As a democracy, Lebanon has a sovereign. This sovereign—which the constitution affirms to be the people of Lebanon—has, for the longest time, appeared remarkably unconcerned over a very specific dereliction of duty by its public officials. The dereliction in question was the government’s serial failure to produce a sane, credible, and timely budget, and the…
A potentially important step toward a new social contract
StartechEUS to provide funds and mentorship
Fintech—financial technology— is a buzzword in the entrepreneurship sphere and a fast-growing segment of the financial services industry globally and in the MENA region. In 2018, the fintech sector saw $36.6 billion invested worldwide, a 329 percent increase over a five-year period, according to UK-based non-profit Innovative Finance. Lebanon is no exception—in 2015 the country…
Reduce the gender gap in Lebanon’s finance sector to boost productivity and growth
Lebanon’s capital market needs a turbo boost. The Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) has long been hobbled by the lack of companies listed, and the lack of associated opportunities. This is reflected in the BSE’s low market size—$9.2 billion—and in its performance. In 2018, the BSE was the fourth worst performing bourse in the world, down…
Attracting FDI to Lebanon
While Lebanon is seeking to attract significant foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in order to stimulate economic growth, the promotion of FDI is still lagging behind. Lebanon faces two main strategic marketing problems: an unclear positioning statement, and an ineffective promotion strategy. It is all too easy for Lebanon’s political leaders to blame regional instability…
The need to reform electronic money transfer regulations
All over the world, every day, millions of financial transactions take place at the press of a button. The words—and now the verbs—PayPal, TranferWise, and Venmo, are to payments what WhatsApp and Facebook are to messaging. Modern electronic money transfer (EMT) services have lowered transaction costs for individuals, facilitated business growth through e-commerce, and made…
CMA takes the lead on new exchange
While the capital markets show on the Lebanese national financial and economic stage had been one that, for years, fit above all a characterization of spurned overtures and unconstitutional delays in the implementation of declared and legislated measures, such as the transformation of the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE), 2019 was kicking off with the boost.…
SME finance as driver of job creation and sustainable banking in Lebanon
Not long ago, at the April 2019 annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC, one of the most-touted themes was the finance of small and medium enterprises. That a flagship event of the IMF in 2019 would highlight SME banking is not out of the norm—after all, SME finance has…
Lebanese banking in times of scarcity and reforms
They have never seen the likes of it. Elias Alouf experienced a Lebanese childhood and adolescence. He is today general manager of one of Lebanon’s most history-rich banks, BSL, which has 155 years of existence under its belt, but in his living memory Alouf never witnessed such an intense cabinet debate as he did in…
Banks have done a lot for Lebanon, they deserve our trust
Banks have offered much to Lebanon. They have financed the country’s public and private sector needs for the entirety of the post-conflict years. They stood throughout the 1990s with a people scarred by violence and economic trauma. Through the 2000s, they stayed at the side of a state that was under constant financial pressures. In…
Best case scenario?
After missing self-imposed deadline after deadline, our cabinet has finally agreed on the terms of the reformist budget, passed to Parliament on May 30 for more bickering. Never mind that it is now June, and we still have no budget set for 2019. Nor that projected rate of reduction of the budget deficit seems more…
Despite new efforts to tackle pollution in the Litani River, challenges remain
The Litani River and its health—or lack thereof—directly impacts those Lebanese residents living near the river or buying produce irrigated by the river. The largest river in Lebanon, the Litani River Basin (LRB) is equivalent to 20 percent of Lebanon’s land area and winds through the Bekaa Valley and south Lebanon. In April 2018, the…
‘Normalization’ with Israel is a flawed policy
Realities are becoming increasingly unreal in an ever more volatile region. Expectation of the Netanyahu government formally annexing Palestinian land—with the excuse that they are only confirming the reality of Israeli rule—means 2019 is going to be a dangerous one in the Middle East. At the heart of the current mess is a “normalization” policy…
Lebanon’s new electricity plan adopted in the dark
The Council of Ministers approved a new electricity policy paper on April 8. Although this was a long-awaited reform, the Lebanese were expecting better governance and more transparency, especially in view of the commitments made at CEDRE. However, the government already seems to be falling short on its promises of reform, with no development of…
Focusing on scale-ups in Lebanon
Scale-ups—startups with success and growth potential—can help economies more than other types of SMEs, and providing them with the right kind of support to succeed would take comparatively little effort but garner a large impact, according to a joint 2018 report by global consultancy firm Strategy& and entrepreneurship non-profit Endeavor, which was revealed at an…
AUB aims to support local NGOs, at a cost
Civil society in Lebanon has a long history of activity, stepping in where the government has been unable to attend to the needs of its citizens, mobilizing into organizations aimed at providing these services. However, just how active the sector is has proven hard to measure, and thus enhance. Even the exact number of registered…