What makesense MENA does

makesense MENA (legally makesense Lebanon) is a Beirut-based nonprofit organization founded in 2015 and operating as the Lebanon hub of the global makesense ecosystem, which originated in France approximately 15 years ago. The organization supports social entrepreneurs, citizens, and civil society organizations across Lebanon and the wider MENA region through a portfolio of incubation programs, grants, coaching, mentoring, and community-building initiatives that run from ideation through growth stages. Core program lines include OMDI (social entrepreneur support, 2020-2025), TABADOL (civil society support across Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Syria, 2022-present), Nabad (NGO revenue sustainability, 2025-present), HALAQA (circular economy), Emdad (unemployment response, ILO-funded 2023-2024), Pluri-elles (women empowerment in Tripoli), and the Arabic MOOC on social entrepreneurship. Adjacent paid and pro-bono services — facilitation, coaching, and organizational consulting — are offered to external organizations.

The organization is funded almost entirely through grant contributions from a concentrated set of international institutional donors led by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Centre de Crise et de Soutien, AFD, the Drosos Foundation, the Asfari Foundation, the ILO Arab States, OIF, Institut Français du Liban, GIZ, Fondation des Cedres, Fondation de France, YMCA and others. Implementation partners include the Lebanese University, Berytech, Tri-Pulley, SwitchMed, and Cewas Middle East. The core team comprises approximately 8 people based in Beirut; the organization operates with a community-led go-to-market model, bilingual (English/Arabic) communications, and a methodology centered on human-centered design and participative program design rather than proprietary technology.

Name

makesense MENA

Legal name

makesense Lebanon

Website

https://lebanon.makesense.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

makesense MENA is a Beirut-based nonprofit founded in 2015 that runs grant-funded incubation, coaching, and community programs for social entrepreneurs, citizens, and civil society organizations across Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Syria.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Entrepreneurship Support Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Arts, Culture & Creative Placemaking Enterprises (BPAGALAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Economic Growth, Livelihoods & Private Sector Development (BPADAEAE), Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB), Community Development & Social Impact Programs (EDAIAGAA)

Keywords

• Social entrepreneurship programs
• Incubation and acceleration
• Community engagement
• Grant funding programs
• Civil society support

Headquarters

HQ city

Beirut

HQ country

Lebanon

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding from International Donors: makesense Lebanon operates primarily through grant funding from international organizations and foundations including French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Centre de Crise et de Soutien, The Drosos Foundation, The Asfari Foundation, International Labor Organization, and others. These grants fund various programs for social entrepreneurs and citizens.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

makesense MENA designs and runs innovative programs for social and environmental entrepreneurs providing technical support, financial support (grants), coaching and mentoring, and community collaboration opportunities. It also delivers community-driven programs for citizens and external services for organizations including facilitation, coaching, and organizational structure and management consultancy.

Product overview

makesense MENA offers a portfolio of programs and services focused on social and environmental impact. The core offerings include Programs for Entrepreneurs and Organizations (providing technical support, financial grants, coaching/mentoring, and community access) and Programs for Citizens (community-driven initiatives for social change). Specific named programs include OMDI (2020-2025), TABADOL (2022-present), Nabad, Emdad, HALAQA, DAREB, Kater El Kheir, Pluri-elles, BUSMAH, From Idea to Action, the Arabic MOOC on Social Entrepreneurship, SenseTech, and SenseTour. External Services for Organizations include Facilitation, Coaching, and Organizational Structure and Management Consultancy. The organization operates as an ecosystem approach rather than a unified software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OMDI: Program supporting local social entrepreneurs in spreading their impact wider and deeper to build a more inclusive and sustainable society in Lebanon
• TABADOL
• Nabad
• Emdad
• HALAQA
• BUSMAH

Products and services

• Programs for Entrepreneurs and Organizations Innovative programs for social and environmental entrepreneurs providing technical support, financial support (grants), coaching and mentoring, and community collaboration opportunities. Programs support entrepreneurs at different stages from ideation to growth through incubation.
• Programs for Citizens Community programs helping citizens contribute to social and environmental progress by providing tools and access to the community for them to go from ideation to action.
• OMDI Program Program (2020-2025) supporting local social entrepreneurs in spreading their impact wider and deeper to build a more inclusive and sustainable society in Lebanon.
• TABADOL Program Program (2022-present) supporting Civil Society Organizations to develop creative solutions to sustain transformational change in their communities across Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Syria.
• Nabad Program Program supporting Lebanese NGOs and social enterprises in developing revenue-generating activities to improve their sustainability.
• Emdad Program Program (2023-2024) supporting the creation of new social entrepreneurs and strengthening of existing ones to tackle Lebanon's widespread unemployment and address urgent local socio-economic needs.
• HALAQA for Entrepreneurs Program (2022) supporting social businesses working in the circular economy value chain, helping them create employment through accelerated workshops and enterprise support.
• DAREB Program Program (2021) supporting micro entrepreneurs in the Bekaa region of Lebanon.
• Kater El Kheir Program Program (2020) supporting grass root citizen-led projects born after the Beirut blast on August 4, 2020.
• Pluri-elles Program Training and employment support program implemented in partnership with Tri-Pulley to empower women in Tripoli by equipping them with essential skills and opportunities to enhance their economic participation.
• HALAQA for Citizens Online program on circular economy aimed at improving understanding of environmental and social engagement, discussing topics of circular economy, waste and social entrepreneurship, and supporting local circular economy projects.
• BUSMAH Online Program Online program developed during lockdown to empower citizens who wanted to create concrete impact from their own homes by helping them meet others and launch initiatives.
• From Idea to Action 4-course program developed in partnership with Lebanese University (2019-2020) to equip students with needed tools and inspiration to develop ideas and start implementing their impact journey.
• MOOC on Social Entrepreneurship First MOOC on social entrepreneurship in Arabic, filmed and released in Lebanon and the MENA region (2019), supporting aspiring and current social entrepreneurs to develop their projects further.
• SenseTech Program (2018) supporting citizens in developing technological innovations for environmental impact.
• SenseTour Program (2017) supporting citizens in launching their own social enterprises in several cities in Lebanon.
• Facilitation Services Content and process facilitation services offered to organizations to help develop impact programs with their teams, supporting beneficiaries, experts and team members. Offered for more than a decade.
• Coaching Services Coaching sessions offered to social entrepreneurs and civil society organizations selected in programs designed by ecosystem partners.
• Organizational Structure and Management Consultancy Support for partner organizations with team structure and team management during program development and implementation to help maximize impact on the ground.

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major and supporting.

• Lebanese UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloped 'From Idea to Action' program (2019-2020) as a 4-course program equipping students with tools to develop ideas and start implementing their impact journey.
• Tri-PulleymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementing partner for Pluri-elles program empowering women in Tripoli.
• BerytechsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLebanese entrepreneurship ecosystem partner.
• Cewas Middle EastsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWater and sanitation entrepreneurship support organization in Middle East.
• SwitchMedsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustainable consumption and production program in the Mediterranean.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Berytech: Lebanese incubator and entrepreneurship ecosystem player listed as a strategic partner of makesense Lebanon; runs startup acceleration and support programs in Beirut with a comparable mission of growing the local entrepreneurship and innovation base.
• Impact Hub Beirut: Member of the global Impact Hub network operating in Beirut; provides coworking, incubation and community programming for social entrepreneurs and impact-driven startups, overlapping directly with makesense's Programs for Entrepreneurs.
• Cewas Middle East: Water and sanitation entrepreneurship support organization in the Middle East listed as a strategic partner; runs capacity-building and acceleration programs for social entrepreneurs, sharing makesense's methodology and audience.
• SwitchMed: UNEP/MAP-funded Mediterranean programme on sustainable consumption and production listed as a partner; runs incubation and accelerator programs for green and circular-economy social enterprises, intersecting directly with makesense's HALAQA circular-economy program.
• Ashoka Arab World: Regional arm of the leading global social entrepreneurship fellowship; identifies and supports leading social entrepreneurs across MENA, a near-perfect functional peer to makesense MENA's entrepreneur-support mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship: Global foundation (affiliated with the World Economic Forum) that identifies and supports leading social entrepreneurs worldwide; broader mandate and reach, but pursues the same goal of scaling social entrepreneurs that makesense MENA serves through OMDI and Nabad.
• Mercy Corps MENA: Large international NGO operating across MENA with programming in livelihoods, youth employment and civil society support; much broader portfolio than makesense but operates parallel entrepreneur and citizen-support programs in Lebanon and the region.
• Oxfam MENA: Major international development NGO with active programs in Lebanon supporting civil society, women's economic empowerment and social enterprises; a larger incumbent in adjacent economic-empowerment programming.

Others

• Endeavor Lebanon:

Emerging players

• SEAL (Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator Lebanon): Lebanese acceleration initiative that supports early-stage social enterprises with mentorship and seed funding; a smaller, earlier-stage program compared to OMDI but addressing the same social-entrepreneur cohort in Lebanon.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/makesense-mena

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about makesense MENA