CFPs: UNDP Grants for Micro and Small Businesses (Lebanon)

The Women’s Economic Empowerment Through Advancing Women-Led Enterprises in Lebanon (WEE) is a project generously funded by the Government of Canada implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The project aims at supporting gender-responsive job creation and generating economic opportunities for women-led MSMEs across various productive sectors with high growth potential.

One of the project’s components is designed to tackle one of the longstanding challenges faced by Lebanese MSMEs—their limited access to financial and technical support, which is hindering their growth and ability to contribute to economic development. The 2019 financial crisis exacerbated these challenges, making it increasingly difficult for businesses to sustain their operations. More recently, the 2024 war on Lebanon has further strained MSMEs, not only through direct physical damages but also by disrupting supply chains, reducing consumer demand, and increasing operational costs.

With MSMEs forming the backbone of Lebanon’s economy, supporting them post conflict is crucial for maintaining and improving economic resilience and sustaining livelihoods opportunities across the country. Such support has a dual impact, enabling MSMEs to maintain their operations while building the foundation for future recovery and sustainability. Through the Access to Finance component, UNDP will ensure that businesses, particularly those led by women have access to financing opportunities to sustain and grow their operation, thus contributing to job stabilization.

Objectives

• The primary objective of the call is to provide grants to eligible micro and small-sized enterprises, especially those led/owned by women to enable them to sustain and increase their production in a post-conflict and recovery setting.
• The grants will therefore be directed to achieve the following:
  • Invest in new machinery/equipment or upgrade existing ones
  • Invest in infrastructure improvement or upgrade for quality and safety enhancement.
  • Purchase or upgrade energy-efficient equipment to reduce production cost
  • Reach new customers, enabling increased sales opportunities through the use of e-commerce solutions, other digital solutions or targeted marketing activities

Benefits

• If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can benefit from a grant of up to 12,000 USD. Eligible activities covered by the grant include:
  • Purchase of Equipment or Machinery
  • Infrastructure Enhancement
  • Purchase or upgrade of Energy-efficient Equipment
  • E-commerce Activities and Digital Solutions
  • Access to Local Markets & in-store promotional Activities

Eligibility Criteria

• To qualify for the grant, applicants must meet the following criteria:
  • Businesses that operate in the project’s prioritized sectors, including Agrofood, Cosmetics and Cleaning Products, Creative Industries and their related sub-sectors
  • Formally registered business in Lebanon with the relevant authorities
  • Employing less than 10 full time employees
  • Turnover less than 300,000 USD or the equivalent in LBP based on the central bank exchange rate
  • Business should be in operation for at least one year by the time of application and demonstrating ongoing operations
  • Business has a production facility and is not operating from home
  • Business should be producing goods and actively selling in the local market
  • Businesses didn’t receive funds/support from UNDP exceeding 5,000K in the past 2 years
• Priority will be given for the micro and small-sized enterprises operating in the Cosmetics and Cleaning and Creative Industries, which support women economic empowerment and livelihoods while adhering to sustainable environmental practices. Enterprises located in war-affected areas including the South and Bekaa will also be prioritized.

Evaluation Process

• The evaluation process is carried out by a dedicated Grant Selection Committee with expertise in MSME development. Proposals will be assessed based on:
  • Production facility respecting hygiene and quality standards as well as environmental measures
  • Women’s engagement in the business
  • Justification for the selected activities in the grant proposal
  • Economic and social impact of the business
  • Company’s ability to sustain the grant usage
  • Other additional criteria

For more information, visit UNDP.