Startups
Page 4 / 4Startup news, founder stories, product launches, accelerators, and the ecosystem powering new ventures.
How to Run a Remote-First Startup in Lebanon
A practical operating system for founders: async workflows, redundancy standards, clean hiring models, and payment discipline.
Lebanon can be an advantage for remote-first startups—if you design for reality. This guide lays out a practical 2026 operating playbook: async-first workflows, power and internet redundancy standards, clear hiring and compliance models, disciplined payroll systems, and continuity planning that measures output—not online time.
Lebanon’s $150M Digital Acceleration Project could create a new GovTech market — if procurement moves fast
The World Bank-backed program aims to upgrade government digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, and priority e-services — potentially opening real demand for local vendors in identity, payments, SaaS, and security.
The World Bank approved $150 million for the Lebanon Digital Acceleration Project as part of a broader $350 million financing package. The program is designed to improve access to essential digital government services, strengthen secure hosting and cybersecurity, and upgrade the foundations needed for trusted digital transformation — creating a potential market-maker for GovTech and B2G vendors.
Lebanon Innovate: The Quiet Reboot of the Startup Ecosystem — Built on IP, Knowledge Transfer, and Institutions
Berytech’s EU-funded Lebanon Innovate program is betting on capability over hype: building tech-transfer offices, strengthening IP pathways, and creating durable bridges between universities and industry.
After years of boom-and-bust narratives, Lebanon’s startup ecosystem is rebuilding through structured programs that focus on fundamentals — intellectual property, technology transfer, and ecosystem capacity. Lebanon Innovate, coordinated by Berytech and funded by the European Union, signals a shift from “funding mania” to institution-building.
Export-First Is Lebanon’s New Startup Default as Local Funding Collapses
Seedstars says only 12 Lebanon-based startups raised $1.1 million in 2023 — a 95% drop — pushing founders to build lean and sell abroad from day one.
With local capital drying up, Lebanese founders are increasingly building “export-first” by necessity — operating like global teams with a Lebanon base rather than Lebanon-only businesses. New ecosystem data shows how sharply domestic funding has contracted, and why the default playbook now starts with external markets.
Lebanon’s Tech Exit Playbook: Six Deals That Show Lebanese Founders Can Still Win
From Anghami’s OSN majority-stake deal to MYKI’s sale to JumpCloud, a small set of Lebanon-linked acquisitions reveals a repeatable pattern: build exportable products, plug into regional distribution, and make yourself legible to strategic buyers.
Lebanon-linked startup exits are rare—but not imaginary. A timeline of six verified acquisitions shows what actually gets bought: cybersecurity and fintech infrastructure, regional media platforms with distribution, and niche deep-tech that sells into enterprise needs. The lesson for 2026 founders is less about “raising bigger” and more about building products that fit strategic buyers’ roadmaps.
MENA startups raised $563 million in January 2026 — UAE dominated the month
Capital was heavily concentrated in the UAE, driven by two mega deals: Mal’s $230 million round and Property Finder’s $170 million investment.
MENA startups raised $563 million across 42 deals in January 2026, with the UAE capturing $426.3 million across 12 deals. The month’s total was shaped by two outsized rounds — Mal ($230 million) and Property Finder ($170 million) — highlighting how funding is concentrating in fewer, larger checks.
