An economy ravaged by crises turns to small businesses to rebuild the country
An economy ravaged by crises turns to small businesses to rebuild the country
Profits have plummeted since the start of the war in Gaza, piling more pressure on Lebanon’s small business owners as they fight to stay afloat.
Weekends are usually busy at Atelier Hartouka, a popular boutique just around the corner from Beirut’s fashionable Badaro district. Before the war in Gaza, it was a place Lebanese socialites frequented, rubbing shoulders with foreign shoppers as they browsed hand-made bags and embroidered jackets. “Our clothes are one-offs – people know they won’t walk out and bump into someone else wearing the same piece,” says Rasha Abdul-Hussein Shukr, who has built Atelier Hartouka into a successful social enterprise with her colleague Nahida Ali Tawbe.
When it opened in 2018, the boutique employed just three women to make their clothes, bags, and accessories by hand. Five years later, they have 45 women on their books, many of whom live in refugee camps or low-income neighborhoods, where employment opportunities, particularly for women, are scarce. “We give them the raw materials, and they do the work from home,” Shukr, 37, explains.
Working in the NGO sector for over ten years, she and Tawbe saw firsthand the limitations of traditional empowerment programs for women, which taught technical skills like sewing and embroidery but failed to provide jobs afterward. They set up Atelier Hartouka to complement this vocational training and provide female artisans with regular commissions. “They rely on us for work. There’s nothing else out there,” Tawbe says.
Five years of consecutive crises have ravaged the Lebanese economy, hitting low-income communities the hardest. Currency devaluation and skyrocketing inflation contributed to the collapse of the banking system, fuelling unemployment and pushing many workers to seek opportunities abroad. Then, the COVID crisis hit and ushered in a fresh round of financial woes as businesses closed and food shortages spread. As vast swathes of the population sank below the poverty line, a massive blast at Beirut port shook the city in August 2020, reinforcing the failures of a corrupt ruling class that has prioritized self-enrichment at the expense of the state.
With foreign rescue packages contingent on reforms that fail to materialize and the government frozen in political stalemate, progress must come from within. “We believe in a circular economy—it is small business that will rebuild the country,” Shukr says.
Local enterprise provides employment, bolsters the private sector, and enables people to confront these challenges themselves, which is why Ideas Beyond Borders supports businesses like Atelier Hartouka. “This isn’t about fixing Lebanon’s problems by launching another new program and injecting it with cash. It’s about empowering ordinary people with small sums to implement sustainable solutions that impact entire communities, says Faisal Al Mutar, President of Ideas Beyond Borders.
In 2021, Shukr and Tawbe quit their jobs in the non-profit sector to focus full-time on expanding Atelier Hartouka and the number of vulnerable female artisans it supports. Last October, they placed their orders for the winter season ahead, anticipating the usual uplift in sales over the festive period. Three months on, they are going over their figures in despair. Days after finalizing their winter stock list, Hamas launched its gruesome attack on Israel, and a terrifying retaliation ensued as Israeli forces began a relentless bombardment of the Gaza strip that has killed over 24,000 Palestinians to date. Lebanon has hovered on the brink of war ever since.
“In this harsh climate, we are hardly able to sustain the business. Our cause and mission is to support the women, but now people have stopped buying,” says Tawbe. A month into the war, their sales were down by 85 percent. As Christmas approached, they saw a 50 percent drop compared to previous years, at what should be one of the busiest times of the year. The result was a vastly reduced budget for new materials and fewer commissions to sustain the women - at a time when there is little support for Lebanon’s poorest. “It’s a huge burden, we feel responsible for them,” Tawbe adds.
Across Lebanon, businesses have ground to a halt. Cafes and restaurants that once bustled with guests now stand empty as people wait for a war that feels increasingly likely as Hezbollah trade strikes across the border with Israel. Last month, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warned that Lebanon stands to lose up to four percent of its GDP due to the ongoing war in Gaza. “Every day we are witnessing the profound impacts of the conflict on the lives and livelihoods of the people of South Lebanon and beyond,” said Melanie Hauenstein, Resident Representative, Lebanon, UNDP, pointing to the need for “immediate socio-economic and livelihood support” to sustain vulnerable communities.
Social enterprises like Atelier Hartouka do this every day, but with sales down, they are struggling to maintain momentum. “It was really stressful up to mid-November, but then we decided to do something about it,” says Shukr. Together, they re-activated the boutique’s social media page and redoubled efforts to boost sales. With increased capacity and investment, they could expand online and tap into foreign markets, but for now, they are focused on staying afloat.
An Innovation Hub grant from Ideas Beyond Borders has come at the right time, allowing them to provide 20 women with new commissions. “The grant helped us support the most vulnerable women we work with. A $100 or $150 commission is a big boost in this climate. They were really happy,” Shukr adds.
One of the women is Najah, a single mother whose husband is deceased and uses the money from sewing commissions to put her daughter through university. Another is Fadia, who needs urgent surgery to remove a cyst on her uterus. As a Syrian, she receives little help from NGOs, whose funding to support refugees in Lebanon has largely dried up. “We put a plan together for her to secure the amount needed by taking on additional work to afford the surgery. There are many stories like this,” says Tawbe.
Many of her friends have left Lebanon, weary of trying to rebuild their lives in a climate of perpetual crisis. “Every time the situation improves, something major happens, and it gets worse,” Shukr says. But both agree they will remain in the country. “Of course, we will stay till the end. We have the ladies to think of, and despite everything, we believe in Lebanon.”
This article was written by Olivia Cuthbert.