By Kerning Cultures Author’s note: The material and conversations for this piece took place prior to the You Stink protests; the impact of which is not referenced here. For a country that has defined and redefined itself through politics, religion, immigrations, emigrations, and decades of war, you may wonder what it’s like starting a company in Lebanon. “Surprisingly peaceful, given all that you hear in the media,” says David El Achkar, co-founder of Beirut-based Yellow, a tech startup aiming to make bitcoin payments more accessible across the Middle East. If you set aside the sociopolitical factors beyond your control, you’re left with daily inconveniences of fragmented infrastructure like electricity cuts of up to 6 hours, regular water shortages in the summer and fall, and an average internet speed of 3.11 Mbps – to put things slightly in perspective, estimates abound that doubling Lebanon’s internet bandwidth could improve GDP by 0.6%. Yet – “all of that becomes background noise, and it becomes part of your daily life… especially as an entrepreneur, because everything you do is about overcoming challenges, right? These are just additional elements to work around,” reasons Dave. As…
Lebanon’s Start-Up Scene Promises Bright Future for Entrepreneurs
September 29, 2015
