Youmna Younes joined Berytech in September 2019 and currently serves as a Grants and Program Specialist at Berytech, specifically in the Water and Energy for Food (WE4F) Regional Innovation Hub of the MENA region, a joint international initiative of the German BMZ, the EU, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Netherlands, Norad, Sweden through Sida, and USAID. She joined Berytech in September 2019 having extensive experience in the banking sector, particularly in corporate lending for SMEs. With over 10 years of experience as a Senior Relationship Manager at a prominent bank in Lebanon, Youmna has developed skills in business development, commercial lending, and risk analysis. She is customer-centric and focuses on building strong relationships to provide financial and operational analysis and solutions. Youmna is passionate about supporting the development of the SME sector in Lebanon, aiming for sustainable economic growth and social development.
Throughout her banking career, Youmna worked with various Lebanese businesses across different industries, including tourism and hospitality, F&B, manufacturing, agriculture, agri-food industry, construction, renewable energy, trading, and services. She has dealt with several types of lending mechanisms and collaborated with local and international institutions such as BDL, Kafalat, EIB, and IFC. This experience allowed her to identify the success and failure points of different businesses and act as a trusted business advisor for her clientele.
Since joining Berytech, Youmna has been involved in various projects. She spent nearly three years as a Business Advisor in the USAID LED project, engaging with the private sector and assisting SMEs in overcoming their business challenges. She also worked on the WEEL program funded by the EU/Expertise France, where she closely supported women-led businesses through grants and technical assistance. In 2023, she joined the Food System Challenge program – funded by BMZ and implemented in partnership with UN’s WFP – as a Senior Business Advisor, providing agri-food SMEs with a comprehensive transformational journey, including business services, technical assistance, and grants, to foster long-term growth.
Youmna holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a major in Finance. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Entrepreneurship and Project Management and has obtained several certifications in Finance and Business Development to enhance her expertise in these areas.
In her free time, Youmna spends her day in nature on hiking trails and discovering hidden gems in Lebanon. She’s a Nature lover and a passionate photographer of landscapes.