Berytech
Berytech Technological Pole is the first Lebanese business development centre, providing hi-tech hosting, incubation, training and counselling to SMEs. It has been spearheaded by the Université Saint-Joseph in 2001, and has become a national reference for SME support, overseeing the establishment of tens of start-ups and created more than hundreds of jobs in technology sectors such as IT and multimedia.
Berytech brings innovation, information and business together while helping people on the road to self-employment by assisting existing and aspiring entrepreneurs to identify new projects and business opportunities, develop their entrepreneurial skills, and help them access information, local and international networks as well as funding.
Services
Berytech places at the service of entrepreneurs next generation business facilities with a conducive environment. The incubation and office modules are scalable, from hot-desks to large self-contained units, responding to different developmental stages of growing companies. Resident companies benefit from a shared infrastructure allowing them to operate from the first day with low start-up costs. More than a smart building, Berytech places at their disposal a vibrant and diverse enterprise community where entrepreneurs can inspire and support each other and where help and advice is a phone call away. Berytech identifies training needs and implements a number of entrepreneurial training modules periodically for existing and aspiring entrepreneurs to hone their business skills and assist them in the start-up and development phases.
European Business Network
Berytech is a full-member of EBN (European Business Network) and is accredited with the BIC (Business Innovation Centre) label by the European Commission in conformity with 18 excellence criteria for incubators. To date, about 200 centers in 22 countries around Europe have acquired the BIC label and Berytech is the first and only center in the Middle-East to receive it. The EBN network provides networking and visibility for small innovative firms, as well as access to international markets.
Special Programs
Berytech is host to the first Internet Exchange Point (IXP) in Lebanon. The Beirut IX allows local Internet traffic from different Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to move through a local bandwidth, at faster speed and at a lower cost for the service providers. It has resulted into a more reliable local bandwidth, optimized international speeds and an overall improved quality of service.
Berytech is the local partner for an initiative spearheaded by Philips Corporation and MBR Foundation, which consists of a competitive process to stimulate young local talent to develop solid business concepts supported by advanced technology innovations. Winning innovators will have the opportunity to develop their business case during a 6-month internship within Philips’ High Tech Campuses, R&D and incubator facilities, all expenses paid.
Berytech is an accredited Micro-Enterprise Acceleration training center aimed to serve micro-entrepreneurs, small business owners and other professionals who are interested in knowing more about the benefits of using ICT in addressing their day-to-day business challenges.
Berytech is a Microsoft BizSpark network partner: BizSpark provides fast, easy access to current full-featured Microsoft development tools and production licenses of server products; professional technical support from Microsoft; and connections to a global community of business experts who can help guide startups through the hurdles of growing their business.
Berytech Technology & Health
In a desire to reach a critical mass and broaden the range of sectors supported in Technology and Health, Saint-Joseph University has invested in another tailor-made incubator / business hosting centrally located in downtown Beirut, which has been inaugurated in 2007, with a grant contribution from the European Union and support from the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade.
Berytech Fund
Berytech set up also a seed capital Fund, which is the most suitable early-stage financing for startups. The “Berytech Fund” will invest in privately negotiated transactions identified and screened by Berytech. The Fund has a capitalization of 6 million USD, and Cisco Systems and Intel Capital 1 are among the various shareholders 2. The investment ticket ranges from 100kUSD to 1MUSD with a life of 7 years, and the Fund is to invest in approximately 8 to 10 portfolio companies in technology, primarily operating or planning to operate inside the Berytech technology pole.