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Volume 6 / December 2001 • Why What We Do Is
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* By Dr. Florence Eid The importance of promoting private sector activity has been analyzed from all possible perspectives ranging from the generation of happiness and personal satisfaction to improvements in living standards, productivity, and GDP growth. What is undeniably clear is the centrality of private sector expansion to economic development and in today’s world, to peace and security through a continuously growing economic "pie". (Visit the following article published in the New York Times by one of the world’s foremost development thinkers subsequent to September11). http://sb.aub.edu.lb/faculty/feid/Editorials.htm The work that the EDF does is important because of the way it fits into the larger picture, which is made up of four main pillars of private sector-led growth:
Several versions of micro finance exist, with the most prominent being the Grameen Bank model of Bangladesh which lends, successfully, a few hundred dollars at a time. This model is ideal for countries with large populations below the poverty line, and an unskilled labor force of significant proportion. On the other end of the spectrum, macro finance has been successful in countries capable of absorbing large industrial and/or manufacturing projects that benefit from economies of scale and absorb hundreds of millions of dollars. In many ways, the industrial age is over, and for whatever remains of it, the entire economy of Lebanon is below scale. This leaves us with two possible paths for financing private sector-led growth in a country like Lebanon. The first is the now "infamous" venture capital route, which despite all that has been said and "not done" on start-up markets, is alive and well because of its inherent logic in a world where risk, flexibility and advanced technical skills come hand in hand. For the (large) high-skilled end of the labor force in Lebanon, the venture start-up path is key and has significant regional implications. The business plan competition of Lebanon is an effort in this direction (www.networklebanon.org). The second option, meso finance, is a crucial complement to the venture capital route because it relates to the remaining majority of the population in Lebanon – the support, and service base. This is what the EDF specializes in by lending several thousand dollars at a time for the creation or expansion of small firms. The internet café, the specialized ingredients shop, the stationery store, the agricultural products company, even the clothing rental boutique and babysitting service all require entrepreneurial know-how, solid management skills, and a few thousand dollars to set up. Firms like these create jobs and products key to supporting the higher-skilled end of the labor force. Meso finance plays a central role in economies where a good majority of the labor force either already possesses medium-level skills, or is easily "upgradable" to such a level thanks to a combination of entrepreneurial spirit, good technical school training, and an economic/geopolitical exposure to the world. During different historical periods southern Italy, Portugal, Greece, and southern Spain on the eve of the EU (and arguably till today), northeast Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and parts of India have been such examples. And let us not forget industrialized Europe, North America and all of South America and parts of Asia during the 19th century. Before the advent of large industrial financing to such parts of the world, informal meso finance organized by small vendors and brokers was central to economic transformation and growth. Interestingly, among the most poignant testimonials to this process come from the grandchildren of Lebanese peddlers who emigrated to Latin America at the turn of the century. Those creators of some of the world’s vast fortunes originate from the very same neighborhoods where the EDF does its work. * Dr. Florence Eid is the EDF’s Board Secretary and Professor of Economics & Finance at AUB - School of Business |
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Intriguing Alley Sessions
Pauline Elias Irani
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High-caliber
trainees, an intriguing lecture and a back-to-nature venue bestowed
a special touch on the training session held in Alley. The diversity
of participants, who arrived in droves and hailed from a number
of Alley villages and towns, spiced up discussions, taking them
to a higher plane. 
Moreover,
more than one trainer commented on the strong turn-out of participants,
many of whom held university degrees. During a tour of the sessions
with EDF President Mr. Nabil Sawabini, Mr. Abdel-Aziz al-Aafaleq,
the Vice-Chairman of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, intrigued
his audience with a lecture filled with his rich and successful
experience in the world of business, thereby encouraging young people
to strive to achieve a similar success. Both Mr. Aafaleq and Mr.
Sawabini sat in on a few training sessions. Not only was Alley’s
training sessions a success in the eyes of organizers and participants,
alike, but it also provided an opportunity for all to relax in a
pleasant, serene location in the heart of nature, in the village
of Ramlieh, where the Association for Forest Development and Conservation
has set up its headquarters.
They
may be called the weaker sex, but the women majority participating
in EDF’s training sessions in Tyre, showed their strength
in the discussions and their desire to expand the program’s
curriculum, in a move that showed their appetite for learning.
Indeed, the presence of a great number of women who are
university graduates at the sessions proves that women know
how to take advantage of every opportunity for advancement
and learning. 
Held
at the pleasant Rest House that overlooks Tyre’s shores,
the sessions also managed to attract a number of visitors.
Dr. Hayyan Haidar, Executive Board Member at EDF, followed
a day’s worth of courses and training workshops. Also, Ms.
Alison Keeling, the British Embassy’s Third Secretary sat
in on a number of discussions during the training sessions.
Later, Ms. Keeling joined Dr. Haidar, Mr. Majid Joumblat,
EDF’s Executive Director, and Ms. Lara Khalil, EDF’s Program
Coordinator, for lunch with the sessions’ trainers and participants.
The
guest list of the special graduation ceremony for the Mount
Lebanon and South EDF trainees, that took place at the Monroe
Hotel in Beirut on October 18, 2001, was not restricted
to the Board of Trustees, the EDF staff and the graduates,
but also attending the ceremony were a number of public
figures from the political, social and media circles. Among
them was the British Ambassador Mr. Richard Kinchen and
some of the Embassy’s senior staff. 
Master
of Ceremonies Lamia Mawla introduced the event with a documentary
on the EDF, which garnered the audience’s admiration and
praise. EDF president Mr. Nabil Sawabini delivered a welcoming
speech, thanking all those who offered their valuable support
for the EDF, including its staff and all local and Arab
organizations that have supported the foundation. In particular,
Mr. Sawabini thanked The British Section for International
Development, which had funded the last two training sessions.
Mr. Sawabini noted that the EDF has up till now, conducted
ten training programs and graduated more than 250 men and
women, and that would not have been possible without the
financial backing of some Arab and Lebanese businessmen,
as well as private and international organizations. 
For
his part, EDF Executive Director Majid Joumblat highlighted
the need for advanced cooperation between the major sectors
of society, public, private and civil, in order to achieve
sustainable socio-economic development much-needed in most
developing countries and particularly in Lebanon. 
At
the end of the Ceremony, Mr. Kinchen and Mr. Sawabini distributed
certificates to the graduates, on whose behalf Doha Dbouk
delivered a speech, thanking EDF and its supporters for
the great role they are playing in rebuilding the nation,
through the help they are extending to the young generation.
Later on, All guests were invited for a small cocktail party,
that lasted till eight in the evening. 
Spending
four years in an Israeli-run detention center did nothing
to break Mohammed Jaradi’s spirit. Although he returned
to his job shortly after he was released from detention
in 1995, Mohammed searched for something else, as though
to compensate for the years lost in imprisonment. "I wanted
to supplement my income and fill my time," he said, "my
salary was not enough." So when he heard of the soft loans
and training programs offered by The EDF, he knew that his
chance to venture into the world of business had arrived.
With the EDF loan, Mohammed joined forces with a friend,
Ghassan Maalouf, an agricultural engineer, to buy 40 bee
boxes for raising bees in the newly liberated towns of Kafarshuba
and Rashaya al-Fukhar, following organic principles of raising
bees. "Few individuals are raising bees in that area, and
I thought there’s a need for honey production there," he
said. "The project is right on track," he added, "the entire
EDF program is simply excellent." With Maalouf’s extensive
experience in raising bees, something sweet is bound to
find its way to the newly liberated south.
The
coveted bright, white smile often seen in Hollywood actors
and actresses is now available to dentistry patients in
Beirut, thanks to Aqil Fayad’s initiative. Aqil, who owns
a dentistry laboratory, realized that a new technology called
the "Empress II" would allow him to produce metal-free ceramic
crowns in his own lab. Having heard of the EDF soft loans
and training program, he joined one. Although Aqil had been
in the business for more than a decade, he still found much
to learn from the EDF sessions. "I acquired invaluable skills
in marketing techniques," he said. Once he completed the
training, he used the loan toward buying the "Empress II"
machine and accompanying materials. "Unlike conventional
metal-containing crowns, metal-free teeth are easy on the
gums, preventing the development of allergies," he explained,
"Moreover, they are excellent for tooth implantation." To
market this new technology, Aqil organized a seminar, attended
by 55 dentists, and Empress’s Middle East representative.
Although Aqil acknowledges that the crowns’ currently prohibitive
cost might prevent the majority of the population from benefiting
from them, he insists that "in five years, no one will be
working with metals." Meanwhile, Aqil reveals that the metal-free
crowns are now the teeth of choice for "actors, singers
and politicians, and anyone who has a prominent public role."
Pauline’s green fingers and her membership in an environmental
organization will come in handy for her tree nursery project.
Located in Araya, East of Beirut, Pauline’s tree nursery hopes
to provide the farmers of the region with a variety of trees and
plants. To grow a range of trees from fruit-bearing to decorative
to plants used in agriculture, Pauline will dig into her seven-year
experience in agriculture to provide pesticide-free, organically-grown
products, because she cares a lot about the preservation of the
environment.contact us at: edf@edf-lebanon.org |