Brain drain
Last year, BDL hosted one of the biggest tech conferences in the world – Accelerate. The conference served as a “platform for the stakeholders of the entrepreneurship sector to meet on a large scale and increase the awareness of what is going on, both to the local community as well as abroad.” Elsa Moughabghab, MBA Graduate with emphasis on entrepreneurship, told Al Arabiya English. “[Citizens] will benefit [from C-331] by creating jobs, and create/stimulate the sector, boosting the economy, putting Lebanon on the world map in terms of entrepreneurship, become more visible to attract foreign entrepreneurs and investors,” she added. This created greater awareness about Lebanon’s capabilities and talent across the globe. A country with affordable and talented people began attracting incubators and accelerators in Beirut.
Success among start-ups
Lebanese startups such as Shahiya and Diwanee have become successful after being bought out by large, global companies. Shahiya, an online Lebanese cookbook, was bought by Japan’s largest recipe portal Cookpad for a landmark deal worth $13.5 million. Diwanee, a digital media company operating across the Middle East, sold 51 percent of its equity for $12.75 million by Paris-based digital publishing company Webedia. Such success stories have motivated and inspired creation of many startups, which in turn will aid the economy across the board. “The circular itself targets the knowledge economy sector which includes the ICT sector as well as medical, engineering, fashion design, cinematography…” Moughabghab said.