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With Handiss, Lebanon Joins The Freelance Revolution – Forbes


During its heyday, before the Lebanese Civil War, Lebanon was a country of relative peace and prosperity.   It was often described as the “Switzerland of the East” and its capital, Beirut, was known as the Paris of the Middle East.

And while there are certain challenges to improve the economy and rebuild infrastructure, Lebanon has made considerable progress and is one of the highest GDP per capita in the Arab after the oil-rich economies of the Persian Gulf.

And so it might come as no surprise that, as the freelance revolution reached the Mideast, it might rise in Lebanon.  And, we have recently noticed green shoots in the startup of Handiss, an online talent marketplace created by Ramzi Jreidini, a former civil engineer, and his cofounders  And, its likely not the last platform to startup in Lebanon, with growing support for high tech by the Lebanese government, its investment of a significant fund to support growth of Lebanon’s digital ecosystem, and the creation of Beirut Digital District, a community dedicated to creating a hub for the digital and creative industries in Lebanon launched in 2012 in the Bachoura district of Beirut established by a private real-estate company and Berytech, an incubator accelerator for the development of startups.

As a recent article in An-Nahar pointed out, side hustles are increasing: “Freelancing is taking the region by storm. Currently, seven of ten professionals in the MENA region think freelancing is a good option to earn more revenue while 55% of professionals see freelancers as having the ability to earn more than full-timers, according to Bayt.com a leading job site in the region.”

I had the opportunity to catch up with CEO Ramzi Jreidini and learn more about Handiss.  Handiss is a marketplace that is focused on the construction and infrastructure industries, and has developed a significant platform of independent architects, engineers, and other technical professionals for project work.  In an earlier interview, Jreidini put it very simply: “The market is lacking a sort of bridge between independent professionals and companies with pending projects and that’s where we come in.”  He continued by saying, “[Lebanese] companies rarely hire freelancers and only those whom they can trust,” he said, adding that “our platform aims at solidifying trust between companies and freelance engineers, and giving these freelancers a chance to market themselves.”

An initial $15,000 USD investment from Kafalat – a Lebanese financial company working with small and medium companies – was all Handiss has needed to get started, and it has grown considerably and profitably from that beginning (it has since received significant additional funding from the UK Lebanon Tech Hub).  Jreidini now points out that the platform now represents over 4000 independent construction and engineering experts from over 80 countries, including the Mideast, North America, Europe, and India.  In describing the work of platform members he reports, “Our freelancers are supporting school construction in California, architectural design in Gibraltar, and traffic engineering in Florida, as well as work in Saudi Arabia and of course Lebanon.”  As Jreidini mentions, “Most of our clients thus far are international.  And, it’s a logical step for us to take a serious look at entering the U.S. and Canadian markets.”

In an earlier Forbes article, I wrote about the early state of the freelance revolution in the Mideast.  What’s likely to trigger a broader adoption of the freelance revolution in Lebanon and, more generally, the Mideast?

  • One factor is development of the Mideast talent economy. In high growth technology and service areas like AI, Robotics, Biotech and Medical Technologies, and Pharma, Mideast driven innovation is hard to find.   But, high tech startups are becoming more frequent and funding for innovative tech companies is increasing.  Last year, Arab entrepreneurs raised more than $3 billion in technology investments for the region — the highest ever, according to Bloomberg.  As oil money is redirected to investment in new technologies, talent shortages will be the hot potato.   Unlike the search for permanent employees which can take many months or years, freelance talent can be accessed more quickly and more cost effectively on a project basis.  Without doubt, as the demand for expertise in many disparate fields grows, online talent marketplaces will be required to bring together companies needing expertise with experts that are looking for attractive and interesting work.
  • The success of first movers, and the threat of global platform usurpers, is a second driver of the freelance revolution. The global talent marketplaces – Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer.com, and Truelancer – have all entered part if not all of the Mideast market.  They are contributing positively to building the market for freelancers, but are beginning to generate local and regionally based competition.  For example, Bawabba was recently formed in Dubai and Utalenta, also a new online talent startup, began to operate from the U.A.E. at the end of 2017.
  • Government and industry leadership is another factor that will prompt the growth of the freelance revolution. As Vox reports, “Around the Middle East, there are now more and more conferences and incubators where entrepreneurs and investors can network and exchange ideas, like the yearly RiseUp summit in Cairo and the Step Conference in Dubai, one of the region’s most popular startup gatherings.”

In a 2015 Arabian Business article called “The future of Freelancing”, the author wrote:

“It’s a massive transition from the traditional approach to work in the region, with early adopters currently using the platforms as a major competitive advantage. Like with so many internet-driven markets, resistance to change is our main challenge, which can only be overcome by education and awareness of online work. Location doesn’t matter anymore, only talent does; now that’s unheard of in the region, where working in an office for a set number of hours behind a desk is the norm.

“The professionals who will be most successful in the future are those who take charge of their own careers and treat building skills as if they’re building a diversified portfolio. Working online means freelancers are driven to evolve their skill sets to remain competitive, and nurture their online reputation. Finally, they can access millions of job opportunities that would otherwise not have been a possibility; freelancers are no longer limited to jobs located within commuting distance.”

There are many challenges to the freelance revolution in Lebanon and the Mideast generally.  But, game on!  Despite cultural, educational and regulatory obstacles, freelancing and the flexible, blended workforce is clearly starting to take root.  Viva the revolution!



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