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SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZE ENTERPRISES (SMEs)
The first economic sector targeted by our IT programme this
year, was small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The development and
consolidation of this sector is crucial to our economic growth
since it generates employment and strengthens the middle class.
SMEs require a favourable environment and specific conditions,
among which the access to information and technology, in order to
ensure their sustainability. Building and empowering SMEs' human
capacities remain critical for the survival of companies and of
the society: from July 26 to August 21, 2004, the Saradar IT
Programmeฎ put technology at the service of SMEs, providing free
IT training sessions to workers and craftsmen in Kfarchima and its
neighbouring villages: Wadi Chahrour, Betchay, Bseba and Haret el
Sitt.
Two new programmes launched in 2007 focused on the
development of the SME sector through:
1) The reactivation of the new E-Caravan project
As previously announced, Fondation Saradar
launched a new E-Caravan dedicated to South Lebanon. This new mobile
computer school is catering for a larger group of beneficiaries,
delivering a wider range of IT activities to meet the growing
needs of local populations affected by displacement and
devastation as a result of the July war.
2) The Berytech Technology and Health pole (BTH)
Fondation Saradar has partnered with Berytech, a Technology Pole
that provides incubation, support and hosting services to project
holders and growing SMEs in the fields of Technology, Multimedia,
Health, Innovation and Services. The role of Fondation Saradar in
this respect will be to extend the Saradar IT
Programmeฎ as a mobile IT
incubator (http://bth.berytech.org/)
The official launch ceremony of the Beirut Business Development
Center was held at the Berytech Technology & Health (BTH) premises
on April 27, 2007, under the patronage of the Minister of Economy
and the Ambassador of the European Union in Lebanon, and in the
presence of the BTH partners.
Berytech recently initiated two projects: a specialised program to
support start ups and the Micro Enterprise Acceleration Program
oriented towards the training of entrepreneurs on the use of new
technologies.
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