BEIRUT Oct.19

The Mowgli Foundation and the UK Lebanon Tech Hub (UKLTH), an initiative between Banque du Liban and the British Embassy in Lebanon, have signed an agreement to train 24 selected professionals through Mowgli's Mentor Training programme. The professionals will act as mentors for the UK Lebanon Tech Hub International Accelerator programme companies. The mentoring relationship will provide entrepreneurs with access to business and life mentorship for an entire year.

The first phase of the agreement will involve training and development for 24 Lebanon-based mentors equipping them with tools and techniques to set the foundations for healthy guidance-based mentoring relationships. The second phase will include a series of quarterly learning and mentoring sessions with the UKLTH entrepreneurs over the 12-month period. The goal of this agreement is to support local entrepreneurs on professional and personal levels to facilitate their businesses to grow and expand regionally, ultimately creating jobs and contributing to overall economic development.

Colm Reilly, CEO of UK Lebanon Tech Hub commented, "We are keen to develop a core mentoring expertise in Lebanon which will progress all companies beyond their own resourcing and make them more successful. We see this training as the first initiative in this respect and are confident that learning from this experience, we will create more expertise within Lebanon for Lebanon."

Kathleen Bury, CEO of Mowgli said, "Over the past seven years, we have proven that entrepreneurial mentoring significantly increases the rate of entrepreneurial success in the region. We are looking forward to collaborate with UK Lebanon Tech Hub on this project as we share the same objectives of supporting the international and regional growth of Lebanese entrepreneurs as well as developing the local Lebanese ecosystem for future generations of Lebanese entrepreneurs."

Riad Salameh, Governor of the Banque du Liban, said during the announcement of the companies going through regional expansion programme in Beirut, "We believe that this sector will prosper and will create jobs and improve competitiveness. We are certain that this type of funding for this sector is rare in the world and this will help bring Lebanese talents and businesses back to Lebanon."

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About UK Lebanon Tech Hub
The UK-Lebanon Tech Hub is an International initiative jointly kick-started by Banque Du Liban and the UK Government through the British Embassy in Beirut. The initiative is privately ran and managed by UK-based PA Consulting. The UK Lebanon Tech Hub is a two year programme comprising of several activities to support the entrepreneurship and Small-Medium Enterprises landscape in Lebanon with a view to increase GDP and create jobs in the country.

Mission and Vision

We offer UK expertise, experience and exposure to support the growth and development of Lebanon's promising knowledge economy. We will foster a partnership between the two countries focusing on mutual learning, exchange, and collaboration among companies in the private sector in the UK and Lebanon.

About BDL
Established in 1963, Banque du Liban (BDL) is the Central Bank and monetary authority of Lebanon. Pursuant to the Lebanese Code of Money and Credit (1963), Banque du Liban is a legal entity of public law enjoying financial and administrative autonomy, whose general mission is to safeguard the currency in order to ensure the basis of a continuous economic and social growth. BDL has the exclusive prerogative of issuing the national currency and is vested with the authority to control, supervise and regulate the banking sector.

Convinced that the knowledge economy will become a pillar of the Lebanese economy, Governor Salamé issued Circular 331 in August 2013 - an initiative that provided the unprecedented investment opportunity of USD 400 million in Lebanese tech businesses. He approached Ambassador Fletcher for UK expertise, to help grow the knowledge economy sector in Lebanon through an innovative collaboration inspired by forward-thinking governance and run with entrepreneurial agility

About Mowgli Foundation
The Mowgli Foundation is an award winning, UK-headquartered mentoring organisation, established in 2008, which has been pioneering and specializing in entrepreneurial mentoring and embedding leadership development through the philosophy of mentoring within MENA's governments, corporates, and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Mowgli provides mentoring that inspires, connects and guides entrepreneurs and leaders to overcome life's personal and business challenges through:

· Interactive, experiential and transformational 'Kickstart' workshops

· A unique environment for accelerated relationship building, mentor training and matching

· Engagement within a learning and mentoring focused global alumni network

Mowgli has an alumni with over 1650 members and has matched over 750 entrepreneurs with trained mentors in 13 countries; Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen and the UK. In December 2012, Mowgli was recognised with the Mohammed bin Rashid Award for Young Business Leaders Award for the 'Best Mentor Network in the Arab Region'. More information is available on Mowgli's website: www.mowgli.org.uk

© Press Release 2015