Opening Speech by Raouf Youssef
Director, USAID Lebanon

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for inviting me to say a few words at this presentation of SRI International’s survey report on Lebanon’s Information and Communications Technologies Sector.  As you know, one of the prime complaints people make about Lebanon is that information about anything is very difficult to get, and if someone does have information – especially if it pertains to business and commerce – it is practically guarded as a State Secret, discounted as biased and inaccurate, or very expensive to get ones hands on.

At USAID, accurate and timely information is vital in helping us determine how we can best program our resources.  No doubt this is true for each of you as well. Whether you are in private business, work in government, for an NGO, a diplomatic mission, or multilateral organization, I think you will all agree of the importance of up-to-date information; and, how trying to make good business decisions in the absence of good data is all the more difficult and risky.

I think I can safely say that assembled here today are some of the best and brightest people in Lebanon, as it is widely recognized that the ICT sector attracts some of the most highly educated, motivated, talented, and entrepreneurial people in any country.  Collectively you represent what is widely recognized as Lebanon’s comparative advantage, in the world of business and commerce. We are grateful, not only that you have come to this press conference, but that so many of you responded in full to the questions in the ICT survey.  Although many chose not to, I prefer to view the glass as half-full rather than half empty, and I am extremely pleased that almost 150 companies did fully respond, making this the most comprehensive sector survey of its kind in recent years. 

This is especially gratifying considering that in 2002 Price Waterhouse and SRI conducted a similar survey questionnaire of the ICT sector, and only received 22 responses!  This tells me that as a growing and vital sector of this society and economy, you are more confident, open, and successful in your business endeavors, and you understand the positive value of collecting and reporting information about the sector you work in.  I hope this is trend continues throughout the nation.

In conclusion, I would like to thank SRI International for producing this report and hosting today’s press conference. I look forward to hearing the results of the survey, and congratulate all of you for what you are doing to make Lebanon an economically strong and stable environment.

Thank you very much.

Opening Speech by James Billings
Director, SRI Lebanon

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this press conference.  My name is James Billings, and I am the director of SRI International in Lebanon.  SRI is currently implementing a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development called Expanding Economic Opportunities in Lebanon. Our aim is to support and contribute to economic growth throughout the nation, in particular in rural Lebanon.  Our efforts and resources are in three sectors – Agribusiness, Tourism, and Information and Communications Technologies.  We are here this morning to talk about the ICT sector.

Our purpose for calling this press conference today is to present to the results of a survey we carried out in March and April of this year of Lebanon’s Information and Communications Technology sector.  In so doing, I would like to formally present the report to the Chairman of the Professional Computer Association, Mr. Jalal Fawaz, who requested that we conduct this survey; and to Mr. Raouf Youssef, the Director of USAID in Lebanon, who through Economic Opportunities grant to SRI, financed the survey. Following my brief remarks, I will invite each of them to say a few words.

After  Mr. Youssef and Mr. Fawaz, my colleague from SRI International in Washington, Mr. Sushanta Mohapatra, will make a 10-15 minute presentation of the main findings of the survey. Mr. Mohapatra compiled the survey data and was the principal author of the report.  He is an IT expert who has worked in India’s IT sector, and is now head of SRI’s innovative technologies group. 

Upon the conclusion of Sushant’s presentation, we will take questions and comments from the audience.

 I would like to thank the entire ICT sector in Lebanon for everything it is doing for the economy of this nation.  You certainly represent the best and brightest Lebanon has to offer. In particular my thanks go to the 146 companies who took the time to complete the survey questionnaire. It is because of this level of response from you that we are able to present a report that is statistically viable, and gives us a clear picture of the impact information and communications technologies have on Lebanon’s economy.

I would now like to ask Mr. Raouf Youssef, Director of USAID in Lebanon, to say a few words.

Thank you very much.

Opening Speech by Jalal Fawaz
President PCA

You Excellencies
Media Representatives
Ladies and Gentlemen

PCA is pleased to be among you this morning, to announce the results of the IT market survey that was conducted by Stanford Research Institute.

For the past few years, ICT companies, private and public stakeholders, were continuously searching for data on the Lebanese ICT market. The data is crucial for individuals, companies, NGO’s, and various researchers, whether for commercial business development and investment purposes, or to assess social and economic impact on the country’s development.

Realizing the importance of this issue, the PCA searched for a reliable and independent consulting institute to conduct a companies’ capability survey and approached the USAID for financial assistance to cover the consultant and survey costs.

The PCA was extremely pleased with USAID positive and supportive response and the selection of the reputable Stanford Research Institute (SRI) for executing the works.

I take this opportunity to thank SRI for their quality work, and extend our deep gratitude for USAID for its continuous support for PCA.

I would like to extend my thanks to the companies that participated in this survey. This effort would not have succeeded were it not to their input and their dedication to support it. I am proud with the high sense of community and belief in collective work that these companies have demonstrated. I am confident that the findings would prove useful to them too.

I also would like to invite those companies that did not participate to obtain copies of report and make use of it, asking them to support and participate in future efforts. This report of finding is public domain. It will be posted on www.pca.org.lb for download.

The PCA is very pleased with this exercise, which will be the first among others to follow that the PCA intends to initiate in order to gather more data layers about Lebanon ICT market.

Accordingly, we herby request various government agencies and ministries for their support in providing various ICT related and statistics available to them to facilitate future studies. We strongly urge them to make the said data public domain and ensure its regular publishing.

Thank you very much

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