Social and green entrepreneurship as well as an ecosystem of supporting programmes are on the rise in Lebanon. So far there has been little coordination between the actors and opportunities available for social and green innovators. COVID-19 circumstances make it even harder to coordinate and provide a space where ecosystem actors meet young innovators to create and grow new ventures. The EcoSwitch Coalition, funded by The Asfari Foundation, is implemented by Fondation Diane and cewas, and is within the framework of the Lebanese Switchers Support National Partnership, as part of the SwitchMedGreen Entrepreneurship Programme. The Coalition fosters the coordination of green ecosystem organizations and opportunities for entrepreneurs in Lebanon. Since Early 2021, over 14 key members of the entrepreneurship support community have been meeting regularly, creating a Community of Practice, hosting several green entrepreneurship labs for entrepreneurs to network with ecosystem actors and investors, as well as establishing a Green Entrepreneurship portal making information accessible centrally for innovators. For more information, contact Johanna.vontoggenburg@cewas.org.
The coalition already organised many events, to name a few; Entrepreneurship Lab 1 and 2 followed by Storytelling Impact where 2 of the many participants were selected for a prize for their excellent pitches: Hala Balaa from PulP, which uses unrecyclable paper waste to produce papercrete for the construction and architecture sectors, and Tereza Farah from Lebanon waste management, are cycling company that collects, sorts and re-uses dry waste includingStyrofoam and offers services such as ZERO-waste Events.
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