ompanies enter the outsourcing business through a variety of avenues. “Outsourcing is mainly in the services sector and it is one of the required solutions to attract fresh dollars to the country,” said , Chairman of the Lebanese Franchise Association (LFA). It is growing as part of a global trend driven by the Covid- 19’s lockdowns and restrictions. It is also partly triggered by cheaper labor cost resulting from the collapse of the lira. The supply side consists of local companies and freelancers offering their services to foreign companies. It is also growing due to escalating unemployment in the country. A nonprofit ‘Lebanon Outsourcing Initiative’ was established by the outsourcing firm ‘Bridge. Outsource. Transform’ (B.O.T) with the support of Alfanar foundation and the global network of Lebanese professionals LIFE. It had launched its platform at the end of January 2021 with a directory of 80 local companies and freelancers. This number jumped to 200 at the end of February 2021. The initiative started its activities by first targeting the Lebanese diaspora to encourage it to outsource to Lebanon instead of resorting to outsourcing hubs in India and Asian countries. It is an easy way to enter global markets because of the emigrants’ empathy towards their country and their eagerness to help, according to , Managing Director of B.O.T. , General Manager of ‘Outsource to Lebanon’, an outsourcing intermediary, said: “We started nearly one year and a half ago and our business has been growing ever since.” According to Karam, there is an opportunity for the country to position itself as a competitive outsourcing destination in terms of prices, communication and technical skills, and resilience.
