BePlan for SME incubation and women economic empowerment

During its quarterly conference yesterday at the Bristol Hotel in Beirut, Data and Investment Consult-Lebanon launched the BePlan, a virtual business incubator and a network of support sites to bolster small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Lebanon. The event which took place under the auspices of the minister of economy and trade, represented by his media consultant Raya Kik, also saw the launching of the periodic training group, in addition to a program that provides students with unlimited creativity opportunities. The latter, it should be noted, was designed to serve as an economic and commercial venture in the life of students. Discussions during the conference mainly tackled: finding ways to improve the working environment of SMEs after the assessment and comparison between Lebanese and the Arab situations; reviewing SME saving and the credit systems and addressing the difficulties of SME financing. Participants also examined the role and empowerment of women in said enterprises. At the end of the conference, the following recommendations were issued calling for: developing a comprehensive vision and work plan for business incubators; legalizing the status of SMEs which eases taxes imposed on them, and facilitating the entry of these enterprises to secondary markets operating under the Beirut Stock Exchange market under the terms of international exchange. The conferees also pressed for the accession to a number of agreements, notably, the technical regulations draft law, conformity assessment procedures, the draft bill for the specifications of free trade between Lebanon and members of the European Free Trade Association, in addition to developing the specialized capacities of SMEs. (As Safir, An Nahar, April 15, 2016)