Berytech: Support for the Establishment of a Business Incubator in Saida

Background Information

Throughout the recent years, there has been an increased awareness on the importance of embracing entrepreneurship as key catalyst for economic revival and growth in Lebanon. There has been further development of ecosystem for entrepreneurs, and improving the business environment through subsidized loans, initiated by the Central Bank of Lebanon, via Kafalat, along with emergence of private sector led programs focusing on various stages of entrepreneurs, whether at the start-up or growth phase.

For youth, entrepreneurship is a good opportunity to start business. In Lebanon - as in most countries in the region as well as in high-growth economies – it is young firms and startups that create most jobs. According to the World Bank report on promoting poverty reduction in 2015, micro-startups – firms between 0 to 4 years of activity and with less than 4 workers - accounted for 77 percent of aggregate net job creation and generated about 66,000 jobs in Lebanon between 2005 and 2010.

The entrepreneurship ecosystem comprises numerous organizations that support entrepreneurs across all stages, and provide various services that are not only limited to coaching or mentoring but also linking to financial institutions, and advocacy for providing a better business enabling environment. Most of those organizations are based in Greater Beirut and Mount Lebanon, but the situation differs when you start to move further from Beirut towards the Northern or Southern regions, where support diminishes down to one or two organizations providing support to entrepreneurs.

Within South Lebanon region, Saida is the third-largest city of Lebanon. It is located 40 Km south of Beirut, on the Mediterranean coast. The Saida District has a total area of 275 Km² with an estimated population of at least 200,000 Lebanese inhabitants. Saida is home also to several Higher education institutes that graduate students from all disciplines.

Berytech was approached by a foundation for the possibility of setting up a business incubator center on its land to support the growth of local MSMEs in the area, in an attempt to spearhead projects that foster income generation and entrepreneurship for Lebanese youth.

The Economy of South Lebanon is relying mainly on Agriculture and Tourism.  In Saida, the region is primarily dependent on agriculture, trading and some light manufacturing industries. Tourism also plays an important role in the city of Saida. Many of its youth leave the city to find jobs closer to Beirut as the market opportunities are bigger.

Berytech requires the services of an expert to conduct an assessment of the entrepreneurial enabling environment and feasibility study in the area of Saida for the possibility of the establishment of a business incubator that supports the development and growth of entrepreneurs and start-ups within identified priority sectors.

Objectives

The overall objective is to conduct an assessment of the economic environment in the region, and assess the feasibility for a proposed incubator in the Greater area of Saida. This will also entail the analysis of feasibility of operating the Berytech Incubation Model to the region, identifying the type of services to be provided, management modality of the center (involved partners) and overall operational costs.

Scope of Work

The project includes carrying out a rapid economic assessment of the region stretching from South Chouf area Jezzine caza till Tyr. The assessment will identify the economic sectors that have potential for investment and further development. Based on the assessment, a feasibility study will be carried out for the establishment of a potential incubator in Saida.

The main activities to be carried out are as follows:

• Undertake Rapid Assessment and Analysis: The main objective of the assessment is to analyze the current economic activities in the selection region, and identify the key economic sectors that have potential for further investment and creation of fast growing Small and medium Enterprises. The analysis will include the following:
  • Rapid assessment to identify potential economic sectors for growth in the region, stretching from South Chouf to Tyr
  • Sample surveying of MSMEs in identified growth sectors to assess key challenges and difficulties that hinder their growth
  • Overview of existing service providers in the area that provide business development and support services to local MSMEs
  • Mapping of the various stakeholders including universities, government institutions, research centers, and key economic support organizations (Association of Lebanese industrialists, business associations, etc.) in the region in order to gather information about their impact, roles, and contribution to youth economic empowerment. The mapping will also highlight lessons learned, key challenges faced by such organizations and potential for partnership with Berytech for supporting entrepreneurs and start-ups.

• Develop a feasibility study that will include:
  • Analysis of Potential for Applying the Berytech Incubation Model in the region and the proposed type of services to provide
  • Development of a management modality and operational plan (potential partners, overhead costs, operational costs etc.) 

In his/her proposal, the Consultant is requested to provide a preliminary proposed project work plan covering all the activities described in Section 4 (a GANTT chart showing detailed list of tasks, duration and schedule per task and allotted resources per task shall be included in the bid). It shall also include the Consultant’s resources as well as other dependencies, which affect the project duration.

Upon contract award, the Consultant shall provide Berytech with a revised project work plan, if necessary. Once agreed upon, the new plan shall be adopted and shall form the basis for project supervision and monitoring.

Deliverables

All deliverables shall be delivered in one electronic soft copy, preferably in Microsoft Word format, where applicable.

The following deliverables are requested for this project:

Phase 1

1. Project work plan
2. Rapid Assessment of the Economic Sectors and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in the proposed region.

Phase 2

1. Feasibility Study with recommendations and detailed action plan/results framework
2. A presentation/one day seminar addressed to Berytech

Delivery Schedule

The Consultant is expected to complete and submit the deliverables specified below as per the identified time schedule. Expected overall duration for project completion is 2 months

Phase 1:  Completion of all phase 1 deliverables

Due Date: November 14, 2019

Payment Terms: 50%

Phase 2: Completion of all phase 2 deliverables

Due Date: December 17, 2019

Payment Terms: 50%