It was October 2019, and Lebanese citizens had reached the final straw. 

The government had revealed a plan to tax WhatsApp calls amid a series of events that made life increasingly difficult for people in Lebanon.

Banks in Lebanon shut down, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the 2020 Beirut explosion happened, the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, and the Lebanese liquidity crisis was further exacerbated. 

Now, the ongoing Gaza-Israel war is affecting Lebanon’s economy.

The prolonged economic and social crises in Lebanon and the rising unemployment rate in 2019 have led to talents working remotely for overseas companies.

“We heard rumblings of people having difficulty paying their bills. They were on the street, and jobs were tough to come by even before the banks failed. We had the idea of starting jobs for Lebanon to call upon the Lebanese diaspora to hire people from Lebanon as early as December 2019,” says Roy Baladi, CEO of Jobs for Lebanon and Jobs for Humanity.

By the time they launched in 2020, the job crisis was critical, with banks shutting down and COVID-19 impacting the country.

“The impact was instant. It was almost like you’re lighting a match in a place full of gasoline; it just blew,” he adds.

There is a database of 32,000 candidates on the platform, about a thousand of whom have landed jobs, says Baladi. 

After working at an international venture capital fund, Fadi Bizri, a computer science graduate with years of tech experience in and outside of Lebanon, has been approached by tech startups to help recruit developers in Lebanon. 

“They would tell me, ‘We cannot find good developers in Lebanon; it’s hard, and they’re all outside the country, expensive, etc.’ It would always surprise me, and I would tell them, ‘Well, why don’t you hire people like me who study computer engineering? Many universities in Lebanon teach computer science curriculums, but they always tell me they’re not good enough.”  

This prompted Bizri to co-found and serve as CEO of SE Factory, a three-month intensive coding boot camp in Beirut that teaches the technical and soft skills needed to become a professional full-stack web developer.

He also co-founded the HR Factory to employ people in Lebanon on behalf of clients outside Lebanon who want to avoid dealing with the complexities of hiring in Lebanon, such as opening bank accounts and taxes. 

“We put them on Social Security, do the taxes, open bank accounts, help them set up an office space if they want, sign with the office space provider, and help them provide private health insurance. We invoice the client once a month, they pay us, and we make sure everybody gets paid on the ground,” says Bizri. 

Tima Khalifeh, a senior account executive for a Dubai-based PR and Communications company, says, “Working remotely has been challenging in Lebanon, but it has not affected my job or productivity.” 

It has become a win-win situation for the workforce and companies seeking talent from Lebanon.

THE LEBANESE PERSPECTIVE

When Lebanon’s currency plummeted, people began to doubt the Lebanese economy’s future. Some followed in the footsteps of older generations, the Lebanese diaspora, who left Lebanon seeking opportunities outside to make ends meet. 

As geopolitical tensions continued to rise, many were pressured to leave the country for work abroad, but most people wished to remain and work from the comfort of their homes in Lebanon. 

Platforms like Jobs for Lebanon have been accommodating this growing demand for remote work. 

“If you pay someone $2,000-3,000, you’re likely to get a person who speaks at least two languages, you’re likely to get someone in a time zone that’s quite close to Europe, the education system is outstanding, and being Lebanese right now, by international standards, in poverty work twice as hard to not lose that job,” says Baladi. 

They need to be paid fairly and have opportunities to learn and grow. 

“We tell the clients you can always find cheaper than Lebanese talent for the same skill level, but the quality over cost ratio is very high because what you get is people who are very culturally adapted, who communicate well, are driven and proactive — all of these are not necessarily easy to find,” says Bizri.

Furthermore, what helps is that there is also a demand from companies. With increasing inflation and the cost of living, hiring has become expensive globally. A company could leverage similar talent in Lebanon for half or one-third of the price, which is equal to a fair wage in Lebanon. 

At the same time, while many people do want to leave Lebanon, they’re also aware of the high cost of living in cities like Dubai and London. 

Khalifeh, having lived abroad for four years, says, “I decided to go back to my home country where I get to live with my family, save money, and have emotional support. Being an expat was great while it lasted, but I prefer being in Lebanon.”

Working for companies overseas presents challenges for remote workers, but ways have been found to overcome them. Many get paid their salaries through family members in the diaspora, who receive the money on their behalf, and they figure out ways to pay off what they need with the help of the receiver.

“It was mostly the power outages, but since I started working at a co-working space, I no longer have this issue,” says Khalifeh.

Some say that while it would be ideal if the Lebanese government helped upskill and promote the remote workforce in Lebanon, this is not as realistic. 

However, a growing ecosystem of organizations, nonprofits, and private companies are coming together informally to help promote Lebanon.

“This is normally what the government does, promoting and hiring in the country. However, the private sector is doing it, and the momentum is good,” says Bizri.

A POSITIVE OUTLOOK

Remote workers in Lebanon are working for jobs from legal and accounting to marketing, sales, coding, and teaching. 

“Most jobs can be done behind a computer,” says Baladi, who holds a positive outlook for the remote workforce of Lebanon.  

Bizri shares that remote work helps plug natural complementarities between talent that is available and affordable and countries where there is a search for talent and where costs are very high.

“The approach is to be holistic because, in Lebanon, there are so many gaps. The mission is to help turn Lebanon into an outsourcing destination,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Khalifeh plans to continue working remotely in Lebanon. “I get the best of both worlds. My salary is enough since I live at home with my parents. Regardless of our uncertainty, there is no place like home.”