Award of the Technical Assistance and Business Consultancy project in Lebanon

The Litani River Basin, located in Lebanon, has been a focus of EU attention for years. The Basin accumulates a number of problems arising from corporate pollution, overexploitation of groundwater, indiscriminate dumping of solid waste and high water demand.

The European Union has worked steadily in recent years to improve water quality and ensure sustainable water resources management in the Basin. While significant progress has been made, there is still a long way to go before the Basin can be considered fully sustainable. The overall situation has been further aggravated by the current economic crisis in the country, which has contributed to the deterioration of the living conditions of the populations in the area. 

In 2020, our Multilateral Projects unit was awarded the project Technical Assistance to private companies to ensure compliance with environmental standards and business advisory services to SMEs in the Litani River Basin, funded by the European Union. The main objectives of the contract are twofold:

To reduce pollution generated by private enterprises along the Litani River Basin.

To contribute to business development in the region through the generation of sustainable employment.

Within the framework of this project, Euro-Funding Multilateral is working with small and medium-sized Lebanese companies from various sectors (dairy industry, agri-food, alcoholic beverages, chemical industry, etc.) to identify and design technical solutions that will enable them to comply with current environmental regulations and reduce pollution of the River. In this way, polluting entities receive subsidised assistance to identify the technical modifications they need to make to their production process in order to comply with the country’s environmental regulations. In addition, we supervise and monitor the implementation of the proposed solutions.

Within the framework of this project, and through the Association of Lebanese Industries (ALI), subsidies in kind are being granted to implement the necessary technical installations (photovoltaic panels, biodiscs, etc.) and the sustainability/business expansion measures required in each case.

Similarly, Euro-Funding Multilateral works with the companies by offering business advisory services to ensure the financial viability of their projects. Within the framework of the project, an assessment of the challenges faced by SMEs in the Litani River Basin has been carried out, comprehensive business analyses have been conducted (turnover, profitability, number of employees, etc.), improvements in production processes and business plans have been proposed, and programmes have been implemented to monitor the business solutions offered. Business intervention covers areas such as quality assurance and certifications, sales and marketing, research and development, access to finance, transformation plans, accounting, human capital management capacity building and finance, among others. The ultimate goal is to foster job creation in the region and improve the economic resilience of the local population at a particularly sensitive time for the country.

Euro-Funding Multilateral Projects is the unit specialised in the management of international cooperation projects, within the framework of development cooperation programmes financed by multilateral organisations and financial institutions. We provide global, innovative and sustainable solutions in order to improve the productive environment, institutional strengthening and sustainable growth worldwide.