MICRO AND SMALL ENTERPRISES IN LEBANON

efforts for reconstruction of basic infrastructure and services in regions outside Beirut. Anexamination of the rate of enterprise establishment in the last two years (i.e. 2003-2004) indicates alag in MSE establishment in almost all regions, with the exception of Beirut and Mount Lebanon.This can be explained by the increased attraction of tourism and services facilities provided mostly inthese two regions (Figure 4).III.3 Geographic distribution of MSEs and other variantsLocation affects the distribution of MSEs. Generally speaking, more developed regions tend to havelarger enterprises, while poverty stricken underdeveloped regions are more than proportionallydominated by micro enterprises.As shown in the figure below, the share of surveyed enterprises with one worker only is 32.7% inBeirut (of the total in Beirut) compared to 56.1% and 47% of those surveyed in North Lebanon andthe Bekaa respectively, and is lower than the national profile (45% of surveyed enterprises have oneworker only). Furthermore, Beirut and Mount Lebanon are the only regions that have above averageconcentration of 10-49 category and 5-9 MSEs. Similarly, 16% of Beirut enterprises employ 10-49workers, compared to 2.8% in North Lebanon and 4.5% in South Lebanon. The Figure belowillustrates that North Lebanon has the largest concentration of single enterprises, as well as thesmallest concentration of 5-9 enterprises.The above indicates the high correlation between the size of the enterprise and the development of theregion. Indeed, more populated and accessible poles tend to attract more and bigger enterprises, whichis the case for Mount Lebanon and Beirut where most MSEs are concentrated – 59.2% of MSEs inLebanon. Such figures reflect that these regions represent the economic center of Lebanon. In fact,Mount Lebanon and Beirut have a higher access to infrastructure, services, financing, and markets,while North Lebanon is the most disadvantaged region of the country with highest poverty ratesFigure 5).Figure 5: Distribution of MSEs According to Size and LocationTotal44.9%46.8%5.6%2.7%South44.9%50.6%3.6% 0.9%North56.1%40.1%2.8% 1.0%Bekaa47.0%47.2%3.4% 2.4%Mount-lebanon41.2%47.9%6.9%4.0%Beirut32.7%50.7%11.7%4.9%0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%1 2-4 5-9 10-49III.4 Seasonality of Activity of MSEsThe survey showed that most MSEs have a permanent activity, operate in one location only, and donot employ partnership ventures.Most of the surveyed MSEs have permanent activities (97%), while a mere 3% are seasonal or withtemporary activities. In addition, only 5.9% of MSEs are engaged in a secondary activity. Thispercentage increases with the size of the MSE, in other terms employers having one employeeaccount for 5 percent of MSEs with a secondary activity, while those having 10 to 49 employeesmake up to 14 percent. However, the majority of enterprises having a secondary activity remainwithin the same primary sector.19