LebNet - News & Announcements

Promote cross-border opportunities between Lebanon and North America

31 Aug 2022 10:00 AM | Anonymous member

LebNet signed a memorandum of understanding with Outerpond, an online business opportunity ecosystem, to enable cross-border business opportunities between service providers in Lebanon and service seekers in North America.

“LebNet is excited about this partnership with Outerpond and looking forward to creating more opportunities for North America and Lebanon,” said Jeanine Akiki, LebNet’s Executive Director.

Together, Outerpond and LebNet will promote cross-border business opportunities, enable interconnections between providers in Lebanon through Outerpond and seekers through the LebNet network, which might lead to strategic partnerships, and organize joint online events to promote Lebanon as an outsourcing hub.

“We are thrilled by the partnership with LebNet which will create numerous collaboration opportunities between Lebanon based SMEs and North American tech companies.”

Outerpond recently received support from USAID’s Trade and Investment Facilitation (TIF) project to help the development of their platform and help increase the exports of Lebanese goods and services.

LebNet 2022 Summer Interns

10 Aug 2022 10:00 AM | Anonymous member

LebNet's 2022 Summer Internship Program featured over 15 internship opportunities, open for Lebanese students based in the US, Canada and Lebanon. Most of the featured internships have been closed or filled and you can find more information about the companies and how to reach out to us for future internships by visiting this page.

Cynthia Obeid and Sary Yehia were part of our program. This is what they had to say about their experience with LebNet.

LebNet Ignite Startup Ostaz’ recent acquisition puts it on the global map

10 May 2021 6:42 AM | Anonymous member

Lebanon has proved over the years to be a great test bed for scalable tech startups, given its small market size and large pool of talent.

Such is true for Ostaz, a private tutoring matching platform that started in Lebanon in 2016 with plans to scale globally after its recent acquisition by Inspired Education Group, a global group of premium schools.

Founded by three inspiring women, Audrey Nakad, Zeina Sultani Nakad and Sibylle Nakad, Ostaz - previously known as Synkers - built a name for itself by solving the problem of finding qualified private tutors and supporting students throughout their academic journey, starting from school to official exams and college admission. Today, the platform features over 1,000 qualified tutors and has completed over 90,000 tutoring sessions by working with around 50 schools and universities.

Ostaz cofounders Zeina Sultani Nakad, Audrey Nakad and Sibylle Nakad

The startup’s original name Synkers was changed to Ostaz, which means ‘teacher’ in Arabic, because it resonates well internationally and it is easy to remember, as explained by co-founder and CEO Audrey.

To validate their idea early on, the team joined Speed accelerator to receive an initial funding and build a viable product to showcase traction. During its acceleration period, Audrey flew to California to participate in the third edition of LebNet Ignite, a residential program launched by LebNet and designed to immerse Lebanese startup founders in the Silicon Valley culture. The program’s edition was done in partnership with Speed and BlackBox Connect.

“LebNet Ignite was the best experience ever. We had access to people we can never have access to in Lebanon. The Lebanese market is in need of more role models and success stories they can look up to and seek advice from,” said Audrey in a previous statement given to LebNet.

Small Middle Eastern Startup Going Global

Shortly after joining Speed, the startup gained traction in universities via word of mouth and soon after became known in several top Lebanese universities. Following its graduation from Speed In 2017, it closed its first seed funding with Phoenician Funds. By September 2020, it raised a $1.8M Pre-Series A funding round, led by Dr. Lama and Dalia Al Sulaiman, 500 Startups, Phoenician Funds, iSME Kafalat, Mulcan International, Seeders, CE-Ventures, and Dubai Angel Investors.

Aside from Lebanon, the platform currently operates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

In April 2021, the founders announced the acquisition of Ostaz by Inspired Education Group for an undisclosed amount. “They [Inspired Education Group] recently launched their online school and focus on premium education and we were really honored when they approached us to work with us and then acquire us,” said co-founder and CMO Zeina during an interview with Ostaz.

The recent acquisition will allow the Lebanese startup to expand its operations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and elsewhere. “We will still focus on MENA, mainly GCC and Egypt. We will start our global expansion in Europe this upcoming academic year. Our target markets are the UK, Spain, and Italy,” said Audrey.

Such great news coming out of a small country riddled with conflict and crises is truly a breath of fresh air and encouraging for many struggling Lebanese entrepreneurs. It is also proof that hard working Lebanese will always shine everywhere.

Lemonade Fashion raises $300k from 7 LebNet members

23 Mar 2021 3:28 AM | Anonymous member

In October 2019, Lemonade Fashion was one of the four startups that flew from Lebanon to San Francisco to attend a 5-week bootcamp powered by Draper University, as part of LebNet’s Ignite program.

In January 2021, online designer marketplace with made-to-measure technology, Lemonade Fashion received financing of $300,000 from a syndication by seven LebNet members, with plans to raise additional funds to complete the seed round from VCs in the US and GCC to further expand its presence in Dubai and scale to San Francisco in the next six months, where the startup is incorporated.

“We had a really good relationship with LebNet. We were in San Francisco, met with LebNet members there and stayed in touch. [...] LebNet decided they wanted to help us grow,” said Arthur Bizdikian, co-founder and CEO at Lemonade Fashion. With the raised amount, the team will use the money to expand to new markets, develop a mobile application, uplift the quality of designs, focus on marketing and partnerships and put together an ambassador program.

Since its graduation from LebNet Ignite and after receiving funding from Draper University Ventures right afterwards, Lemonade Fashion grew from 5 to 18 employees, enlisted over 150 designers on the platform and featured over 3,500 items. The Lebanese startup was initially discovered, funded and supported by tech accelerator Speed, which sponsored Lemonade Fashion's participation in LebNet Ignite in San Francisco.

"Lemonade Fashion made quite an impression on our LebNet mentors when in November 2019 Arthur attended the Ignite bootcamp in Silicon Valley. We felt compelled to help in the fundraising for such a promising Lebanese startup. We are very grateful to our members who took part of the syndication and we're assuming our board seat representation resolutely and with the utmost dedication,” said George Akiki, CEO and co-founder of LebNet.

In 2020, the marketplace - which connects emerging designers all over the world to clients looking for bespoke fashion clothing to fit them from the comfort of their home - saw a 2000% growth over the year, with a 400% growth in the last quarter only, according to Bizdikian. “We’ve been able to manage and maintain that momentum in Q1, 2021. We know much better what we do today. We handpick the designers, the photoshoot and content creation and this builds trust with our clients.”

Lemonade Fashion keeps adding new collections and helps more local and international designers sell their designs globally. Its current run rate is $500,000 per year and the co-founder hopes to grow the number by five to six times by the end of the year.

“We’re very happy with our growth and the partnerships we were able to build with LebNet. We’re excited about 2021. This is a very important year for us and we are glad we have the right people to back us up,” he concluded.

Aleb, new program to facilitate worldwide donations to families in Lebanon

22 Dec 2020 6:57 AM | Anonymous member

Aleb Lebanon is a pilot program incubated by LebNet and launched in partnership with Al Majmoua to support the Lebanese population living below the poverty line through sustained remittances on a family-to-family basis.

Aleb, which launched on December 22,2020, works by connecting donors worldwide to needy families in Lebanon and facilitating the transfer of their donations in USD bills for immediate cash disbursement. It does so by partnering with Lebanon-based NGOs such as Al Majmoua to source and vet needy families and on-board them on the service. Most of the families featured in this pilot are well known to Al Majmoua, having been recipients of microcredit loans before their situation deteriorated dramatically over the last year.

Aleb Lebanon, a new program to facilitate worldwide donations to families in need in Lebanon.

Each donor will be able to read about and select the family they want to support on Aleb’s website before making a recurring monthly donation of $200 US Dollars plus $30 fees for a period of six months. Payments will be made in USD using a credit card via PayPal and collected at LebNet’s US bank account to guarantee delivery, then wired to Al Majmoua before being disbursed by OMT/Western Union in USD bills to the intended families. You can find more details on this page.

“This is an extremely important initiative for us”, said Sarjoun Skaff, cofounder of Aleb. “As expatriates, we feel powerless watching from afar as Lebanon’s economy collapses dramatically with no obvious way to help. That’s why we wanted to build a vehicle for our diaspora to actively and meaningfully support the homeland. Cash assistance is a very effective form of support, and complements existing in-kind programs, so we are excited to make it available to the world.”

The monthly $200 donation is estimated as the minimal amount to help needy families secure food, clothing, and medication.

Why now?

On top of Lebanon’s currency crisis, the economic situation has drastically deteriorated, causing widespread poverty and high unemployment rate. More than half of Lebanon’s population is now living below the poverty line, inflation reached 120% in August 2020 and food insecurity is looming. The situation is unlikely to improve in the next few years.

Many expatriates are looking for ways to help, and supporting a family for a sustained period of time is a powerful way to assist them in landing on their feet. The goal of this program is to help these families survive and support them while transitioning into self-sufficiency. This pilot will assess the needs and the success factors during the first 6-month period in order to scale the system to a large number of donors and families.

“We, at Al Majmoua, have been working for more than 20 years towards greater financial inclusion in Lebanon, by providing access to capital to the ‘unbanked’ and the most vulnerable members of society, so they can invest and sustain their small and micro businesses,” said Youssef Fawaz, Executive Director of Al Majmoua.

“Of late, we have witnessed firsthand how the combined effect of the economic crises and Covid-19 have devastated communities and left many families, who were still productive and self-sufficient a mere year ago, slide into extreme poverty and destitution.

We welcome our partnership with Aleb and join our efforts to reach out to the diaspora to help numerous families in their hour of need.”

For more inquiries: aleb-lebanon@lebnet.us

LebNet and AUB partner to create a bridge between students and the diaspora

25 Nov 2020 4:57 AM | Anonymous

May 8th, 2019 – Beirut, Lebanon: LebNet and the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture (MSFEA) at the American University of Beirut (AUB), signed a Memorandum of Understanding at AUB’s faculty to announce the launch of a joint initiative called SiliconValley@MSFEA.

The initiative was signed by George Akiki, LebNet’s co-founder and CEO, and Dr. Alan Shihadeh, the Dean of MSFEA. Both parties signed the MoU in the presence of faculty members.

SiliconValley@MSFEA aims at leveraging the expertise of LebNet’s members in North America to support college students in Lebanon through several tracks: advisory, internship opportunities, talks and seminars, entrepreneurship support and mentorship, collaboration on Final Year Projects (FYP) and research with industry.

AUB students will have access to LebNet’s existing internship program. Under the Silicon Valley Channel track, both AUB and non-AUB students will be able to join a series of talks and seminars delivered by LebNet members to share knowledge and expertise on various topics of interest.

LebNet will also provide problems in search of a solution for senior students to adopt as their Final Year Projects and furthermore, LebNet members will define industry relevant research projects for graduate students and faculty members. LebNet will be represented at the MSFEA International Advisory board.

Under the Entrepreneurship Program at MSFEA track, LebNet members will act as a brain trust by providing coaching, mentoring and advising.

“Our network of over 1,000 members in the US and Canada is always looking for impactful and results-oriented opportunities to give back to Lebanon. We felt that AUB’s vision and MSFEA’s plans were inline with how we wanted to make an impact and we were very encouraged by Dean Shihadeh’s energy and detailed follow-up which increases our chances of success in adding value to Lebanese students,” said Akiki.

“I was looking back in my notebook this morning. I had a meeting with George in a restaurant on February 26, where we cooked up on the back of a napkin this initiative. The project we were working on was to see how we can leverage the Lebanese talent in the technology sector in North America to make a difference here at AUB and create two-way opportunities,” said Shihadeh.

About MSFEA

The Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture (MSFEA) was named in January 2017 for alumnus, trustee, entrepreneur, investor, business leader, and philanthropist Maroun Semaan. Engineering education at AUB, however, dates back more than a hundred years to 1913 when the Faculty of Arts and Sciences introduced a program leading to a BS degree in engineering. AUB awarded the first engineering degree (BS in civil engineering) in 1944. The faculty is now AUB’s second largest with over 2,300 undergraduates, 350 master’s students, almost 100 doctoral students; and over 175 instructional faculty. In 2017, Dean Alan Shihadeh and his colleagues began to introduce changes to make MSFEA a catalyst for transformative change that embraces innovation, pedagogy, and knowledge production to promote human well-being.

About LebNet

LebNet is a network for tech professionals of Lebanese descent in North America. This premier Diaspora group is a US registered 501c3 non-profit organization launched in 1999 in Silicon Valley, California. Today LebNet has more than 1,000 members organized by communities in 10 cities across US and Canada and dedicated to enable tech entrepreneurs and professionals succeed on a global stage. It includes Fortune 500 managers and executives, CxO’s, Venture Capitalists and investors, Start-up founders and entrepreneurs, academics, consultants and small business owners. LebNet programs focus on education, mentoring, and internships promoting career advice and feedback on business plans including a flagship program LebNet Ignite, a 2-week residential accelerator boot camp in Silicon Valley for Lebanese startup founders. In pursuing its mission to Connect, Network and Nurture, LebNet hosts regular talks, meetups and sessions in the US and Canada and seeks to empower the Lebanese diaspora while giving back to Lebanese entrepreneurs, youth and professionals in Lebanon.

LebNet partners with Endeavor Lebanon to mentor Lebanese entrepreneurs

25 Nov 2020 4:56 AM | Anonymous

LebNet CEO and co-founder George Akiki and Endeavor Lebanon Managing Director signed a Memorandum of Understanding to mentor Lebanese entrepreneurs.

LebNet and Endeavor Lebanon signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on May 13 to mentor Endeavor Entrepreneurs through LebNet’s network of diaspora professionals.

This partnership will allow Endeavor Lebanon’s entrepreneurs to benefit from the support of the North American LebNet network of tech professionals to augment its mentoring capabilities by sourcing specialized support for their Lebanese high-impact entrepreneurs. LebNet members will have the opportunity to provide key assistance to Lebanese scale-ups ranging from punctual mentoring to more strategic guidance.

“Our collaboration with such a renowned worldwide network of entrepreneurs, mentors and investors is of great value to LebNet’s core mission of mentoring and we’re looking forward to adopt some of Endeavor’s best practices and to sharpen our assistance to Lebanese entrepreneurs,” said George Akiki, CEO and co-founder of LebNet.

“By connecting our local entrepreneurs with esteemed Lebanese diaspora professionals from LebNet’s network, we wish to encourage mentorship that can contribute to scalability, job creation and growing the Lebanese economy,” said Christina Chehade, Managing Director of Endeavor Lebanon.

The MoU was signed by George Akiki, CEO and co-founder of LebNet and Christina Chehade, Managing Director of Endeavor Lebanon.

Established in 1997, Endeavor is leading the global high-impact entrepreneurship movement to drive economic growth and job creation by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. To date, Endeavor has screened more than 70,000 individuals and selected more than 1,800 founders leading over 1,100 scale-up companies. Lebanon is Endeavor’s eleventh country and fourth in the MENA region. Since its launch in 2011, the Endeavor Lebanon office has selected 40 high-impact entrepreneurs from 31 companies.

Car-sharing platform Turo raises $250 million in Series E, passes unicorn valuation

25 Nov 2020 4:53 AM | Anonymous

Peer-to-peer car sharing platform Turo has recently raised $250 million in Series E, from media and internet company IAC, which was in charge of creating and growing company like Expedia, Match Group and Ticketmaster.

This late Series comes after the company raised $92 million dollar in 2017 from Mercedes-Benz manufacturer, Daimler, and one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates, SK Holdings, bringing Turo’s valuation to over one billion dollar.

Since 2017, the vibrant car-sharing community has been rapidly growing

And has now over 10 million sign-ups and nearly 400,000 registered vehicles shared worldwide, according to Turo’s blog post.

In his post, CEO Andre Haddad spoke about the community’s growth over the past two years. “Turo has been on a tear for years — growing 2x year-over-year the past two years, and 8x year-over-year in our nascent international markets (the UK and Germany)”.

Haddad has previously spoken about Turo’s success, spending money on user acquisition and the early beginning during a previous talk he gave at a LebNet event in San Francisco. He advised the audience to obsess about conversions and be disciplined about data and team management.

“The car business is an 80 billion dollar market. There’s a lot of need for cars but what wasn’t clear back in 2011 was if anyone would be willing to share their car […] Throw yourself into something you are really passionate about and be engaged with the problem you are solving. It’s hard to have the long-term commitment during the ups and downs if there’s no real connection, if it’s not part of your life.”

Beirut Emergency Fund 2020, a crisis relief response to Beirut’s tragic explosion

25 Nov 2020 4:30 AM | Anonymous

On August 4th 2020, the Capital and heart of Lebanon, Beirut, was devastated by a huge explosion.

The city was left in ruins within seconds. The damage is unimaginable , and it only added salt to the many existing wounds: economic collapse, social upheaval, and a Pandemic. One is too many for any nation.

Lebanon, LebNet launched the Beirut Emergency Fund 2020, in collaboration with SEAL and LIFE, two reputed 501c3 US registered Lebanese Diaspora nonprofit organizations, and joined by non-governmental US-based Kuwait America Foundation and the Jamhour Alumni (in Europe and the US). The fund is also collaborating with Impact Lebanon on the allocation and disbursement of funds to avoid any duplication in funding. The Fund is collaborating with Qudurat and Ruwwad Al Tanmeya, among other Lebanese NGOs on the ground, with the support of 3QA, to ensure that the funds are disbursed in a coordinated and transparent manner to well vetted Lebanese NGOs that focus on Shelter, Food, Medication, Medical Support, Rehabilitation and Environment.

The list of vetted NGOs includes AlGhina, Arcenciel, Beit El Baraka, Lebanon Needs, Lebanese Red Cross, Nusaned and Offre Joie. More organizations will be added to the list on a regular basis so make sure you visit the fund’s page for the updated list.

The Beirut Emergency Fund was launched by LebNet, SEAL and LIFE, three reputed 501c3 US registered Lebanese Diaspora nonprofit organizations, and joined by non-governmental US-based Kuwait America Foundation and the Jamhour Alumni (in Europe and the US).

LebNet has previously partnered with SEAL in April 2020 to help raise $1 million to feed families in need in Lebanon, through several partners on the ground. “We were overwhelmed by offers of support from friends and colleagues and wanted to offer them a reliable and trustworthy platform for their US Tax deductible donations. We’re so privileged to have great reputable partners like SEAL and LIFE who quickly agreed to establish the Beirut Emergency Fund 2020 to be that vehicle for donations and we continue to on-board new partners who believe in the power of collaboration for Good,” said George Akiki, LebNet CEO.

LebNet members, Lebanese supporters and friends living in Canada can also donate safely online by visiting this link. LebNet Canada partnered with The Canadian Red Cross to provide tax deductible donations.

“The humanitarian needs in Beirut are immense following the recent explosion, which has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation in a country that is currently hosting the largest number of refugees per capita and is struggling with environmental and economic uncertainties,” said Fadi Joseph, President of LebNet Canada. Some of the most urgent needs on the ground include emergency medical services, shelter, food and water; and personal protective equipment as responders provide life-saving care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For US donations click here: https://www.seal-usa.org/BeirutEmergencyFund

For Canada donations click here: http://www.redcross.ca/lebanon/Lebnet-Canada

Featured image from Reuters.

The Beirut Emergency Fund allocates the first $2 million to hospitals and other sectors

25 Nov 2020 4:24 AM | Anonymous

Lebanese diaspora organizations allocate $2 million Dollars in the first round, to hospitals, medical support, shelters and reconstruction in the wake of the devastating and deadline Beirut explosion.

The Beirut Emergency Fund 2020 coalition formed by US-based non profit SEAL, non-profit organization LIFE, LebNet, Jamhour Alumni (US/Europe) and the non-governmental, US-based Kuwait-America Foundation announced on August 18, 2020 that it will disburse the first batch of $2.0 million, which was raised by the Beirut Emergency Fund, to hospitals, medical aid, shelters and reconstruction in Lebanon, following the horrific explosion in the Port of Beirut.

To date, the Beirut Emergency Fund has raised over $5 million in response to the August 4, 2020, explosion in Beirut that killed so far 170 people, injured more than six thousand, caused total material and infrastructural damage to the majority of Beirut, and left more than a quarter of a million people homeless. This devastating tragedy exacerbates the humanitarian and economic challenges already facing the impoverished nation.

Transparency and accountability ensure that every dollar raised by the Beirut Emergency Fund 2020 goes directly to those in need.

The first round of disbursement, totaling $2.0 million, has been allocated to the following organizations:

Hospitals: St George, Geitawi, Hotel Dieu
Medical Support: Lebanese Red Cross, Arcenciel, Lebanon Needs
Shelter and Reconstruction: AlGhina , Beit El Baraka, Nusaned, Offre Joie

The Funds and the Needs

The Beirut Emergency Fund is focused on supporting non-profit, non-governmental organizations that are working to meet the humanitarian needs among vulnerable populations impacted by this tragic disaster. These include shelter, food, medical supplies, physical and mental health, as well as mitigating any environmental damage.

The partners in Beirut Emergency Fund: SEAL USA, LIFE, LebNet, Jamhour Alumni (US/Europe) and the Kuwait-America Foundation are responding rapidly and effectively, using contributions to the Beirut Emergency Fund to address these core issues, while constantly assessing current and emergent needs.

This is a time of uncertainty for all Lebanese. We are truly grateful for all our generous donors and dedicated partners on the ground, who are doing the work to help save lives. We are stronger together.

For tax deductible donations, please visit the fund’s page here: https://www.seal-usa.org/BeirutEmergencyFund

For any inquiry, please email us at info@lebnet.us