USA: Facebook is extending its #LoveLocal initiative, launched in September 2020, to Lebanon to help small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the country hit by the pandemic and Beirut blast.
The program was launched to help SMBs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region pivot to digital and grow by highlighting several resources made available for their economic recovery.
The #LoveLocal Lebanon SMB Program has been developed in recognition of the fact that SMBs in Lebanon have been among the hardest hit by the economic situation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the wake of the devastating explosion in Beirut last August.
“The multi-faceted effort will provide SMBs with financial support and capability building programs aimed at enabling their economic recovery as they navigate these very challenging times,” Ramez Shehadi, Managing Director of Facebook MENA, told Arab News.
Facebook partnered with Strategy&, a global strategy consulting business, to gain a better understanding of Lebanese SMBs’ needs in order to tailor the program specifically for Lebanon.
Ramez Shehadi, Managing Director for Middle East & North Africa, Facebook. (Supplied)
The program features include:
A donation of $300,000 to LIFE, a Lebanese non-profit diaspora organization that connects Lebanese professionals around the world, which will allocate the donation to SMBs in Lebanon. 3QA, a Lebanon-based third sector quality assurance organization, will offer support during the vetting and proposal stages.
A donation of $300,000 in Facebook ad credits to SMBs in the country.
The launch of “Ecommerce Start – Lebanon,” a boot camp program developed to support 100 SMBs as they look to build their e-commerce presence and become cross-border businesses. Additionally, selected SMBs will be eligible to receive an ad credit coupon. The boot camp is launched in partnership with Beirut-based e-commerce platform Ecomz and WPP’s global media agency Mindshare.
A series of free webinars to SMBs, in partnership with Seedstars, guiding them through the basics of digital marketing and skills to boost their business on Facebook and Facebook-owned platforms.
A collaboration with the International Chamber of Commerce-United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia Centre of Entrepreneurship (CoE) in Beirut to support outreach to the SMBs in Lebanon and the overall #LoveLocal Lebanon SMB Program.
The Centre will work together with Facebook to ensure that the #LoveLocal Lebanon SMB Program is accessible for SMBs in Lebanon.
“Businesses in Lebanon are particularly in need of support as they charge ahead through many layers of obstacles resulting from the Beirut blast months earlier and the many other compounding socio-economic complexities,” said Shehadi.
