The Impact Rise social innovation program is designed and managed by Berytech and funded by the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) to put ambitious startups, devoted experts and support partners on the road to growing sustainable and successful social ventures.
Berytech met with Malak Yacout from The Volunteer circle to talk about her entrepreneurial journey, how she started developing her idea while at university, how she built her platform and grew it from 3 users to 4300, with 14 staff members and 18 NGOs on board.
Seven social ventures have been selected to move to the second level of Berytech’s Impact Rise program – funded by MEPI, to focus on further scaling their ventures and accessing new markets.
Two recent Berytech Meetups sessions covered the importance of social ventures in the Lebanese context, the need to use science and technology for social and environmental good, and the different opportunities presented to social entrepreneurs by the ecosystem in general and Berytech in particular.
Fifteen (15) social impact startups have made it through the first phase of Berytech’s Impact Rise social innovation program despite this challenging year. They have been working hard with their coaches and mentors to scale their solutions and multiply their impact. They are now ready to showcase their work in the upcoming Demo Day scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, 2020.
Social entrepreneurship is essential to the Lebanese economy and plays a major role in creating and sustaining a better socio-economic environment, however it needs a proper ecosystem to grow where social innovators can be mentored, financed and supported.
This is addressed and solved through Berytech’s program Impact Rise – Lebanon’s pioneer social entrepreneurship scale-up program, funded by MEPI.
Berytech is scaling social entrepreneurship startups from Lebanon with innovative and impactful solutions for a better community and a better environment. Berytech is providing them with exposure, business development, grants, access to market and funding opportunities, to grow regionally and internationally.
Through the program, Berytech is establishing and empowering a network of impact experts including coaches and mentors who will be assisting the startups in their growth journey. Berytech is providing them with concrete tools and methodologies tailored for the support of social entrepreneurs and impact ventures.
Berytech has made sure to involve active partners from its network, social ventures, organizations, funds and institutions as part of the program. These partners bring their knowledge, experts, networks and support in different fields to multiply the impact of the program through reinforcing the work of the startups in it.
Berytech has set up the adequate infrastructure by first training the coaches and mentors, then choosing promising social enterprises, providing them with capacity building and training, offering incubation with an array of services, providing seed money support to develop prototypes, and finally giving them the chance to grow through connections with investors.
The Impact Rise social innovation program is designed and managed by Berytech and funded by the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). Aiming to advance stability and prosperity in the Middle East and North Africa region, the Middle East Partnership Initiative program supports governments and their citizens to achieve shared political, economic and stability objectives. The MEPI program responds to needs and emerging opportunities for citizens and organizations that target two core objectives: Participatory Governance and Economic Opportunity. Learn more.
“The project funding from MEPI contributes not only to scaling up the startups to the growth stage, but to empowering ecosystem partners through capacity building and developing strategic linkages.”
Maroun N. Chammas – Berytech Chairmand & CEO
One of the foundations of building a good social startup is involving one’s network as stakeholders in the venture, and in the impact one is aiming to create. With that in mind, Berytech developed the Impact Rise social innovation program and designed it as an inclusive ecosystem that helps social startups scale. Meet the partners helping us fulfill that objective.
As a member of the Global Compact Network Lebanon, Berytech enacts the 10 principles of the UNGC and the Impact Rise program falls under Berytech’s mission to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Berytech has been intently working on supporting social entrepreneurs since 2013. Meet the team behind the design, development and management of the Impact Rise Program.
If you have any questions about Berytech’s Impact Rise Program, please email us on impactrise@berytech.org, and we will get back to you.
