Call for experts – Spark – Incubation Phase

Berytech is a leading organization in the Entrepreneurial Eco-system in Lebanon, that aims to provide a conducive environment for the creation and development of startups, through incubation, business support, counseling, funding, networking, and company hosting, hence taking part in the economic revival of the country, participating in wealth and job creation, and retaining graduates and high-level skills in Lebanon.

About Spark:

SPARK is a project funded by the European Commission. Its objective is to support the development of Ecosystem Players startup ecosystems, creating an environment conducive to innovation and scaling up. The project has a particular focus on green entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship. 

The objective is for the expert to map the Innovation Support Organizations (ISOs) ecosystem in Lebanon working on green and social initiatives, assess their business support services and capacity in the field, in addition to their needs. Innovation Support Organizations (ISOs) may include tech hubs, accelerators, incubators, university entrepreneurship centers and organizations. The outcome of the mapping will be used to design and implement a tailored Capacity building program for ISOs to better support the development of and growth of social and green ventures.

The expert will conduct desk research, validate the findings through in-depth interviews with the stakeholders and develop a comprehensive report on the ecosystem players in Lebanon.

Deliverables:

The Expected deliverable for the mapping is a comprehensive report that includes the below:

1. Outreach and Selection of potential beneficiaries: The expert will be responsible for developing selection criteria for the capacity-building program and conducting outreach to identify potential BSOs, coaches, and startups working on green and social initiatives in the target region out of the identified BSOs and validate their willingness to participate in the program. The final report shall identify the top 10 BSOs (5 social and 5 green) for the capacity-building training and include recommendations for their participation.  
2. Needs Assessment and understanding of Green and Social Stakeholders in Lebanon: The report should provide an overview of the green and social stakeholders in Lebanon including their roles, offerings, and the methodologies they are using when managing business support programs, and their impact on the ecosystem. Needs assessment should consider their location, areas of interventions, activities, target focus, and growth stage support, needs, and challenges.
3. Needs Assessment Questions: The report should include a set of needs assessment questions that can be used to identify the gaps of the stakeholders and the challenges they are facing in the ecosystem.
4. Assessment of Organizational Capacity: The report should assess the organizational capacity of the stakeholders in the ecosystem and the analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the stakeholders including their skills and abilities to use new methodologies and apply it to their programs and with their beneficiaries

​​​​​​​Methodology:

1. Desk Research: The expert will conduct desk research to gather information on the green and social stakeholders in Lebanon.
2. In-depth interviews with the selected Stakeholders: The expert will validate the findings from the desk research by conducting in-depth interviews with the selected stakeholders.
3. Report Writing: The expert will use the findings to produce a comprehensive report on the ecosystem in Lebanon.

Timeline

The project is expected to start by May 22nd and end by June 12th

Deliverable Deadline

#1. Conceptualization, work plan, and drafting questionnaire

#2. Interviewing key people in identified Research centers & filling the questionnaire.

#3. Results analysis, report, and deliverables

• Relevant educational background in fields such as business management, entrepreneurship, Research
• A minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in conducting research and analysis.
• Strong knowledge and understanding of the Lebanese BSOs ecosystem  
• Experience in conducting research following the provided methodology,
• Experience in collecting data and conducting analysis, be able to draw finding and recommendations.