Startups
Startup news, founder stories, product launches, accelerators, and the ecosystem powering new ventures.
Viral Vision: The Beirut Holding Company That Started With $500
Souheil Sabban launched Mr. Football at 18. It became the first brand in a growing e-commerce portfolio.
Souheil Sabban founded Viral Vision in 2023 after watching his family lose its savings in Lebanon's banking crisis. The company now runs several e-commerce brands, including Mr. Football, Rule The Pitch, and REYZ Eyewear, from shared systems in Beirut.
Superpowders: From 500 Bags of Mushroom Coffee to 1,000 Stores
Two founders put in $6,000 each and built a wellness brand now heading to Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Beirut-based Superpowders began with a first run of 500 mushroom coffee bags and $6,000 from each co-founder. Its zero-sugar electrolytes and mushroom coffee now reach more than 100,000 customers in Lebanon, with the UAE live and two new markets planned by the end of October.
Panic Zones, a survival card game by four Lebanese founders, passes 5,000 units
Four Lebanese co-founders in Dubai spent two years building a party game meant to travel far beyond MENA.
Panic Zones: Arctic Edition launched in December 2025 after about two years of development and 600+ playtests. It has since sold over 5,000 units across five MENA markets and is heading to SPIEL Essen, with the UK and US next.
SheEmpower Opens in Beirut With First Cohort of Women Entrepreneurs
The EU-funded program, run locally by the Beirut Chamber of Commerce, begins with business and digital skills training.
The Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon has welcomed the first Lebanese cohort of SheEmpower, a €2.7 million Interreg NEXT MED project. Participants, many from agribusiness, will receive training, mentoring and access to regional markets.
ReFramed Runs From Lebanon, With Dubai Operations Next
Jason Azzi and Jad Chabtini started the brand in Lebanon at the end of 2023 and are now adding a Dubai operation.
ReFramed started in Lebanon at the end of 2023 with $1000 and a dream. Two founders under 18 shaped the Lebanese everyday wear market building one of the largest luxury streetwear brands in the country. A global expansion is next.
Tutorak Builds a Peer Tutoring and Advising Platform for LAU and AUB Students
The Beirut startup pairs students with peer tutors, advisors, and mentors across 30+ LAU courses.
Founder and managing partner Chris J. Armache started Tutorak with partners Marc Youssef and Abdul Nasser Halabi after finding it hard to locate course-specific tutors, and wanting a community where every student can get help and the ones teaching can build, grow, and lead. The platform now spans tutoring, academic advising, consulting prep, and a leadership program. It reports 20+ tutors and advisors and more than 100,000 Instagram profile views since launch.
Daribati Puts Lebanon's Tax Calculators, Forms and Filings in One App
Lebanon's first and only mobile tax application offers free calculators, downloadable forms and paid filing help.
Daribati is the first and only mobile tax application in Lebanon, letting users calculate salary tax, social security contributions and property tax for free, then download the forms they need to file. Founded in 2025 and based in Beirut, it also sells tax filing and helpdesk services handled over WhatsApp. The app runs in English and Arabic, and its co-founder, Elie, built it after seeing how few people could explain how their own taxes were calculated.
Roy Bou Nassif Built a Public Map for Lebanon's Broken Streets
Roy Bou Nassif's free civic platform now carries 74 citizen reports filed across 35 Lebanese towns.
Baladi Map is a free, non-partisan platform where anyone in Lebanon can report a pothole, a power cut, a waste pile or a water problem in under a minute, in Arabic, English or French. Founded in Beirut in 2026 by Roy Bou Nassif, it keeps every report publicly visible until it is fixed and scores municipalities on how they respond. Mobile apps for iOS and Android are now in review and testing.
