Small and medium enterprises are the thriving force for any economy and are considered one of the main drivers for innovation and employment generation, and in Lebanon, the vast majority of residents (63%) would like to be entrepreneurs. In fact, a new survey conducted by Bayt.com, the number one career site in the Middle East, and YouGov, a pioneer in online market research, entitled ‘Entrepreneurship in the MENA2015’ has revealed that82% of respondents from Lebanon personally know at least one entrepreneur in their country of residence;95% of whom are believed to have been successful in their endeavor.
In Lebanon, both private and public sector employees think of starting their own business. In fact,54% of all employees are currently thinking of starting their own business, while9% have tried in the past but cite they have failed or could not do so for different reasons.25% of the workforce in Lebanon have never thought of starting their own business.
Perceptions vis-à-vis ease of starting up a business vary, with6% of respondents from Lebanon indicating they believe that setting up their own business is somewhat easy or even extremely easy, while71% general respondents believe to varying extents that entrepreneurship in Lebanon is somewhat difficult or very difficult.
The main difficulties cited by those who have started their own business in Lebanon include economic instability (65%); political instability (62%); and the unavailability of finances (54%).
The perception of entrepreneurship in Lebanon
61% of the respondents from Lebanon believe that one should gain some experience before starting their own business, while30% believe that any time is a good time to start a business. In fact, the top three concerns for starting a business in Lebanon, according to respondents is procuring finances (57%), uncertainty of profit/income (54%) and the need to establish the right contacts or ‘wasta’ (42%).
22% of respondents from Lebanon think that hospitality and leisure is the most appealing industry for entrepreneurs in their country, followed by communications and information technology (16%); advertising, marketing and public relations (16%); finance, insurance and real estate (12%); and architecture and engineering (8%).
Close to two thirds quarters of Lebanon respondents (65%) perceive entrepreneurs as people who think primarily about profit, and75% of respondent see entrepreneurs as opportunity-driven.78% of respondents in Lebanon strongly agree or somewhat agree that entrepreneurs help in creating new jobs, while66% agree that entrepreneurs truly benefit the society by creating new products and services.
The best pieces of advice offered to budding entrepreneurs by respondents in the MENA region, including Lebanon, is to not be afraid of failure (38%); have a great business plan (13%); and have a great and well-researched business idea and marketing plan (both11%).
The role of education in defining entrepreneurship
More than two thirds of respondents in Lebanon (68%) agree that the education they have received has helped them develop an entrepreneurial attitude either to a great extent or some extent. Only11% of respondents disagree with this sentiment.
71% of respondents in Lebanon agree – either strongly or moderately – that the education they have received has helped them acquire the necessary skills and know-how to become an entrepreneur. Another65% believe that their education has helped them understand the role of entrepreneurs in the society, while68% agree that the education they have received has made them interested in becoming entrepreneurs – either to a great or some extent.
Work style preferences in Lebanon
63% of respondents in Lebanon prefer to be their own boss, while30% would rather seek employment in a company. When it comes to reasons for being self-employed,50% of respondents from Lebanon do it for personal fulfillment;34% believe it affords them the freedom to determine their work-life balance; and39% like the idea of being their own boss.
Of the respondents from Lebanon who prefer to seek employment in a company, almost three quarters prefer to work for private sector companies (74%), while26% would rather work for the public sector. The most important factor for choosing to work for pay is the opportunity to learn new skills and techniques (41%).34% of Lebanon respondents value the stability of working offered by a company, while23% value a regular income.
Throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region,70% of respondents that have started their own business have done so over the past five years, while almost1 in five (18%) has started their business in the last10 years. According to MENA professionals who run their own business, the top three reasons for working for themselves are: more income (34%), greater independence in what they want to achieve (31%), and a better work-life balance (28%).
Currently, a third of MENA respondents (33%) who are self-employed are at the start-up stage of their business;23% said they have an established business that is underperforming, while22% have a well-established and well-performing business.
“Encouraging entrepreneurship is a huge focus for many countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa region, it bolsters the economy and drives innovation. While people in Lebanon are keen to start their own business, financing it is still a key hindrance in achieving their aspiration. This may suggest that the region needs more investors to step in and help entrepreneurs,” said Suhail Masri, Vice President of Sales, Bayt.com. “Our mission at Bayt.com is to empower people by giving them access to data that is well-researched and up-to-date regarding the employment and economic pulse of their country of residence. We have been helping start-ups to recruit top talent across the industry spectrum at all career levels. In fact, the Bayt.com platform has been instrumental in facilitating and enabling recruitment activities for entrepreneurial ventures from start-up phase through to maturity since our inception in2000.”
“More and more people across the Middle East and North Africa are looking at entrepreneurship options. Despite the challenges, our research indicates that entrepreneurship has become more popular than ever before,” said Elissavet Vraka, Research Manager, YouGov. “Encouraging more entrepreneurial ventures is beneficial in myriad ways to the economies of the region; entrepreneurs contribute to the country’s GDP and help create job opportunities.”
Data for the Bayt.com ‘Entrepreneurship in the MENA2015’ survey was collected online from September27 to October42015, with8,164 respondents from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.