Berytech’s Partner Growth Program: Enabling Lebanon’s Startup Ecosystem

Under this initiative, we will be working with the 5 ecosystem builders to strengthen the Lebanese entrepreneurship ecosystem, create new job opportunities to contribute to the economy.

Berytech launched its Partner Growth Program under the ACT Smart Innovation Hub Initiative with five-day capacity building sessions. The Partner Growth Program aims to support Lebanese entrepreneurs by enabling business support organizations across Lebanon through various types of support over the next three years. 

During the kick-off phase of this program, Berytech provided the five ecosystem partners with capacity building training, equipping them with the information, tools and policies to implement this program. The capacity building covered various aspects and best practices on implementing the program structure and design, communication, outreach and events, as well as procurement practices and reporting. 

From Partnership to Impact 

Through the support provided to the business support organizations, Berytech aims to empower the Lebanese ecosystem and to impact 250 entrepreneurs with innovative solutions in the agri-food and clean technology sectors, assisting them in ideating and validating their solutions, and in turn initiating them to apply and join the Agrytech or Clyntech Accelerators and grow their businesses. 

The program spans a total of five cycles, with each cycle consisting of a validation phase where each partner will be supporting 10 entrepreneurs by helping them validate their ideas and offering mentorship, technical support, one on one clinics, up to $1,500 grant per startup, as well as linking them to multiple opportunities. 

“Under this initiative, we will be working with the 5 ecosystem builders to strengthen the Lebanese entrepreneurship ecosystem, create new job opportunities to contribute to the economy. We will be working together to source and support entrepreneurs across all regions irrespective of their locations.” Stated Partner Growth Manager, Joey Ghanem. 

Meet the Partners

Michel Daher Foundation (MDF) was established in 2014 with the objective to reduce migration to urban areas or abroad. MDF aims to support the livelihood of people living in unprivileged areas by helping them to lead more fruitful lives in the Bekaa region. It contributes to the rural community development through multiple facets. This includes providing community health care, building human capacity, promoting sustainable development, and a clean environment. 

“The Capacity building sessions were beneficial because they strengthened our sense of confidence, skills, and knowledge and minimized ambiguity and gave us control over future development and implementation,” expressed MDF Program Manager, Razan Rassoul. 

Park Innovation is a community project and business incubator based in Chouf. The Park offers several unique streams and resources to empower tech entrepreneurs and tech employment. This includes coding bootcamp and pre-acceleration programs. Park Innovation is playing its role in supporting the knowledge economy for the greater technological potential for the Chouf region and all of Lebanon. 

“We are proud to partner with Berytech under the Partner Growth Program, as we share a common vision of fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. By working together, we can combine our expertise and resources to support startups, accelerate their growth, and create a positive impact on society. This partnership is a testament to our commitment to collaboration and we look forward to achieving great things together,” expressed Program Manager Jana Kerbaj.

INJAZ Lebanon is a non-profit organization covering the North Lebanon region which aims to educate and prepare Lebanon’s youth to become qualified and successful employees and entrepreneurs in a growing regional and global economy. Actively engaging the business community through a volunteer-based model allows independent professionals and corporate volunteers, to share their experiences through the implementation of varied educational programs that focus on entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy. 

“We are thrilled to formalize our partnership with Berytech on the Partner Growth Program. Our longstanding informal collaboration has already shown great potential, and with this new partnership, we are confident that we will see even greater growth in youth-led initiatives, startups, and impact. Together, we share a strong belief in the transformative power of youth-led innovation in creating a more sustainable future for agriculture and clean energy, and we look forward to the exciting possibilities ahead,” confirmed Samar Dani, Executive Director, INJAZ Lebanon.

The Asher Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ACIE) is an organization based in Mount Lebanon that aims to promote innovation and entrepreneurship through empowering innovators and entrepreneurs and supporting startups and SMEs. Through retaining young talents, creating jobs, and growing existing businesses, they hope to boost the economy. Their strategy is to focus on creating a thriving environment for their community to structure, start and grow their new and existing businesses. 

“The Berytech Growth Program is an excellent opportunity for our organization to gain valuable tools and knowledge, and work with other ecosystem partners in order to achieve our common goal of creating sustainable and impactful solutions. We are excited to participate in this valuable program and we look forward for the 32-month program,” said Senior Programs Coordinator, Rida Halbawi. 

Farah Social Foundation (FSF) is a non-governmental and non-profit organization based in Beirut. FSF is committed to contributing to the development of the community on a social and economic level, especially the disadvantaged. FSF is working to eradicate poverty and empower individuals to participate in the development of themselves and their communities. 

“FSF team is very excited to start this partnership with Berytech under ACT Smart Innovation Hub. The capacity building will not only facilitate the implementation of this program but it also support FSF in implementing other programs. We are all looking forward to a fruitful collaboration,” expressed Community Development Expert, Farah Abi Mosleh. 

About the ACT Smart Innovation Hub  

The Partner Growth Program is under the ACT Smart Innovation Hub, a comprehensive initiative launched by Berytech and co-funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to enable the Lebanese entrepreneurial ecosystem and stimulate innovation and startup creation in the agriculture, food, and clean technology sectors. 

 

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Rudy Daniel

Rudy Daniel joined the Berytech Communication team with his experience as a marketer, content writer, and trainer having led numerous successful campaigns and supported local entrepreneurs and change-makers. Rudy is a huge video game enthusiast who enjoys mind-boggling puzzles, hiking, deep-sea diving and paragliding.

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