The Minjara platform: a structural tool to support the furniture sector in Tripoli

Minjara aims to be a structural tool for actors in the furniture sector in Tripoli and a response to the challenges they face. Indeed, this sector is not only affected by the Syrian conflict, which has closed the doors to a major export market, but is also faced with imported products and therefore increasing demands in terms of prices, quality, competitiveness... Consequently, it has become crucial for furniture producers to improve their market positioning.

Minjara is therefore one of the solutions proposed by the PSD Programme in response to these market access constraints.

It is a trademark which will allow furniture producers to benefit from a marketing channel. It is also a quality label which aims to be recognised on the market and will allow producers to meet both productive and economic criteria in order to ensure they are profitable. Finally, it is a services platform intended for all actors in the sector – designers, producers, suppliers and distributors – to allow each trade to collectively position itself on the market.

A 1,500 m² hub to promote synergies

This 1,500 m² platform is located in the heart of the Rachid Karamé International Fair in Tripoli – a building designed by the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in the 1960s and which has since become one of the symbols of Lebanon’s architectural heritage. It now allows actors in the sector to meet in order to benefit from a number of services: assistance in design, prototyping, pre-production, the optimization of purchasing and selling processes, etc.

The aim of this hub is to promote the development of new products and strengthen the competitiveness of actors on national and international markets. It is by gathering all the actors involved in furniture production in one single place that Minjara will promote the creation of synergies between actors, a prerequisite for the sector to strengthen its competitiveness. 

Reviving the furniture industry in Tripoli

During the inauguration of Minjara on 27 September, Abdel Ghani Kabbara, a representative of the Prime Minister and advisor for North Lebanon, stressed the potential of this type of platform in revitalising employment in the furniture sector, which plays a central role in economic stability in North Lebanon.

The Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, Christina Lassen, stressed the importance that the European Union attaches to building a spirit of entrepreneurship and to the role that microenterprises and SMEs play in the development of the local economic base. Mrs. Lassen considers that it is essential to ensure that Minjara is sustainable and hopes that it will become a centre of excellence for carpenters in the region.

Minjara, an initiative developed in the context of the Private Sector Development Programme, is also the result of fruitful cooperation between the international community and both public and private Lebanese actors. This necessary public/private cooperation was pointed out by Hervé Conan, Executive Director of Operations at Expertise France, who also announced the launch of the first collection of Minjara furniture for December 2018.

Find out more about the PSD Programme : www.psdplebanon.com