As part of Wamda's vision for connecting entrepreneurs in the Arab world to experts in the diaspora, Wamda has signed a partnership with LebNet, a network of Lebanese-American professionals working in the technology sector in the U.S., mostly in Silicon Valley.

LebNet, which was launched in 1999, aims to support technology projects in Lebanon and in the Middle East, and has grown to include more than 200 people in its community built on relationships and volunteerism. The entrepreneurs, investors, academics, and business owners who comprise the LebNet network will now participate as mentors in the Arab world through Wamda, sharing their knowledge in a video series on Wamda.com and joining Mix n' Mentor events via Google Hangout and live where possible. 

"The Arab and Lebanese diaspora in particular has always been very powerful and effective at creating huge impact in its various environments," said Wamda CEO Habib Haddad. "One of our goals is to create a channel through which members of the diaspora can give back to their countries of origin, and that's what we hope to do with LebNet. We are very excited to partner with their community and look forward to connecting this diaspora with entrepreneurs back home."

"LebNet is very excited about this partnership," said George Akiki, the co-founder of LebNet and Senior Director of Corporate Affairs at Cisco Systems. "Wamda’s best-in-class platform in MENA will help bridge the communication gap between Lebanese high tech professionals in the U.S. and entrepreneurs in Lebanon."

"We have a great opportunity here to scale our group’s ability to share its experiences and interact with young entrepreneurs in Lebanon. The ability to “give back” is top of mind for our members and we have high hopes that this partnership will help us do that in an effective as well as efficient manner," Akiki continued.

The hope is that rising entrepreneurs will be able to bridge gaps both in knowledge and in market research as they look to global markets, by drawing from the expertise of those already established abroad.