MICRO AND SMALL ENTERPRISES IN LEBANON

III.12.3 Value-added and geographic locationLocation plays an important part in determining the value-added of the enterprise, and is highest in thecapital of Beirut ($6,780/month) recording more than four times the average value-added perenterprise for the country as a whole ($1,493/month), and reflecting the fact that Beirut is the center ofeconomic activity in Lebanon. The lowest average value-added is recorded in the Bekaa($709/month), followed by North Lebanon ($754/month), both of which are the most marginalizedand poor areas in the country. The second most productive region is Mount Lebanon ($1,224/month),followed by South Lebanon ($1,070/month). In addition, Beirut has the highest average number ofengaged persons, followed by Mount Lebanon, Bekaa, North Lebanon, and the South.The highest value-added per worker is in Beirut ($1,265/month), followed by South Lebanon($566/month), Mount Lebanon ($499/month), North Lebanon ($436/month) and the Bekaa($333/month).It is interesting to note that the value-added per worker in Bekaa and north Lebanon is far below thenational average, which again reflects the predominance of poverty in these two regions.III.12.4 Value added and genderGender differences in value-added are noted. Female-run enterprises have lower value-added figuresthan male-run enterprises, with a ratio of female to male value-added equivalent to 58%. The valueaddedof female-run MSEs is $900/month compared to $1,541/month for males. This is in line withnational surveys which indicated that income and wages are lower for females than for males.However, the disparity becomes less severe when value-added per worker is taken into consideration,and in which the ratio of female value-added to male is 83%. In this regard, the monthly value-addedper worker for female-run MSEs is $460, compared to $542 for male-run MSEs.III.12.5 Value-added and ClustersAround 41% of surveyed MSEs declared that they have neighboring enterprises engaged in activitiesrelated to their business. However, the figure should be analyzed with precaution as it represents theperception of the respondent only, which might not reflect reality. In other words, the interviewee isthe person who decides if neighbor enterprises are linked/related to his/her line of business andtherefore if the enterprise is part of a cluster or not. In most cases, interlinkages between enterprisesare very weak since the majority of them target households as their main customer and do not producesemi-finished products to be used by other enterprises. The table below illustrates this perception(Table 20).Table 20: MSEs and ClustersAre there neighboring enterprises engaged in activities related to your business?Yes No TotalRespondents 1215 1726 2941% 41.3% 58.7% 100%Type of Cluster“normal” cluster Industrial estate TotalRespondents 1049 65 1214% 86.4% 13.6% 100%Do you benefit from neighbor enterprises?Yes No TotalRespondents 795 410 1205% 66% 34% 100%Only 13.6% of clustered MSEs are part of an industrial zone, and around two third of clustered MSEsdeclared that they benefit from neighbor enterprises. However this positive impact is not detected interms of value-added: only 204 out of 1215 clustered MSEs answered value-added related questions.29