Lebanon’s recent past has been turbulent. Since 2019, after years of mismanagement, Lebanon has experienced a steady and significant economic deterioration alongside political turmoil, including the collapse of the country’s financial system as well as the devaluation of the Lebanese pound (LBP). The situation has since been exacerbated by COVID-19, the Beirut port blast, and high international commodity prices driven by the conflict in Ukraine.1 By the end of 2020, the majority of the population was estimated to have fallen under the poverty line, and 74% had increased in vulnerability from 2019. Among Syrian refugees in Lebanon, 89% had incomes that fell below the value of the survival minimum expenditure basket (SMEB). As the economic situation now becomes more dire, government and development actors are in need of innovative and impactful solutions to push back against this systemic deterioration.
Microenterprises are a critical engine for livelihoods across Lebanon. To better understand how the crisis has impacted microenterprises, Mercy Corps commissioned an exploratory study led by Agora Global with support from Economic Development Solutions (EDS). This study explores the range of impacts on microenterprises, examines different recovery trajectories, and tests hypotheses around the key determinants of firms’ resilience. Firms were purposively sampled based on their assessed performance during the crisis: thrivers, which maintained or increased their trade volume and revenue; divers that lost a substantial portion of trade, and survivors, firms which lost some revenue but continued to function approximately as before.
