Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Austin - Oct, 2020

How are startups doing in Lebanon? How do they receive support?

What’s the ecosystem like?
How can the diaspora give back?
Where are the success stories? 

It’s hard for those living outside of Lebanon to know what’s happening in the startup tech scene in the country. 

To provide an overview of the Lebanese ecosystem, LebNet, in collaboration with Lebanon-based accelerator Speed, kicked off a series of events in Boston (October 1st), Toronto (October 2nd), Montreal (October 3rd) and Austin (October 7th). 

The events featured Speed’s CEO Sami Abou Saab, LebNet’s community leads and members. Abou Saab gave an overview of Lebanon’s startup scene and how Speed is supporting local entrepreneurs and focused the discussions on how LebNet members can give back to Lebanon. 

LebNet board member Habib Haddad and Sami Abou discussing with attendees opportunities to give back to Lebanon during LebNet’s Boston event.

“People want a bridge back to Lebanon and want to be involved. We asked them why are you attending and what do you want to achieve,” Abou Saab said. “What we discussed was totally new for many people. It was positive and refreshing to them and we shed light on what was happening.” 

The audience was a mix of startup founders, investors, future entrepreneurs, tech enthusiasts, lawyers and professionals. 

Lebanon’s startup scene in numbers 

Talks given by Abou Saab on the status of entrepreneurship in Lebanon were new and refreshing to many as the current situation in Lebanon does not convey such positive news. The nascent ecosystem is making humble yet steady improvements that are bringing a new wave of innovators and entrepreneurs. 

He explained how the ecosystem is growing and rising on the side of the economy, given it’s forward-looking in its nature and approach. At the same time, it is in such economic conditions that access to talent becomes better and easier allowing startups to build strong teams who can solve major challenges.

“People asked about the kind of startups we get and what they’re doing. They want to be engaged and be part of the ecosystem and many of them want to help,” said Abou Saab. 

A graphic by Speed revealing the different funding stages available for startups in Lebanon.

To recap some of the things discussed during the four events, we listed below some interesting data points on the Lebanese startup scene: