ICC Centre of Entrepreneurship
ICC Centres of Entrepreneurship in the Middle East
The ICC-ESCWA Centre of Entrepreneurship is an initiative co-led by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) to prepare and mobilize the next generation of entrepreneurs in the Arab region.
For more information about the hub in Beirut, please contact
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Joelle YazbeckContact by email
How does the ICC ESCWA Centre of Entrepreneurship work?
Located at the United Nations House in Beirut, Lebanon, the Centre works to develop the skills of young people who face uncertain employment prospects, mentor start-ups and local entrepreneurs, and improve the livelihoods of citizens in Lebanon and the Arab region. It pairs local entrepreneurs with experts from the United Nations and ICC to provide virtual mentoring and coaching and provides local entrepreneurial initiatives with a platform for regional and international exposure.
Community Workshops
The ICC-ESCWA Centre of Entrepreneurship hosts community workshops to look at the structural challenges facing emerging and developing entrepreneurial markets in the region. The purpose of these workshops is to bring together different stakeholders from the region to identify, understand, and address the critical issues facing business in the region.

Tech Scaleup MENA Preliminary Report 2021
In April 2021, the ICC-ESCWA Centre of Entrepreneurship and Mind the Bridge published the Tech Scaleup MENA – 2021 Preliminary Report, a landmark overview of the of the MENA tech scaleup ecosystem.
Helping Lebanon rebuild
Each year, the ICC-ESCWA Centre of Entrepreneurship organizes a series of talks for entrepreneurs, chambers of commerce, businesses, banks, and governments, to share ideas, exchange experiences, and develop solutions to the structural challenges facing developing markets in the region. By bringing together leaders, businesses and entrepreneurs, the ICC-ESCWA Centre of Entrepreneurship aims establish a community of innovative professionals to challenge convention and transform the future of business.
Who are the strategic partners of the Beirut Hub’s strategic partners?
The Beirut Hub is supported by a wide variety of strategic partners to ensure that local entrepreneurs and start-ups have access to world-class resources, tools, and expertise.

Berytech, Beirut’s ecosystem for entrepreneurs
As Beirut’s ecosystem for entrepreneurs, Berytech is working with the ICC Centre of Entrepreneurship – Beirut Hub to scale up start-ups in the region. Leveraging Berytech’s proven expertise in supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, funding advice, mentoring, and counselling, the Beirut Hub provides start-ups and entrepreneurs with the required knowledge to scale their operations globally.
Supports the ICC-ECWAS Centre of Entrepreneurship on a wide variety of projects related to digitization of SMBs in the region. As part of this partnership, ICC delivers on the ground support for Facebook’s #LoveLocal initiative – designed to provide additional support to SMEs in the MENA region, to help them pivot to digital and grow. The campaign amplifies the voice of SMEs, while raising awareness about their stories and challenges. To find out more, visit Facebook’s website

Mind the Bridge
An innovation advisory firm partnering with the Beirut Hub to help scale, map, and empower start-ups in the MENA region.

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