United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia FINAL REPORT_01.2018 FINAL REPORT ACTIVITY No. M424 The Future of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in the Arab Region How Complementarity among Arab Countries Can Achieve the UN SDGs JANUARY 2018 Beirut Research and Innovation Center Hassan Ghaziri Tanya Dib i | P a g e United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia FINAL REPORT_01.2018 1. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Objective of this Work ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Methodology .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Entrepreneurship Ecosystem: Analysis Framework .................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Situation Analysis in the World and the Arab Region ............................................................................................................................................................... 3 The Global Entrepreneurial Economy ................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Assessing the Arab Entrepreneurial Ecosystem ........................................................................................................................................................................ 4 Access to Markets and Ease of Doing Business .................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Case of Lebanon ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Case of Morocco ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Case of Oman..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Education, Universities and Human Capital/Skills ................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Case of Lebanon ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Case of Morocco ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Case of Oman..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Funding and Access to Capital Markets ................................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Case of Lebanon ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Case of Morocco ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Case of Oman..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Stakeholders’ Perspective ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Lessons from International Entrepreneurial Ecosystems ......................................................................................................................................................... 12 France: Bpifrance ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Malaysia ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 ii | P a g e United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia FINAL REPORT_01.2018 Findings and Recommendations .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 13 Recommendations for Specific Components of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem ................................................................................................................. 13 Recommendations for Specific Actors ................................................................................................................................................................................ 15 2. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Objective of this Work ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 19 3. Preliminary Definitions: The Entrepreneur, the Start-up, and the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem ........................................................................................... 19 Defining the Term Entrepreneur through its Historical Evolution .......................................................................................................................................... 19 Entrepreneurship vs. Small Business // Entrepreneur vs. Small Business Owner ............................................................................................................... 20 What is a Start-up and How Does It Differ from an SME? ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 What Exactly is an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem? ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 4. Methodology ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 26 Description of the Framework of Analysis .............................................................................................................................................................................. 26 The Pillars of the Entreprenurial Ecosystem ....................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Focus Group Approach ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 29 5. Situation Analysis in the World and the Arab Region ......................................................................................................................................................... 30 The Global Entrepreneurial Economy ................................................................................................................................................................................. 30 Challenges of the Arab Region ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 32 SDGs Guidance ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32 6. Assessing the Arab Entrepreneurial Ecosystem