Oxfam partnered with BRD, UTOPIA and Association Najdeh and started implementing ‘Building Alternative Development Assets and Entrepreneurial Learning’ (BADAEL), an EU Funded project. The aim of BADAEL is to assist vulnerable host communities in countering the socio-economic drivers of radicalization by upholding social stability and community resilience. The two year project is currently being implemented in seven different areas across Lebanon: Tripoli, Beddawi camp, Nahr El Bared camp, El Minieh, Koura, Saadnayel and Jebjenine. Oxfam through BADAEL aims to promote Social Entrepreneurship as a vehicle for change by launching an outreach campaign and conducting regional and national level conferences on Social Entrepreneurship in the seven areas under study. The BADAEL program specifically focuses on the empowerment of women by equipping them with the necessary tools and skills needed to become social entrepreneurs. However, females face many hurdles and obstacles that limit their ability to become entrepreneurs / active members of the labor force. In 2019, Oxfam commissioned InfoPro to identify the obstacles that females face in becoming active members in the Lebanese economy and the steps to be undertaken to open the doors to their becoming social entrepreneurs. The study focused on North Lebanon and Bekaa with a specific focus on the seven BADAEL areas under study. As part of the mandate, InfoPro conducted a total of 30 focus groups and 1,800 household interviews with Syrian refugees, Palestinian refugees, and vulnerable Lebanese, in addition to 33 key informant interviews with key stakeholders.
