Under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Walid Fayad, Minister of Energy and Water, the Beirut Energy Week (BEW) 2023 was held from Wednesday, September 20 till Friday, September 22 at Le Royal Hotel, Dbayeh, gathering a large number of participants including private companies, international organizations, and funding agencies.

USAID Lebanon Mission Director Julie Southfield inaugurated the USAID Booth during a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Beirut Energy Week in the presence of Dr. Walid Fayad, Minister of Energy and Water, Dr. Nasser Yassin, Minister of Environment, MP Sajih Attieh, the head of the Energy Parliamentary Committee, Chairman and CEO of IM Fndng, Nicolas Rouhana, and Michel Daher Social Foundation President Marleine Daher.

IM Fndng participated in the BEW through two sessions:

• An Awareness Event was held on Thursday, September 21 from 5:00 till 6:00 pm titled “Financing Energy Projects: (Good) News from the SoLR& Renewable Energy Fund.”

The event was in the form of a panel moderated by Dr. Joseph Al Assad, Professor at USEK and Vice-Chair of the Lebanon Committee of the World Energy Council and included a detailed presentation of the SoLR& Renewable Energy Fund followed by a Q&A together with IM investment team.

Nicolas Rouhana, Chairman and CEO of IM, led the session “Applying and Benefitting from the SoLR& Renewable Energy Fund”, which was attended by Dr. Walid Fayad, USAID Lebanon Representatives, companies from the private sector, energy providers, potential investors as well as players in the financing ecosystem.

• In addition to the awareness event, a Panel Discussion was held on Friday, September 22 from 11:30 am till 1:00 pm, titled “The Not-So-Doomed Prospects of Energy Financing in Lebanon.”

The panel discussion was moderated by Mr. Pierre El Khoury, General Director/President of the Board of the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC) and included the following panelists:

• Dr. Nicolas Rouhana, Chairman and CEO, IM Fndng, Lebanon
• Dr. Kristina Mikulova, Representative to Lebanon, European Investment Bank (EIB), Luxembourg/Slovakia
• Mr. Frederico Lima, Resident Representative, Lebanon Office – International Monetary Fund (IMF), Spain
• Mr. Firas Merhi, Energy Banker, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Lebanon

The session revolved around the prospects of financing renewable energy projects by international financing and development institutions active and present in the country, against the backdrop of Lebanon’s ongoing economic and financial crisis. Additionally, the panelists shed light on existing and future financing mechanisms.