Telecommunications Minister Jamal Jarrah announced Tuesday that 85 percent of Lebanon will hopefully enjoy the 4G services by the end of March.
The minister made this announcement during the opening of the ArabNet conference.
“By the end of March, the ministry aspires to spread 4G connection to 85 percent of the Lebanese territory,” he said. Most parts of Lebanon still don’t enjoy 4G services, which were launched by the former telecom ministers.
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Jarrah also stressed the importance of collaboration between the government and private sector in order to make the best of the innovative capabilities of the Lebanese youth.
The opening ceremony was attended by Economy Minister Raed Khoury and Raed Charafeddine, first vice governor of the Central Bank, who represented Gov. Riad Salameh.
“All the ministry’s capabilities are focused today on planning and coordinating among ministries and administrations and involved parties to develop an environment that embraces entrepreneurs’ initiatives and fulfills the ambitions of the youth, limiting therefore their migration and pushing them towards creating new innovative projects,” the minister said.
Charafeddine said there are currently around 800 startups in Lebanon providing 6,000 employment opportunities, and this adds $1 billion to the Lebanese treasury.
“The knowledge economy in Lebanon is witnessing annual growth between 7 and 9 percent,” Charafeddine said. He said ArabNet has positively contributed to reaching such results since its launch 8 years ago.
Saad Andary, second vice governor of the Central Bank, said banks will embrace technology because they want to be where their customers want them to be. “Customers will be able to visit banks without even leaving their homes. Branches will see less foot traffic; some branches will have to be closed; cash will be history,” Andary predicted.
ArabNet Founder and CEO Omar Christidis said the “Lebanese digital entrepreneurship ecosystem is maturing; driven by Circular 331, Lebanon has jumped to second place in the region in the number and value of investments.”
The organizers said that the first day of the event saw the launch of the new Banking Innovation Day, which brought together over 150 bankers from over 18 banks in Lebanon and abroad, as well as technology providers and agencies, to discuss the latest innovations in banking technology, and help boost growth of the financial sector.