28 Coworking Spaces in Lebanon

About Lebanon

Lebanon is a sovereign state in Western Asia bordered by Syria and Israel at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland. Awash in a rich ethnic diversity and history, the country has a strong cultural identity. Its history dates back over 7 thousand years (predating recorded history) with a maritime culture (think Canaanites and Phoenicians) and eventually fell under the Roman Empire. This is where religious differences have divided the country for centuries from Christianity to Arab Muslims. At times referred to as the "Switzerland of the East" and later the "Paris of the Middle East", Lebanon has the highest human development score in the Arab world (not counting the oil rich economies of the Persian Gulf).

Monopolization of Internet services and corruption has caused slow growth in Internet infrastructure in Lebanon. With the state owned Internet provider giving a limited slow service, locals prefer to use faster connections from illegal Internet providers. Authorities received a slap in the face when it was discovered that they were in fact using an illegal source with these illegal providers growing more advanced than what was thought. The illegal system ran off towers in isolated locations with bandwidth purchased from Turkey and Cyprus.

The locals believe that the government wants to keep a monopoly on the Internet in order to control its citizens via poor services and high costs that line the government's coffers, as there is no justification for the high charges or the slow speed of the government owned provider.

Until this situation changes somewhat, it is doubtful that there will be a digital startup hub happening in Lebanon any time soon.

To find a coworking space in Lebanon, browse through our interactive map below.