TechCrunch Startup Battlefield MENA 2018 takes place today

Last call, startup fans! Today TechCrunch kick off the first TechCrunch Startup Battlefield MENA in Beirut, Lebanon. TechCrunch sifted through more than 400 applications to find the 15 very best early-stage startups the Middle East and North Africa has to offer, and TechCrunch want you in the audience to witness tech history in the making. As […]

Lebanon Has Potential To Be A Bustling Startup Ecosystem, But Progress Stunted By Lack Of Support

Lebanon’s startup scene is on the right path, but despite having seen significant improvements in recent years, entrepreneurs at Mix N’ Mentor voiced a need for more supporting infrastructure such as incubators, research & development (R&D) centres, accelerators and corporate venture capital in order to foster real innovation. A large talent gap, caused by the […]

Lebanese Cybersecurity Startup Myki Bags $4 Million Series A Funding

In another funding round led by returning investors, Lebanon-based cybersecurity startup Myki raised $4 million in Series A funding, bringing the total to $5.2 million. The round was led by returning investors including Dubai-based venture capital firm BECO Capital along with Beirut-based LEAP Ventures and B&Y Venture Partners. Myki looks to tap up its U.S. […]

ConsenSys to host blockchain training and hackathon in Lebanon

ConsenSys will hold a blockchain developer training and hackathon in Lebanon, with free places for refugees. The blockchain services and development company will hold the three-day blockchain developer training and two-day hackathon in Lebanon on 17th October. The course will cover the workings of blockchain technology to its applications and features, to give participants in-depth […]

Lebanese health startup heads to Silicon Valley

A Lebanese startup that helps diabetics closely monitor their daily food and medicine intake has been selected for a $50,000 equity investment and will soon travel to Silicon Valley. Spike, an app founded by serial entrepreneur Ziad Alame, was selected among a newly graduated batch of seven startups trained by Speed, which held a demonstration […]

Meet the Lebanese billionaire behind the new Facebook alternative social app Vero

Billionaire Ayman Hariri — whose Lebanese prime minister father was assassinated in 2005 and whose half-brother Saad is the current prime minister — is taking on Mark Zuckerberg. The 39-year-old Hariri’s new social sharing platform Vero — billed as an anti-Facebook app — has soared in popularity from just 200,000 users a month ago in […]

The Olive Grove Co-Working Space in Beirut

The Olive Grove co-working space for entrepreneurs officially launched in Hamra, Lebanon on November 18, 2017. Lebanon-based industrial manufacturing group, INDEVCO, has funded the establishment of The Olive Grove, a co-working space for Lebanese start-ups and small businesses. The space provides office and meeting rooms, equipment, and mentorship. Located in Hamra within close proximity to […]

Is Lebanon an entrepreneur’s utopia?

Most Lebanese will say that their cuisine, one of the most popular in the Middle East, rests on their specific spices, herbs, and fresh fruits and vegetables. If you sit down to a Lebanese table, you will soon notice that presentation also plays a prominent part and that they rarely, if ever, eat alone. Its […]

Smart money talks

It had to be one of Lebanon’s top resolutions for 2016 when Banque du Liban Governor Riad Salameh pledged at the BDL Accelerate event in December to see to the establishment of an electronic stock exchange for small and medium enterprises. “Our aim for the year 2016 is to succeed in the launching of an […]

BDL official says Lebanon has potential to be startup hub

Lebanon has the necessary human capital and talents to be placed as a regional and international hub for startups, said Marianne Howayek, head of the Governor’s Executive Office at Banque Du Liban. “Of course we are not going to compete with Silicon Valley but we can definitely compete with other ecosystems worldwide and be placed […]

How a Father’s Death Inspired a Startup

Ziad Sankari learned his father’s heart attack could have been prevented. So he got to work. For Ziad Sankari, a family tragedy was the spur that got him to start a business. Twelve years ago, his father died of a heart attack—a painful loss in itself, but even more so when Mr. Sankari learned that […]

The startup state

The plans to create a successful startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem are tentatively falling into place in Lebanon. From Circular 331 to the launch of new accelerators, the sector has changed dramatically over the last five, or even three, years. Executive brings you a small overview of some of the latest developments and challenges to the […]

“Emerging Startup Ecosystems” in Beirut

The Central Bank of Lebanon (Banque du Liban / BDL) is organizing Lebanon’s second annual international startup conference – BDL Accelerate 2015 – on Thursday and Friday, the 10th and 11th of December 2015 at Forum de Beyrouth. The theme, “Emerging Startup Ecosystems”, will gather entrepreneurs, investors, and support institutions from key emerging startup ecosystems […]

How a language startup has connected Syrian refugees with Arabic students

When Ghaith fled Syria in 2013, he left with more than the clothes on his back. Though refugees are commonly thought of as poor, uneducated and helpless, Ghaith, who comes from a middle-class background and was studying computer science at the University of Aleppo before the Syrian civil war, brought his education and intellectual curiosity […]

Lebanon a gateway to start-ups’ success

Samer Karam is the founder of Lebanon’s first accelerator Seeqnce, whose first companies graduated in 2012. He is also the founder of Startup Megaphone, a company which has been asked by the central bank of Lebanon to manage the image of the tiny Middle Eastern country’s start-up ecosystem. Next month Mr Karam will travel to […]

Lebanon’s Start-Up Scene Promises Bright Future for Entrepreneurs

For a country that has defined and redefined itself through politics, religion, immigrations, emigrations, and decades of war, you may wonder what it’s like starting a company in Lebanon. “Surprisingly peaceful, given all that you hear in the media,” says David El Achkar, co-founder of Beirut-based Yellow, a tech startup aiming to make bitcoin payments […]

Ride sharing app wins $20K in AUB contest

A car-pooling app developed by a team of four college grads won this year’s $20,000 Samir and Claude Abillama Eco-Entrepreneurship Award, which promotes the role of entrepreneurship in nature conservation efforts. tulos is a rewards-based carpooling app for university students that aims to reduce the number of cars on the road. “We are creating a […]

Launch of technology start-up accelerator in Lebanon

Venture capital funds Berytech Fund II, Insure & Match Capital and Middle East Venture Partners launched a $5m Beirut-based startup accelerator named Speed@BDD, Byblos Bank ‘Lebanon This Week’ reported. The accelerator will invest $30,000 in high-potential technology startups at the idea and seed stages, and will provide in-kind services for a three-month period, in return […]

Lebanon Opens London Office for Tech Entrepreneurs

A new London office for Lebanese tech entrepreneurs, enabling them to use the UK as a springboard for global growth, has opened in the heart of Tech City in Shoreditch. The London office is the first overseas base of the new UK Lebanon Tech Hub, which aims to support the growth of the knowledge economy […]

Could Beirut become the Silicon Valley of the Middle East?

Beirut’s economy could see major shifts in the next few decades, according to Lebanon’s Central Bank, which has committed millions of dollars for tech growth in the city. A recent report by CNN labeled Beirut as a “resilient, transformation city” with a culture of freedom and diversity which could serve as a solid base for […]

Lebanon Goes Digital

BEIRUT — “Ironically everything that makes Lebanon a tough place to live makes it a good place for a start-up,” quipped Nasri Atallah, a partner in the Lebanese media publishing firm Keeward. “There are a lot of very talented people who have few opportunities and are pushed into starting their own thing.” Lebanon may not […]

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