• Letter from Mr. Fadi Abboud
• Conference on “Promoting Entrepreneurship in Lebanon”
• 1st Training Session in Hasbaya and Marjayoun
• 1st Training Graduates
• 2nd Training Session in Hasbaya and Marjayoun
• 2nd Training Graduates
• EDF Graduate Launches Pioneering Internet and Gaming Center

Letter from Mr. Fady Abboud

My message is loud and clear: Entrepreneurship is vital for a healthy
economy. To put it more bluntly, Lebanon will not be able to create
a modern and vibrant economy if the issue of promoting
entrepreneurship does not become central to our government’s
policy-making initiatives.

Furthermore, as entrepreneurship is strongly linked to youth and
dynamism, we must also initiate a serious dialogue with the new
generation. Business leaders today must impart to the new
generation the valuable lesson that building a secure economic
future requires high levels of productivity and a lot of hard work. In
turn, we must learn from them the qualities that are inherent in
youth: Optimism, dynamism and passion. These traits are
entrepreneurship’s essential toolkit.

Entrepreneurship contributes to job creation and growth. It is
increasingly new and small firms, rather than large ones, that are the
major providers of new jobs. Countries exhibiting a greater increase
in entrepreneurship rates tend to exhibit greater subsequent
decreases in unemployment rates.

Almost all universities and governments in the world are obsessed
with promoting entrepreneurship. But not Lebanon!

Universities abroad seek to “produce” entrepreneurs who can start
new businesses. For instance, 1,000 companies have spun out of
Stanford University. M.I.T. graduates and faculty cite the university’s
“entrepreneurial spirit” as a reason for deciding to start their own
businesses.

In Lebanon, in order for us to combat unemployment and
emigration, we must convince universities to produce
entrepreneurs. Universities have a moral and ethical duty to
empower students and researchers by creating the institutions that
develop entrepreneurship, such as incubators and high-tech parks.
The status quo cannot continue. Universities must be concerned
with the local economy, as they are central to its future.

So far, the Lebanese government is not obsessed with promoting
growth, let alone entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, our competitors
function according to an almost “scientific” formula:

Competitive environment + competitive pricing + aggressive marketing =
Exports and market share.

Lebanese businesses have to defy gravity by working in a burdensome
and costly operating environment. Entrepreneurship cannot flourish in
such an environment. If the government is concerned, or even a little
embarrassed, by emigration and unemployment, it must change its
priorities, policies, and habits.

The Lebanese government must possess the vision and the courage to
change laws, practices and even mentalities, if it is to succeed in
promoting growth. Promoting entrepreneurship will require even more
vision and courage.

In addition to its core activities, the Entrepreneurial Development
Foundation has a major role to play in influencing universities and the
government to move in the right direction the direction of economic
growth through entrepreneurship development.

With best regards,

Fady Abboud

President of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists
EDF Board of Trustees Member

Conference on “Promoting Entrepreneurship in Lebanon” Held on May 15, 2003 at The Lebanese Industrialists Association in Beirut

The Conference on “Promoting Entrepreneurship in Lebanon” was held
on Thursday, May 15, 2003 at the Lebanese Industrialists Association in
Beirut organized by EDF in collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann
Foundation.

Participants in the Conference included representatives of international
and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) specialized in the
provision of credit and loan schemes, financial institutions and experts,
in addition to graduates of EDF training sessions.

The Conference started with a welcoming speech by EDF Chairman Mr.
Nabil Sawabini, followed by another speech by Dr. Uli Vogt -
Representative of Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

After discussions and the presentation of papers by the panelists, the
following recommendations were made:

1- Call upon banks and financial institutions to extend and expand their
lending schemes to small-scale enterprises for medium term periods and
at reasonable interest rates. Accordingly, credit institutions can provide
the needed preliminary studies of business projects in order to be
presented at a later stage to banks that are interested in lending.

2- Urge the private sector to cooperate more efficiently with NGOs
especially in financing their training programs.

The Following were the main four topics discussed during the
Conference:
• Entrepreneurship - Present and Future Role in the Lebanese Economy.
• NGO’s in Lebanon - Experience and Outlook.
• Financing Small Businesses.
• EDF Success Stories.

3- Encourage NGOs who are specialized in training and in Micro-Credit,
to communicate and develop means of interaction through exchanging
experiences, information and techniques as well as coordinating with
related government ministries, in particular with The Ministry of Social
Affairs.

4- Call upon government officials to develop and modernize codes and
regulations that would support the launch of small and medium scale
entrepreneurial initiatives.

5- Urge governmental institutions to increase their efforts towards
enhancing their academic curriculums so that they are better adapted to
the skills required in the labor market.

6- Call upon universities and training colleges in Lebanon to develop their
academic curriculums by introducing new material related to
entrepreneurial guidance and awareness.