World Bank’s 6^th Annual “How-to” of Financing Technology Acquisition, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference took place in Beirut on June 1-3, in collaboration with Kafalat and the Ministry of Economy and Trade. This year’s conference focused on the range of early-stage financing and advisory services support required by young firms in order to promote entrepreneurship, growth, and employment. The conference topic was particularly relevant for Lebanon given the size and importance of its financial sector, its dynamic entrepreneurial history and diaspora linkages, and the need to create quality jobs for its young people. Sessions covered the range of financing models needed for young firms to grow, introduced successful country-level programs from different world regions, as well as discussed emerging technical areas including clean energy finance, financial technology, and mobile money. IM Capital’s General Manager Dr. Nicolas Rouhana participated in a panel titled ‘Frontier Challenges and Charting the Road Ahead in Early Stage Innovation Financing in the MENA Region’, highlighting the existence of a sector gap and a financing gap for early-stage ventures in Lebanon. He introduced IM Capital’s initiatives at building a network of qualified Business Angels and a network of mentors as a priority to fill the above stated gaps. “We need to celebrate success stories. Many early-stage ventures benefited tremendously from financing and are now doing great even abroad”, he concluded. The conference was concluded with a series of site visits on Friday June 3, providing a live opportunity to witness Lebanon’s vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem. For more information check http://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2016/06/01/6th-annual-financing-technology-conference