held at the Grand Serail under the auspices of the Minister of Economy and Trade, Nicolas Nahhas.
The event is an attempt to create a coordination framework between all stakeholders in the private and public sectors, financial and donor institutions and civil society organisations.  The seminar included a review of the current situation of initiatives and projects which were implemented in support of small and medium enterprises with a view towards identifying their gaps while teasing out lessons for the future.  The second part of the workshop focused on bringing out ideas from participants with a view towards the setting up of a coordination framework which will bring together all these initiatives under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy and Trade and in coordination with the Prime Minister’s office, the relevant ministries as well as various economic bodies and the central bank.
During the open of the event, the president of Kafalat, Khater Abou Habib, pointed out to the various services provided by his organisation and which include the provision of support to loans, assistance to business incubators and provision of material support to small and medium enterprises.  The vice president of the central bank,Saad Al-Andary, also described the baskets of incentives available to the productive sector and the current trend towards opening new financial opportunities rather then providing direct funding.  He also highlighted the importance of the collaboration between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in order to put in place the mechanisms needed for improving the performance of small and micro enterprises.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar, Al-Safir, Al-Diyar 15 May 2013

The director of the Arab Open University, Dr. Fairuz Farah Sarkis, inaugurated yesterday the university’s eighth job fair at the university campus in Beirut and with the participation of some 60 regional and local companies including banks, financial institutions, trade, tourism and communication companies.
The holding of this event reflects the university’s commitment to identify employment opportunities for its graduates through exposing them to the local and regional job markets, guiding them in choosing their career paths and improving their skills especially in new advanced ICT and technology sectors.  Exhibitors, students and graduates got to meet each other to explore employment opportunities.
During her inaugural address, Sarkis alluded to the newly launched higher education programme which is implemented in collaboration with the UK Open University and according to standards that will allow students to obtain both a Lebanese and a British degree.  She also pointed out to the business entrepreneur centre, which has just kicked off its activities in collaboration with AGFUND and the Ebdaa Bank for Microfinance.

Source: Al-Nahar 15 May 2013

The Institute for Industrial Research organised last week a seminar entitled: “Agricultural Cooperatives Feed the World and the transformation of cooperatives into development potentials”.  The event was organised at the Institute’s premises at the Rafic Al-Hariri University Campus – Hadath, and in collaboration with the National Union of Cooperatives and Cooperative Credit Union. With the participation of the minister of Agriculture Dr. Hussein Hajj Hassan, the General Director of the Institute for Industrial Research, and representatives from cooperatives.

In his speech, the Minister of Agriculture Dr. Hajj Hassan revealed the extent of support bestowed to cooperatives in Lebanon.  According to the Minister, farmers received in 2012 a total financial aid amounting to 2 million dollars in addition to drugs and fertilizers of the value of 6 million dollars, 2 million dollars worth of tree seedlings, veterinary drugs and vaccines for 3 million dollars, construction of roads and water reservoirs for 15 million dollars and other miscellaneous support in the whereabouts of 2 million dollars. Additional support included 2 million dollars worth of specialized equipments, feedstock valued at 8 million dollars, support to wheat and barley growing valued at 3 million dollars, and support from IDAL totaling 3 million dollars.

Source: Al-Akhbar, Al-Nahar, Al-Diyar 11 May 2013

The Nurses Order organised yesterday an event entitled “for a more conducive work environment” to celebrate the international Nurses’ Day (May 12th).  The event was held at the UNESCO palace under the auspices of the Minister of Public Health represented by Asaad Khoury and with the participation of the representative of the Minister of Labor, Eman Khazaal, and the president of the Parliamentary Commission for health, MP Atef Majdalani as well as the participation of nurses and public figures.
The event included the launch of a campaign entitled “the rights and dignity of nurses” which aims at putting in place initiatives and mechanisms which will limit risks related to occupational hazards, the protection of nurses from violence on the work place and the creation of systems for reporting any form of violence or abuse in the practice of nursing.
The head of the nursing order, Helen Samaha Nouweyhed, gave a keynote address calling on decision makers in the health sector to adopt and abide by the fundamental principles for strengthening the nursing sector and emphasizing its role as a sector enjoying vital human, professional economic and social resources.  She also called on the health sector, and particularly hospitals, to adopt flexible working hours and ensure that working hours do not exceed 42 hours per week so as to ensure the safety of patients, while finally calling for improving salaries, supporting the legal and professional rights of nurses and ensuring close accompaniment during their education and employment. The opening was followed by a discussion seminar focusing on improving the working environment for nurses in which participated Mohammad Alameddine, Riwa al-Atrah, Ogarite Younan and Asaad Khoury.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 9 May 2013
For more news about nurses in Lebanon check the previous articles published on WEEPortal on 08/05/2013 titled 67.5% of nurses in Lebanon plan to leave their profession because of working hours and poor career prospects and on 13/12/2012 titled: 62% of nurses in Lebanon suffer from violence and verbal abuse

An Nahar newspaper published a report on a study carried out by the American University of Beirut focusing on the crisis within the nursing profession in Lebanon.  The research was conducted by the Faculty of Health Sciences and managed by Dr. Fadi Al-Jardali, in collaboration with Rafic Al-Hariri Nursing Faculty.
The research covered 69 hospitals and 1783 respondents, all of whom are nurses.  Of these, 67.5% indicated that they intend to change their work, whilst 37.5% noted that they plan to leave the country and 63.3% to leave the hospital where they are presently practicing.  30% of those intending to travel also plan on abandoning their profession.  According to the research, nurses are the least satisfied with their salaries and benefits as well as with their career opportunities and face challenges in balancing work and family life. Dissatisfaction appears to be the cause of nurses’ intention to leave their work.  Respondents noted that their work environment is not motivating, that harsh work conditions and inadequate organizational support constitute some of the main challenges that they face.  
For their part, the administrators of 76  hospitals, from the total of hospitals covered by the study, noted that the reason why nurses are considering leaving their jobs include low salaries and intensive working hours as well as marriage in the case of women nurses who tend to leave their profession to take care of their children.  Hospital administrators suggested adopting a number of strategies to deal with the crisis namely increasing salaries, setting up staff development programmes, introducing incentives and bonuses, and adopting flexible hours.

For more studies about nurses in Lebanon check the previous article published on WEEPortal on 13/12/2012 titled: 62% of nurses in Lebanon suffer from violence and verbal abuse
Source: Al-Nahar 8 May 2013

A Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) delegation composed of Mrs Saloua Karam, and the members: Yolanda Al-Rasi, Rene Al-Shater and Sonya Nahhas, visited yesterday the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Tripoli and met with the General Secretary and Treasurer and the General Director of the union of chambers, Toufic Dabbousi,  The discussion revolved around the possibility of collaboration between the two organisations and with the BIAT business incubator located at the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Tripoli and North Lebanon as well as ways of benefiting from the initiatives of the Arab Urban Development Institute AUDI in the social and development field.
Dabbousi commended YWCA for its work in the areas of women training and the development of business skills which is being carried out within the framework of supporting young women economic opportunities and strengthening their participation in professional life.  He also reiterated his commitment to further networking and collaboration with various organisations and especially with the YWCA so as to contribute to the strengthening the skills of the youth population.

Source: Al-Diyar 8 May 2013

Al Akhbar newspaper published an article on the migration of Lebanese women graduates to Gulf countries in search for jobs and to improve their financial situation, stating that women graduates also migrate to avoid gender discrimination in wages.  According to Shoghik Kasparian, the research expert in social sciences and statistics, migration is not only a women-specific phenomenon but is rather related to broader societal trends and advances which have facilitated the process.  She further notes that when migration started decades ago, women had not yet started to fully enjoy their social and educational rights.  Since this has considerably changed to date with the advances made in women and girls’ education, women are now able to consider migrating to pursue work opportunities.
Kasparian distinguishes between three kinds of women migration.  The first type is the most predominant and accounts for 55% of women migrating to marry or to follow a spouse.  The second type is more of a temporary nature where women migrate to complete their studies mostly to European or Northern American countries.  The last is the longer term where women migrate looking for jobs and in order to improve their financial situation.  According to Kasparian, this type of migration involves newly graduating women who tend to leave mainly to Gulf countries pursuing work (27.7%), Northern America (13%) and Europe (49.8%). The two last figures include those who migrate to work as well as to pursue their education.

Source: Al-Akhbar 3 May 2013