EBRD and EU launch new programme to support Lebanese enterprises

EU funds new SME support programme focused on resource efficiency and circularity
EBRD and EU mark milestone of supporting innovative SMEs in Lebanon
Selection of SMEs to receive EU-funded Resource Efficiency and Circularity Grants

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) are bolstering their support for Lebanon’s private sector with a new €12.5 million programme aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) foster resource efficiency practices and promote circularity measures.

The Bank will deploy EU funds to enhance the sustainability practices of Lebanese SMEs and help them adopt circularity approaches through three main tools: capacity building, tailored advisory services, and grants to support the adoption of technologies and solutions.

With this new nine-year programme, the EBRD and the EU aim to help companies in the industrial sector – primarily in the food and beverage value chain – become more sustainable and reduce their carbon emissions. Capacity-building activities will help raise awareness in the market of the importance and commercial viability of resource efficiency and circularity projects. In addition, with bespoke advisory services, the Programme will help SMEs identify the most suitable solutions for improving their use of resources and adopting circularity approaches.

To support the implementation of recommended measures, a selection of SMEs will receive EU-funded Resource Efficiency and Circularity Grants to help them install the pre-identified projects.

These actions are expected to give the companies in question a concrete advantage, sharpening their competitive edge and enabling them to gain market share. This, in turn, should help them to grow and create additional jobs while contributing to the more sustainable socioeconomic development of the country.

The programme builds on the success of the EU-supported Advice for Small Businesses programme in Lebanon launched in 2018, including the EU-funded Innovation Programme started in 2023. To date, these programmes have helped almost 280 SMEs access the critical know-how they need to address market challenges and support their productivity and turnover. In 2023 alone, the ASB programme supported north of 85 Lebanese SMEs and start-ups with more than 100 advisory projects, including 43 companies looking to innovate through applied research projects with Lebanese researchers.

Local and international consultants and researchers specialised in a broad range of areas continue to help SMEs enhance their green, digital and inclusive business practices. In addition, the Bank continues to conduct various capacity-building activities to provide access to best practices and improve the local market for business advice.

Attending the ceremony at the InterContinental Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut were more than 150 representatives of the business community, the Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Saade Chami, the Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation in Lebanon, Ms. Alessandra Viezzer, the EBRD Managing Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Region Heike Harmgart, SMEs, consultants, researchers and the media.

The event served as a platform for launching the new EU-funded Resource Efficiency and Circularity Programme and to highlight the achievements of the ongoing Innovation Programme, while providing an opportunity to showcase some of the beneficiary SMEs and their projects.

Heike Harmgart, EBRD Managing Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Region, said: “We are very happy to partner once again with the EU to support small Lebanese businesses, which are the backbone of the economy. These enterprise have proved their resilience in challenging times and our aim is to boost their sustainability practices and growth through this new programme.”

Alessandra Viezzer, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Lebanon, added: “The EU is committed to facilitating and supporting SMEs’ adoption and development of resource efficiency practices, hoping that, in turn, it will bring much-needed added value to the country, boosting the local economy and, hopefully, contributing to Lebanon’s economic recovery.”

Since the start of its operations in Lebanon, EBRD has invested more than €880 million, focusing on enhancing private-sector competitiveness, promoting sustainable energy and improving public-service quality and efficiency.