Start-up businesses can create many jobs particularly in ICT

AUB held a round table last Tuesday to discuss the findings of a study prepared by the World Bank on the employment potential of the Middle East and North Africa. The round table was organised in the presence of economists from the World Bank and the former Minister of Economy and Trade, Nicolas Na7has, as well as professors from AUB. The study’s findings showed that micro-startups & firms, less than 5 years old and with less than five employees, accounted for 177 percent of aggregate net job creation and generated about 66,000 jobs in Lebanon between 2005 and 2010. The second largest number of jobs (12,000) was created by young large firms with 200-999 employees. The study recommended that the MENA region must reform policies so as not to allow few firms to dominate the most lucrative sectors of the economy, and in an attempt to promote equal opportunities for all entrepreneurs.
Marc Schiffbauer, a senior economist at the World Bank argued that there should be an understanding of the factors holding back new firms from entering the Lebanese market, explaining that startups have the capacity to create the number of jobs needed in Lebanon but red tape and restrictions curbing foreign direct investments must be removed since they are hindering the establishment of such firms. For his part, Ibrahim Osman, associate dean and business professor at AUB, emphasized the importance of the information and communications technology sector in creating employment. He noted that globally ICT employment has grown with top firms hiring more than 14 million people worldwide in 2011, an average increase of 6 percent from 2010.
Source: The Daily Star 3 December 2014