Business Incubation Association in Tripoli (BIAT)

Duration of the project
July 2006 - December 2008

Funding
European Union (EU)
Ministry of Economy and Trade

Implementing partners
RMF
Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Tripoli (CCIAT)
The Mutual Fund for the Members of the Chambers of Commerce Industry & Agriculture in Lebanon

>> Click here and visit the BIAT's website <<

Description
The BIAT is a prototype for public and private institutional alliance in an attempt to adopt policy change and assist investors in their endeavour to create businesses, improve functionality and achieve sustainability; a step forward towards economic vitality and wealth creation in North Lebanon. Existing SME's as well as fresh entrepreneurs in the commercial, industrial and service sectors are benefiting from services tailored to match their most pressing needs, thus enhancing production, efficiency, sales and profitability. The 4000 sq m facility in the CCIAT vicinity, is adequately structured and equipped to host incubates, operated by a carefully selected dedicated, competent and resilient management team and Board of Directors,  is an "entrepreneurial service station" offering rental space, financial advice, management consultancy, market research, training and network resources.

Beneficiaries
Direct Beneficiaries
Entrepreneurs that are having their profitability and their capacity to adapt to the competition and to the economic environment changes, enhanced. Around 17 entrepreneurs are or have benefited.
Small and Medium size Enterprises (SME) employees: They had a guaranty to keep their jobs and the chance to be promoted and earn higher wages.

Indirect Beneficiaries
Local existing entrepreneurs also benefit from the project, being customers or suppliers to the BIAT’s incubatees.
Staff employed by the project: 15 persons (full time employees as well as experts delivering training sessions or technical assistance) are benefiting from the project.

Objectives
The 3 partners are joined by 8 institutions having the same vision, and who form the consortium specifically designed to achieve the overall objective which consists of promoting the creation and/or extension of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in North Lebanon to enable jobs creation and contribute to economic growth. This region has a great potential but suffers from a lack of support and other existing difficulties related to access to capital, financial expertise and reliable information. These factors have often caused reluctance in investments even in the existence of ideas with high growth potential.

The specific objective was:
To create a dedicated, highly skilled and experienced team that is helping incubates in their daily management issues as well as providing them with appropriate technical assistance when needed.
To build a well-equipped complex where entrepreneurs can rend office and/or industrial space.

Activities
The BIAT offers a wide range of services (training program, pre-entry services, financial expertise, etc) with the aim of allowing SMEs to develop and to survive in a sustainable way.

Pre-entry services
The BDC will offer some services to SMEs prior to their entry; mainly the newly developed or in-the-process of being created enterprises. These services will be basically related to feasibility studies, market researches, the design of financing plans and legal guidance. Those services will be charged to the applicants; however, the payment modalities will be studied on a case-by-case basis.

The BIAT management is responsible for advice on the training needs and requirements within companies, highlighting the weaknesses in order to select the training subject which is mostly in demand.

A specialized training plan and training material is set forth by a foreign expert with focus on the following 3 programs:
a- Entrepreneurial Skills (ES)
b- Special Purpose Courses (SPC)
c- Technical Training (TT)

Incubation
Primarily, incubation consists of renting office and/or industrial space to start-up or for existing entrepreneurs. The rental rate is set according to the market rate observed in Tripoli. A margin is added to include the costs of utilities provided (Internet, administrative equipment, etc) as well as the costs of the services provided by the staff and the short-term experts. Common spaces include meeting rooms, a kitchen, a workstation with Internet access as well as the use of the CCIAT conference hall.

Networking informal and formal
One of the most important advantages of BIAT is the benefit that is gained from the network created by the consortium. The consortium was formed by three partners and 8 associates in alliance with municipalities, universities, NGOs. The CCIAT has a large network which links people from different backgrounds and sectors. The role of the staff is to develop this network and to take advantage of data, business contacts, potential clients/providers and experts for the SMEs.

Every month an informal business lunch is held at the BIAT premises gathering the incubates and the consortium members’ representatives. In that way, the BIAT is a meeting place where information is exchanged and contacts are made.

Financial expertise & accounting
One of the business advisors is a financial expert. He supports incubatees with all financial issues (feasibility study, cash flow projections, business plan to apply for commercial bank loans, etc). He is also responsible for the BIAT accounting and cash flow projections. These services are specifically important since SMEs cannot afford to pay for these services during their initial phases.

Help accessing capital (bank loans, kafalat)
In addition to the financial expertise and the support in all accounting and financial sectors, one of the main issues for the BIAT is to help SMEs access loans. The lack of capital or financing is one of the most important issues facing entrepreneurs to start or develop their businesses. The BIAT staff, with their network initiative, facilitates the access to loans, venture capitalists and other investors. At the international level, it was observed that businesses developed in a Business Center had higher rates of survival. It is expected that such centers in Lebanon will facilitate financing to SMEs, thus increasing survival rates.

Marketing and sales expertise
Although a major factor for development, marketing services are not affordable by new SMEs. Packaging, labeling, pricing, distribution channels, market niches, advertising strategies, export requirements, etc… all require specialized know-how that entrepreneurs often do not have the time for. BIAT staff, especially the marketing experts, provide the assistance and the know-how required by incubates in this domain. The BIAT also contract short-term experts when the situation requires specialized expertise.

Technical assistance
The BIAT directly or indirectly provides technical assistance to the entrepreneurs when needed. The BIAT staff gradually constituted a network of experts. With the growing complexity of technologies, more and more problems faced cannot be solved by generalists but require the intervention of specialized experts. In such cases, the role of the BIAT is not to provide direct assistance but to be able to identify the suitable experts who are able to deliver practical results to the entrepreneurs within a reasonable time.

Legal assistance
The BIAT have contracted a legal advisor who assists start-ups with their legal procedures such as company registration and requirements. This service is included in the package provided to the BIAT incubatees. However, more sophisticated or specific services are charged to the incubatees.