Women Entrepreneurs in Lebanon
Program Dates: April 2011 – April 2012
Following successful cooperation between the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women (CBFW) and TYO in the Fostering Women Entrepreneurs in Nablus project, the two parties launched the Women Entrepreneurs in Lebanon Project in the spring of 2011. By providing women with enhanced skills and a platform to become productive members of Lebanon’s labor force, this project aims to bolster the country’s economy as a whole, with a particular focus on refugee and poorer Lebanese communities. Specifically, it addresses two factors that prevent women from doing business and earning a better living:
Access to information about demand in local and international markets and to sales outlets in those markets; and the business and personal skills required to launch and sustain a commercial enterprise.
The need for such efforts is supported by very low labor force participation of Lebanese women: estimated at 21.7% of the total labor force (GEM Brief 2007). Although Lebanese women are often recognized as equal partners in the family, they are still extremely under-represented in decision-making positions and most often regarded as secondary breadwinners.
The project has four unique phases:
I. Selection of female business leaders, initial 4-day intensive training, and individual coaching and mentoring
II. Production of 20 business plans and linkage to finance
III. Selection of 8 business plans to be incubated
IV. Further training and support for business expansion, with particular focus on marketing, distribution, and subcontracting other women.
The project benefits from a Steering Committee comprised of relevant and committed individuals from the local private and public sectors. The Steering Committee meets regularly and is intimately involved in project activities. Each Steering Committee member is paired with a small number of project participants, to provide one-to-one mentoring, technical assistance, and other support as necessary.
Over the life of the project, 60 women – 20 business leaders and approximately 40 craftswomen and working women with talent, economic need, and the qualifications necessary to staff the businesses – will be engaged directly and 500 family members will be reached indirectly.