“Team Europe” is promoting women’s entrepreneurship: the example of the EU4WE project in Lebanon
The Beirut Port explosion on 4 August 2020 and Covid-19 pandemic have increased existing social and gender inequalities in Lebanon. There has since been a marked increase in gender-based violence, as well as in the burden of women for children’s education and the care given to their family members, including elderly and sick people. This situation has contributed to limiting their mobility and has affected their opportunities in terms of work, training and free time.
As part of its top priorities, the European Union has decided to finance the European Union for Women Empowerment (EU4WE) project. The 36 months’ project was launched in October 2019, while Lebanon was faced with a major social, economic and financial crisis, and aims to promote gender equality in Lebanon. It is based on two objectives:
• Empower Lebanese women in order to sustainably combat domestic violence
• Support institutional mechanisms working on equality issues to ensure that greater account is taken of gender in public policies.
Expertise France, for which gender equality is a priority, has consequently mobilised expertise under the EU4WE programme. Two years on, this technical cooperation has achieved progress for women, in particular women entrepreneurs.
Technical assistance from Expertise France and financial support from the European Union for women entrepreneurs
The Beirut Port explosion on 4 August 2020 has seriously affected a number of companies in the region. In response to the disaster, the EU4WE project has partnered with Berytech, a start-up incubator and support centre for entrepreneurship, to launch an emergency grant programme for companies run and/or owned by women and affected by the explosion. This programme has given Lebanese women the means to maintain or transform their companies during the crisis, while increasing their own opportunities in society.
These women have benefited from training and coaching sessions led by experts mobilised by Expertise France on various themes related to crisis management and business transformation. The objective is to give them guidance on how to overcome the constraints they are facing in the current context of multiple crisis, in order to be successful in their sectors and maximise their potential contributions to the Lebanese economy.
During this 6-month programme, 30 beneficiaries were selected and they have each benefited from a €5,000 grant financed by the European Union.
“After the blast, the program was a light at the end of the tunnel. The training and coaching sessions helped us face the different crises that are impacting the country and the operation of our business. Through the coaching sessions, I decided to focus on export and I was able to find interesting leads. I now have a deal for export on the table that I’m ready to explore, but for that I need funding. This is where the grant helped put us on the right track, while I work to get access to the right investor and a bigger market”, says Jocelyne Gemayel Tchopourian, founder of the company Orso Bianco.
Assessment study on the challenges of women entrepreneurs in Lebanon
In September 2021, EU4WE launched an assessment study, with Expertise France’s support, on the challenges, barriers and needs of women entrepreneurs in Beirut, Mount Lebanon and Tyre, called “Women Entrepreneurs in Lebanon: Surviving the Crisis Amidst the Challenges”.
The objective was to provide an overview of the business environments in which companies run and/or owned by women operate, taking into account their perception of the challenges and barriers they face. This study has made it possible to develop a customised financial and technical assistance project, financed under EU4WE, to assist women entrepreneurs with the development of their companies.
The findings of this study reveal and confirm many of the multiple challenges faced by micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. The survey across a sample of 78 companies run and/or owned by women shows that the main challenges are related to the fluctuation of the Lebanese currency (86%), restrictions related to the Covid-19 health crisis (76%), hyperinflation (55%) and a decrease in the purchasing power of customers (51%). Access to finance is also the biggest need of women entrepreneurs. Almost a fifth of interviewees believe they need to substantially improve their skills. Technical assistance and training were an expressed need of 22% of the women surveyed, in particular for digital marketing, branding, the use of online platforms, financial management, business development and access to new markets.
An improvement in the outcome of court cases for survivors of gender-based violence
In June 2021, Expertise France and EU4WE presented a study based on a comparative legal analysis of cases of domestic violence in Lebanon. This study has analysed the jurisprudence of Judges of Urgent Matters regarding domestic violence, as well as the jurisprudence of Sunni, Christian Jaafari Shiia and Druze religious courts regarding divorce and custody with elements of domestic violence. The study has identified existing gaps in Lebanese laws and made practical recommendations based on international conventions and best practices, in order to improve the legal outcome for survivors of gender-based violence.
This study has also allowed the EU4WE project to organise practical training sessions, in order to improve the legal expertise and psychological support of lawyers who regularly plead family matters. Four training sessions were organised between October and November 2021, one per religious denomination (Sunni, Christian, Jaafari Shiia and Druze).
Watch the video of the participants' stories
Technical assistance to promote cooperation and the exchange of best practices between national gender equality mechanisms
Since August 2021, the EU4WE project has been providing technical assistance and methodological resources to support the development of the action plan of the Lebanon National Gender Observatory (LNGO). The EU4WE project is currently contributing to the observatory on two main aspects: 1) promote the observatory’s visibility by disseminating its results and handling the maintenance of its website 2) provide technical assistance to develop a 2-year action plan for the observatory. The overall approach to support the LNGO is based on the organisation of various capacity building sessions by the National Commission for Lebanese Women as the host institution and helping ensure the sustainability of the observatory.
Support in line with Expertise France’s actions with its Lebanese partners
Expertise France’s operations are part of the extensive support to Lebanon from the community of development partners, and especially France and the European Union. To address the country’s instability, the international community has called on the Lebanese authorities to undertake far-reaching and ambitious reforms, in particular concerning the transparency of the economy, development, economic and financial sustainability, the fight against corruption and the independence of the judiciary.
The projects implemented by Expertise France in Lebanon aim to assist the Lebanese authorities with the implementation of these reforms. Expertise France is currently working in Lebanon for the country’s economic development and to support public policies.
The agency’s activities mainly aim to build the capacities of national and local public administrations and fight against endemic corruption, support private sector development and promote stability and social cohesion, in order to reduce tensions related to the consequences of the Syrian crisis.
In the context of its action, Expertise France pays particular attention to joint reflection and the joint construction of projects with its Lebanese partners. Consequently, the agency is increasingly working with the authorities by helping institutions implement and steer the far-reaching public reforms undertaken by Lebanon. This is fully in line with the Franco-Lebanese principles for bilateral cooperation.
Find out more about Expertise France’s action in Lebanon: https://www.expertisefrance.fr/liban
Consult the EU4WE project sheet