“Supporting local NGOs is the key to a sustainable recovery in Lebanon”
What is the current situation for employment and entrepreneurship in Lebanon?
Since 2019, Lebanon has been faced with a major social, financial, banking and institutional crisis. It’s been exacerbated by the Beirut Port explosion in August 2020 and State inaction. People have been badly affected, both Lebanese people and people of other nationalities in the country, such as the more than 800,000 Syrian refugees and the more than 400,000 Palestinian refugees. The employment market has collapsed and there is no unemployment benefit. At the same time, there is galloping inflation. As a result, poverty now affects almost 74% of the population.
Many small and medium-sized enterprises have closed. But, as with any crisis, entrepreneurial opportunities are opening up. This is the case with agriculture, a sector which has been neglected for almost 30 years. Small businesses selling agricultural or processed products are now managing to grow. The digital sector is another niche for development: many young people are moving into it, especially to set up e-commerce companies.
Indeed, more specifically, what is the situation for Lebanese youth?
Many of them opt for entrepreneurship, which is very much part of the culture in Lebanon. They are interested in digital technologies, but also in social and solidarity entrepreneurship. For example, we’ve seen recycling projects come about, in response to a serious waste management crisis. Others propose organic fertilisers for agriculture, or solutions to optimise water management. There’s a pool of young people who have plenty of ideas, are more optimistic than their elders, and want to make a difference. To ensure the sustainability of their projects, it’s essential to support them.
Do women face particular challenges?
The crises have had a bigger impact on women’s entrepreneurship. During the health crisis, it was more difficult for women working from home to manage the balance between family life and work life and maintain their activity. Today, they need help in rethinking the type of activity they can create or restart, adapting to their daily lives.
What is the role of NGOs in this context?
In the absence of government action, NGOs take over. A significant number of local and international organisations, as well as UN agencies, operate on the ground. Their work covers 14 sectors of coordination: from protection to basic needs, and including food security, education and health.
What does your organisation, Al Majmoua, propose?
Al Majmoua was set up in 1997 to provide financial products and access to financial services for small entrepreneurs, primarily women. In 2019, it became the largest microfinance institution in the country, with 92,000 active clients.
In 2005, we expanded our activity by creating a department dedicated to non-financial services. We offer entrepreneurs training in financial management, assistance in the creation and management of companies, personalised coaching and help with their company registrations, in a country where 90% of micro and medium-sized enterprises remain informal. We also provide them with networking tools, especially for women and young people, to promote exchanges of experience and the circulation of opportunities.
What have you gained from the Shabake project?
Shabake has helped us set up a recovery and economic support programme for small businesses affected by the Beirut Port explosion. It has enabled us to deal with the emergency and keep them afloat.
At the same time, the project has helped develop aid localisation in Lebanon, by strengthening the institutional capacities of local NGOs through training and networking.
The project has assisted us with the implementation of our projects, the coordination with international organisations and UN agencies, and helped us to access direct financing.
By discussing our common challenges with other local NGOs, we’ve developed strong relationships which today allow us to build projects together. As a member of the steering committee of the Lebanon Humanitarian and Development Forum of Local NGOs, a network bringing together humanitarian and development NGOs in Lebanon, I believe that this contribution from Shabake to connecting actors is essential.
What are your prospects today?
We welcome the launch of the second component of the Shabake project. In terms of aid localisation, we’re continuing to make headway with the donors and national and international organisations to sustain our efforts. At Al Majmoua, our challenge lies in obtaining capital in dollars, as the Lebanese pound has lost almost 90% of its value in recent years. We’re also seeking an alternative to grant assistance, which is relevant during an emergency but not in the long term. An approach blending loans and grants would be of interest at first, to lay the foundations for a sustainable economic recovery.
What are you expecting from the Paris Peace Forum?
A lot! We wish above all to promote the synergies made possible by the Shabake project and highlight the importance of aid localisation.
We want to propose innovative models for development assistance, where local organisations have a greater say.
