An exchange office on Hamra Street, July 4, 2024. (Credit: P.H.B.)
-Qatar announced on Sep. 17 a donation of $15 million to the Lebanese army to provide fuel for three months, amidst the economic crisis that continues in Lebanon which has affected the capacities of the troops.
The Qatari Fund for Development announced this donation on X "to provide fuel to the Lebanese army for a period of three months, from Oct. 1 until the end of the year."
Weighed down by the depreciation of the Lebanese pound, the average salary of a soldier is currently less than $100 per month, compared to around $800 a month before the crisis. To cope with this crisis, the army is receiving occasional aid from several countries.
-Seez, an automotive services platform co-founded by Lebanese Tarek Kabrit and his nephew Andrew Kabrit, has raised $4.2 million from anonymous investors. This brings its total funding since its 2015 inception to over $18.4 million, excluding an undisclosed Series B round on Aug. 30, 2023.
Based in Dubai, Seez is an automotive technology company that provides dealers with software to enhance their customers' experience and increase sales. Having established a foothold in 16 international markets, including the Gulf States, the UK, Australia, Denmark, South Africa, New Zealand and Mexico, the company “plans to use this investment to support its expansion in the United States,” according to a press release issued by the company.
-The Monty Group, founded and managed by Lebanese Mountasser Hachem, launched its MyMonty neo-bank for the European market at a press conference in Paris on Sept. 18. In its press release, the group mentioned its commitment to “tackling” financial exclusion in Europe, estimating that 5 percent of the population is unbanked — i.e. around 13 million people — while “42 percent have limited and sub-optimal access to financial services.”
In this context, MyMonty says it intends to target low-income earners, rural populations, entrepreneurs, immigrants and expatriate students in Europe — who account for over 1.3 million people each year.
Developed by Monty Finance, MyMonty is a platform under the London-based Monty Group, founded in 1998 by Hachem, which started out in the telecoms sector. The group is now present in 19 countries worldwide, including the UK, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, Indonesia and India, where it has forged partnerships with over 1,000 mobile network operators and other service providers in the telecoms sector.
-The prices of gasoline, diesel and fuel oil continued to fall on Friday, while the price of domestic gas remained stable, according to the latest numbers published by the Ministry of Energy and Water.
Here are the new prices:
Piece of the week
As Lebanon continues to experience electricity shortages, caretaker Energy and Water Minister Walid Fayyad announced the launch of a call for tenders on Sep. 11 for the construction of a solar farm with a total capacity of eight megawatts along the Beirut River. While this project is a positive step in the right direction, it does not represent a comprehensive solution to the country’s electricity problems. Read more:
Humanitarian convoy reaches Rmeish, Ain Ibl, Dibil despite obstacles