The funds are being used for the empowerment of two communities: the Sunni Muslims of Bab al-Tebbaneh and the Alawite/Shia Muslims of Jabal Mohsen. It aims to revive businesses on ex-frontlines in Qobbe, Jabal Mohsen and Tabbaneh, focusing on social entrepreneurship and specifically targeting women, youth and persons with disabilities.
The funds contributed to the establishment of a new social enterprise whose objective is to buy the products from their local businesses, and sell them using online and offline platforms. It also helped build the company branding, and PR packs.
As a part of Reviving Beirut Businesses Project, which aimed to restore access to economic opportunities to conflict-affected businesses, 28 SMEs have already received one-on-one coaching sessions and training focusing on areas like Business Plan, Communication, Digital Marketing, and Emotional Intelligence.
With unemployment being one of the major plights in Lebanon right now, most youth allegedly deal with high insecurity about the future, which is also connected with their joining in armed groups. We acknowledge structural inequalities and societal marginalisation of certain groups, hence the great attention we give to women and youth in order to elevate their social standing, as creative and active individuals in the business sector.
The two main groups residing in Lebanon are the Sunni Muslims in the major coastal cities and the Alawite/Shia Muslims in the south, amongst others. The conflict dynamics between the Sunni and the Alawite community have emerged as a by-product of the Lebanese Civil War, with the groups standing on different sides of that conflict. Adding to that, the conflicting power dynamics during and after the end of the Civil War have fuelled hostile feelings among the groups. Notably, the Sunnis are stereotypically perceived as oppressive and threatening to the existence of the Alawites, which form the -biggest- minority group in the area.
For the reconstruction of the economic ecosystems in post-conflict zones, the revival of local businesses and SMEs play a key role since they can control the local economy in their respective areas. Furthermore, it has been proven through various business projects in post-conflict zones, that SMEs are beneficial not only for solidarity between groups but also for state legitimacy and the advancement of the community sector. Where state capacity is weak, the local private sector has found fertile ground to support stabilisation and peacebuilding through its activities. In fact, it has been estimated that capacity building and business development has the potential to mitigate conflicts through the creation of job opportunities and income. Also, such incubator business projects significantly influence conflict dynamics in the area through their effects on the institutional settings in which they operate. Namely, they have more flexibility in adapting to volatile economic situations in times of economic instability, because they have less to lose so more to risk. Consequently, local SMEs and business initiatives significantly matter for promoting prosperity and peace.
