Berytech aims to catalyze the growth of startups ensuring long-term sustainability of their businesses while assuring that they have constant and updated access to all the resources they need to scale-up.
“Our team is dedicated to providing startups and SMEs with the support they need to start, grow and manage theirbusiness,” explains Joanna Abi Abdallah – Head of Business Support and Development at Berytech. “Launching a startup could be the most challenging thing to do, this is why we created a flexible support program that can carry them from idea to success in a few months.”
Programs Participants in 2019
Berytech’s Programs respond to the different needs of growing startups and SMEs while bringing them exciting opportunities and access to: Local and international competitions; Incubation and acceleration programs; and Soft-landing opportunities in new markets.
Who Participated?
201 ideas submitted
117 startups selected
79 startups incubated
Gender
36% Men
64% Women
Age
30% <30 years old
69% 30-50 years old
1% 50+ years old
Stage
46% Pre-seed
14% Seed
40% Startup
Geographic
51% from Beirut
49% Out of Beirut
Sectors
- 32% Information & Communication Technology & Software Development (ICT, AR/VR, Artificial intelligence, Cyber-security, Software engineering, web development)
- 19% Service & Retail (Sales/CRM, Insurance services, Consulting, E-commerce, Education, Financial services)
- 15.5% Agriculture, Forestry & Water (Rural Development, Water resource management, Agritech, FoodTech)
- 12% Other sectors such as Circular Economy, Construction, FMCG, Management Consultancy, Marketing Consultancy and Training.
- 10% Cultural & Creative Industries (Fashion, Games, Leisure, Media, Product and graphic design, Sport, Tourism and cultural heritage (including museums, galleries and libraries)
- 4.5% Environment & Energy (Cleantech, Energy, Environment, Smart cities)
- 4% Health & Pharmaceuticals (Healthcare, MedTech)
Development & Capacity Building Activities in 2019
Berytech’s Department of Business Support and Development offers customized support tracks to entrepreneurs at the different phases of their journey.
Trainings and Workshops
We propose a number of trainings and workshops to help further develop business skills.
Numbers in 2019
192 Trainings
70 Startups supported to access funding
70 Trainers
272 Unique entrepreneurs trained
Trainings in 2019 (Includes both programs and stand-alone trainings)
33% Business Planning and Financials
12% Product Development
10% Access to Funding
10% Development
10% Market Study
9% Customer Development
8% Legal and IP
8% Entrepreneur Ecosystem
Coaching Transformation Program
The ‘Coaching Transformation Program’ was launched to reinforce the link between academia and entrepreneurship. An agreement was signed between Saint Joseph University and Berytech.
The program takes place in two phases: The first consists of training sessions given by Berytech to USJ professors, to match them with its portfolio of startups, and the second phase includes the launch of the Executive Education Program of Coaching by the USJ Faculty of Economics.
The aim of the program is to create a growing community of experienced and competent coaches and advisors within the Lebanese entrepreneurial ecosystem that will assist founders of scalable startups and SMEs to transform their companies and generate a positive social impact while also providing internships opportunities to USJ’s students.
Numbers
8 Workshops
60 Participants
20+ One-on-One sessions
40+ Coaches
#FinanceFridays Training Program
Berytech launched #FinanceFridays, a training program aimed to fill the current gap in the entrepreneurial landscape by equipping startups and SMEs with the needed knowledge and insights in investment, financing, and raising funds, and offering a platform of exchange, interaction, and networking for various players of the ecosystem.
The program consists of a series of training sessions delivered by experts in the field and key stakeholders from leading financial institutions, banks, and government entities, and key players in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The subjects tackled include Raising funds for a startup or SME: when and how much, Overview of the various financial instruments and financial mechanisms that could be leveraged under different scenarios, Valuation techniques, Negotiations, and Term sheet building.
Joanna Abi Abdallah explains, “This training program primarily falls under Berytech’s mission to offer the right ecosystem for innovative entrepreneurs through the two-fold objective of spreading financial literacy in the entrepreneurship ecosystem and giving startups and SMEs the needed support and networking opportunities for them to access financing and raise funds.”
Numbers
8 Sessions organized
226 Attendees
Crisis Management
In its drive to contribute to the Lebanese entrepreneurial ecosystem and help MSMEs better manage their companies during crisis, Berytech delivered a set of four Crisis Management Workshops in November and December 2019.
These workshops were free and open to all entrepreneurs and MSMEs owners as well as their teams. They were followed by one-on-one coaching sessions with experts to customize the crisis management plan to the specific risk areas facing each company.
- Managing your venture’s cash-flows during crisis
- Developing your crisis and risk management plan
- Aligning your people and your customers during crisis
- Effective communication and governance during crisis
Numbers
10 Workshops
400+ Attendees
30+ One-on-one sessions
CEWAS Investment Readiness Program
Berytech partnered with cewas Middle East, to help in developing the investment readiness of selected Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management (SSWM) businesses to help them scale and create sustainable value in a challenging environment.
CEWAS Middle East is a branch of the Swiss NGO CEWAS and the region’s only dedicated startup program focused on addressing water, environment and sanitation-related challenges. They provide specialized startup incubation programs to create more sustainable and innovative solutions in water, sanitation and resource management.
Over several months, the Berytech team conducted several workshops on financial/investment management adapted to SSWM businesses in Lebanon to better understand their funding needs and other related challenges/pain points.
One-on-one coaching sessions were conducted with selected CEWAS SSWM businesses to address their challenges, explain the funding options available and help them in setting the right business and financial foundations prior to meeting with potential investors.
Berytech also helped develop a due diligence tool for better screening of SSWM businesses as well as proposed an innovative financing solution for SSWM businesses addressing the challenge for small cap financing in the region.
The 12 SSWM businesses who benefitted from the Berytech-cewas Investment readiness program included: Live, Love and Recycle (Georges Bitar), Cubeco (Marwan Sfeir), Waste to Power (Hilal El Merhubi), L’Inventif (Pauline Asmar), Clean2O (Mohamad Fakhredine), Too Good To Waste (Philippe Rahbe), Khan Hygiene Box (Mounira El Halabi, Farah Khaled ), LAMP (Mustafa Al Ajami), OrganyClean (Mohammad Mikati, Abed Serhan), Pro-Shield (Haytham Dbouk, Fawzi Khalifeh), Automatic Channel Cleaner (Ali Saad, Hasan Sabra), and Mukafeh Al Zebar (Aliaa Al Dirani, Kasseem Ghayyad).
SME Business Advisory Services
Berytech signed several agreements under its Business Advisory Program – consisting of providing startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with business advisory services in connection with growth and funding. Indeed, Business Advisory Agreements were signed with the Women’s Program Association and Optique & Vision to conduct financial due diligence and investment readiness services.
The Berytech team developed and presented due diligence reports, investment memorandums and company valuation reports.
Find out more about the different services provided by the Berytech Business Support and Development department here.
