The GIMED project joined forces with the SwitchMed programme in Lebanon to provide the first online training of trainers on Sustainable Business Model Development.

The training, held from 20 to 24 July 2020, has been organized within the framework of the Switchers National Partnership in Lebanon, a coalition of Business Support Organizations (BSO), cooperating on the development of a national green support ecosystem.

The training has been facilitated by the Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production, implementing the  following actions:

1. The Green Entrepreneurship Programme of SwitchMed, an initiative which supports sustainable consumption and production practices for a circular economy in the Southern Mediterranean 

2. The GIMED project, an initiative that aims to increase the access to finance and to market for sustainable businesses in the Region.

The Switchers National Partnership is gathering key Lebanese stakeholders engaged with offering business development services to green and circular economy entrepreneurs and start-ups, mainstreaming sustainability and harnessing the wide business support network to produce environmental and social value. The main goal of the Switchers National Partnership is contributing to the development of a green and circular business support ecosystem in Lebanon. 

16 Trainers, representing 11 organizations, appointed by the members of the Switchers National Partnership took part in the training of trainers on Sustainable Business Model Development. The online workshop is the first of a series of trainings of trainers’ (ToT) aimed at transferring Online Sustainable Business Development Tools to the members of the Partnership. The upcoming workshops will be focused on Sustainable Business Planning and Impact Monitoring; Product and Service Eco-design; Access to Finance; and Access to Market.

The expected results of the workshop on Sustainable Business Model Development are the following:

1. Transfer the Sustainable Business Model Development methodology and its online Toolbox to the Trainers of the BSOs members of the Switchers National Partnership.
2. Enable participants to replicate the training and to support entrepreneurs to move from a green business idea to a validated Sustainable Business Model 
3. Enable participants to transfer the Sustainable Business Model Development Methodology to other members of their BSOs.

The 4-day online training has been facilitated using short webinars, coupled with specific exercises to be done on the new-born Sustainable Business Model Development Toolbox, recently developed by SCP/RAC.  

Starting from September, beneficiaries from the other 8 associate countries of the SwitchMed and GIMED projects will also benefit from the Sustainable Business Model Development’s Training of Trainers.