Watch Us Grow Campaign: Supporting Small Businesses – LeMSIC Lebanon

Name of the activity: Watch Us Grow Campaign: Supporting Small Businesses

Country/NMO: LeMSIC Lebanon

Program: Emergency, Disaster Risk & Humanitarian Action

Contact information: contact [email protected] to get in touch with the Activity Coordinator

Type of the activity: First-time Activity

Category: Campaign

Focus area: Disaster resilience (including prevention, preparedness and response), Populations in emergency, disaster and post-disaster settings

Sustainable Development Goals addressed: SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities)

Problem statement:

Lebanon has been hit by continuous crises: an economic crisis, COVID-19 and the Beirut Port Explosion. According to the World Bank, Lebanon’s crisis is likely to rank in the top 10 most severe crises episodes globally, with more than half the population under the national poverty line. Small local businesses were disproportionately affected, many facing closure and increasing unemployment. LeMSIC has launched this campaign to support these businesses and to promote their sustainability.

Target groups:

• General population
• Small Business Owners

Beneficiaries:

• General population

Objectives:

Place at least 90 different small business on an interactive map to be shared by mid March

Increase exposure of the interactive map by 30% every month through sharing it on at least 4 influential social media pages

Aid at least 3 small businesses owners in filming a commercial for their businesses by mid March

Increase the exposure of at least 1 commercial by 50% on at least 2 different social media pages by late March

Gather an average of at least 3 new small businesses every month to be continuously added to the map till end of term in late august.

Indicators of Success:

For Objective 1: Small businesses were from at least 3 different Lebanese governorates and offered at least 5 different services.

For Objective 2: 3 different  social media pages shared the map, the map reached at least 250 likes/shares

For Objective 3: At least two small business owners gave positive feedback on the commercial filmed.

For Objective 4: Posted commercial reached at least 450 views and 15 shares in total on the posted pages

For Objective 5: Forms and other means of submissions were circulated and shared at least 30 times for new submissions to be made.

Methodology:

Interactive Map:

Create an interactive map on which multiple small businesses will be displayed with their contact infos, stories, pictures etc…

Conduct a stakeholder mapping and contacts different social media pages to secure platforms for sharing of the small businesses map created

Establish a database which includes information on multiple small businesses to be used for the map.

The interactive map will be linked to the LeMSIC website with a form designated for the addition of new small businesses to the map

Ensure follow up and constant updating of the database and interactive map based on the new submissions.

Commercial Competition: 

Rules and procedures of the competition will be drafted and call for participants will be sent.

Participants will be divided into teams and will be met with in order to explain the competition, its rules and procedures.

A panel of judges will be formed. The possibility of involving members of the IFMSA SCORP IT in the judging panel will be explored.

Plans for evaluation:

The evaluation will be done in collaboration with the social media platforms involved in the activity, through insight and tracking of the views, shares and general feedback of viewers of these pages.

An insight report that will track the amounts of interaction with posts, views, shares, etc)  will be drafted by the social media assistant for each relevant social media platform where the commercials and map will be posted.

The evaluation will be continuous throughout the term and the terms to come by continuous assessment of new submissions on the website form in order to regularly update the map.

Selected owners of the small businesses presented in the commercials will be contacted for feedback and for assessment of the impact the commercial had on their businesses

External collaborations:

External partners for this activity include known social media pages through which the commercials and the map will be posted, as well as local small businesses owners whose businesses will be displayed and presented.