Lebanon—Trade and Investment Facilitation (TIF) Activity

With a free market economy and a strong laissez-faire commercial tradition, Lebanon, until recent years, has been a regional epicenter for commerce, banking, and innovation. Now deeply mired in a political and financial crisis, the country needs a new direction and assistance to turn around the economy, restart finance and export markets, facilitate policy change, and drive new investments that will bring in foreign exchange and improve global competitiveness.

The Lebanon Trade and Investment Facilitation (TIF) Activity supports that new start. TIF works to boost the exports of Lebanese goods and services, facilitate investment in Lebanese enterprises, and improve the business and investment enabling environment in Lebanon.

TIF’s priority sectors are tourism, agriculture and agrifoods, manufacturing, and the knowledge economy, with opportunities to be identified quickly based on a sector mapping exercise. TIF aims to generate more than $800 million in sales for Lebanese enterprises and leverage $270 million in private sector investment.

Sample Activities

• Co-create sector strategies and action plans.
• Transition core partners into a network that can act as a lasting structure to mobilize private-sector resources and offer fee-based services.
• Diversify and expand market access and networks through trade events; buyer missions; end-market presence and sales agents; and branding and marketing.
• Build capacity of trade support institutions and service providers.
• Jumpstart investment with pipeline deals and continued investment advisory.
• Develop specialized nonbank financial products appropriate to export firms.

Select Results

• Created 745 full-time jobs.
• Helped sustain 5,600 jobs.
• Supported a company called Biomass to raise $1 million in investment for the company to expand its production.
• Provided 25 firms with transaction advisory support.