The May 2nd webinar on Lebanon's untapped outsourcing potential, challenges, and solutions brought together an impressive panel of experts deeply involved in the outsourcing ecosystem. The event, moderated by Ronnie Hammad, Chair of the Advocate Committee of Life, was attended by approximately 50 participants. The discussion covered various facets of outsourcing in Lebanon, from policy issues to the evolving nature of the talent pool and operational challenges.
Introduction and Opening Remarks: Ronnie Hammad introduced the session by highlighting Life's mission to connect members, support students, promote job creation, and advocate for economic reform in Lebanon. Life, with its 1,400 members across 17 global chapters, partnered with Lebnet, a Silicon Valley-founded organization with over 2,500 members in tech, to organize this event.
The Panelists:
Mariam Daher - Executive Director at ForwardMena, shared insights on the role of ForwardMena and Beirut Digital District (BDD) in supporting Lebanon’s outsourcing sector. She emphasized the importance of upskilling Lebanese youth for digital careers to bridge the gap between education and labor market needs. Bahir highlighted that BDD hosts over 160 companies across 35+ industries, aiming to transform Lebanon into a premium outsourcing hub.
Carole Al Sharabati, founding partner at CME Offshore, discussed the company's growth and the high level of expertise provided by Lebanese engineers. CME Offshore serves prominent clients like Subway and PayPal without advertising, relying on word-of-mouth and the Lebanese diaspora. Sharabati underscored the importance of critical thinking and innovation over cheap labor, noting that CME has registered multiple patents in the U.S.
Hala Ballouz, CEO of Electric Power Engineers, talked about her firm’s focus on transforming the electric grid and her positive experience with Lebanese engineers. Balouz praised the high quality, business acumen, and multilingual abilities of Lebanese professionals. She expressed hope for Lebanon's energy sector and highlighted the support provided to employees for setting up resilient energy solutions at home.
Nabil Mardelli, Country Manager at Aspire Software, shared insights into Aspire's rapid growth in Lebanon. Aspire, the operational arm of Valsoft, specializes in acquiring and developing vertical market software businesses. Mardali discussed the strategic decision to expand operations in Lebanon and the potential for significant growth in the coming years.
The webinar concluded with a Q&A session, where participants raised questions about various challenges and opportunities in Lebanon's outsourcing sector. Topics included optimizing business processes, leveraging AI for development, and the potential for improving Lebanon's energy infrastructure.
The event highlighted Lebanon's potential as a premium outsourcing destination, emphasizing the talent and expertise of its workforce. The panelists expressed optimism about the future, despite current challenges, and discussed strategic approaches to harness Lebanon's capabilities for global outsourcing needs.
