BDL’s Circular 331 Extends the Lifeline of Tech Startups and Puts Lebanon on the Map   

The rise of the digital economy in the past few years revitalized markets in the MENA region, particularly markets of the UAE, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and KSA. In addition, Banque du Liban’s Circular 331 nurtured the startup ecosystem, inviting venture capital funds, entrepreneurs, and banks, to be major players.   

According to ‘State of Digital Investments in MENA’, a report recently published by ArabNet in collaboration with Dubai SME, Lebanon ranked second after the UAE in total number of deals and value of investments in 2016. The country attracted the largest base of growth-capital investors who typically invest in mature companies in need of funding to expand.

Lebanon was particularly highlighted in the report as a very “small market” compared to regional markets like Egypt, but with a “very high number of funds”.  Accordingly, the number of investments in Lebanon alone rose by 15% from 2013 to 2015 and the value of investments climbed from $6M in 2013 to $31M in 2015 as per Arab Net. The surge in start-up capital is mainly attributed to BDL’s Circular 331, which also enabled two banks: Al Mawarid and Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL), to join the investor base and fund such projects.

 

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