MICRO AND SMALL ENTERPRISES IN LEBANON

Table 14: Distribution of Employees According to the Size of Enterprise and Sector of Activity 8Sector TotalAgriculture 27,786 2,695 1,320 1,346 373 299 250 34,068Service 199,870 22,358 11,687 10,592 4,619 5,532 2,750 257,407Construction 3,100 1,792 1,102 1,622 745 748 2,750 11,858Industry 46,048 23,779 14,747 15,939 8,270 6,130 7,750 122,662Leisure 17,794 4,893 4,278 4,727 1,565 748 1,250 35,253Other 50,566 15,141 18,778 28,394 21,680 21,528 23,250 179,336Total 345,164 70,658 51,910 62,618 37,250 34,983 38,000 640,584Table 15: Distribution of Enterprises According to the Size of Enterprise and Location 9Mohafazat Missing Total numberBeirut 81.23% 8.44% 3.75% 1.83% 0.60% 0.26% 0.24% 3.65% 24,584MountLebanon 86.36% 6.15% 2.23% 1.15% 0.30% 0.15% 0.09% 3.56% 72,989North 91.15% 3.82% 1.07% 0.51% 0.13% 0.06% 0.02% 3.24% 44,270Bekaa 93.27% 3.34% 1.08% 0.61% 0.12% 0.07% 0.04% 1.47% 26,784South 89.44% 4.09% 1.20% 0.67% 0.18% 0.09% 0.04% 4.30% 19,201Nabatieh 92.22% 3.21% 0.98% 0.39% 0.15% 0.00% 0.00% 3.05% 10,271Total 88.36% 5.17% 1.83% 0.93% 0.26% 0.12% 0.08% 3.26% 198,099On the gender front, women participation is estimated at 22% of the working population (1997), and29% of permanent employees. However, variations are noted with the size of enterprises, wherewomen participation is positively correlated with the size of the enterprise, and is highest in mediumscale enterprises. Variation also exists based on enterprise economic activity, with increasedparticipation in textile, leather, and garment industries (62.8% in enterprises having 24-49 workers) 10 .The overall environment in Lebanon provides several points of strength that can be utilized toenhance the role of MSEs in poverty alleviation and employment generation. These include a liberaleconomy that provides an opportunity for the development of the private sector; a flourishing bankingsector that could be used for strengthening MSEs if a favorable macro-economic environment is inplace; a rich human resources base; and the existence of a number of government interventions todevelop the MSE sector.On the other hand, the MSE sector faces several constraints that should be overcome if the sector is toachieve its optimal utility. These include the increasing move towards liberalization and globalization,hence a decline in protectionist initiatives; the lack of access to new technologies; limited access tofinancial/credit services from formal and informal sectors; as well as the inadequacy of basicinfrastructure; the relatively high costs of inputs and a shortage of skilled labor in some professions.In addition, Lebanon lacks a regulatory framework that organizes the work of MSEs which currentlyoperate under obsolete laws.III. The Survey: Main FindingsIII.1 Size and sector of activityLebanon is dominated by enterprises employing less than ten workers. This fact has been validatedby the current research, as 97% of the surveyed enterprises were found to employ less than tenindividuals. The survey also found that 46.8% of surveyed enterprises employ 2-4 workers, whileenterprises with only one employee account for almost 45% of the sample, whereas enterprisesemploying 10-49 workers account for only 2.7% of the sample. The dominance of the informal one-8Census of Buildings and Establishments, Central Administration for Statistics, 1996 and Consultation & Research Instituteestimates9Census of Buildings and Establishments, Central Administration for Statistics, 199610These conclusions pertain to employees and not entrepreneurs.15