Top 10 Women in Tech Groups and Resources in Lebanon in 2026
By Irene Holden
Last Updated: April 17th 2026

Too Long; Didn't Read
The LebNet Women in Tech Community and All Girls Code are the top picks for 2026, offering essential career acceleration and grassroots education. LebNet connects over 420 professionals globally for mentorship, while All Girls Code has empowered 2,500+ girls with coding skills, highlighting Lebanon's resilient, interconnected network that thrives despite economic challenges.
Navigating Lebanon's tech landscape often feels like arriving at Beirut's Souk el Tayeb with a rigid, numbered list. You're prepared to find the single "best" stall, yet the true resilience of the market lies elsewhere - in the vibrant, chaotic web of connections between vendors. The shared shade, the passed tools, the collective bargaining for supplies form a living network that defies any linear order.
In a similar vein, the ecosystem for women in technology has evolved into a hyper-local, deeply interconnected support system. The closure of international chapters like Women Who Code in 2024 didn't create a vacuum; instead, it revealed the strength of homegrown initiatives built on relationships. This local "souk" thrives on mutual exchange, where a grant from one organization fuels a founder who then mentors the next generation of talent.
This network is already delivering measurable impact. Grassroots movements like All Girls Code have empowered over 2,500 girls with coding skills, earning a 2025 UNESCO Prize. Meanwhile, large-scale donor support, such as the UNDP disbursing over $1.5 million in grants to women-led SMEs, provides critical capital in a volatile LBP economy. The following sections are not a ranking of isolated resources, but a map to the most active entry points into this resilient, adaptive web.
Table of Contents
- The Resilient Tech Souk
- LebNet Women in Tech Community
- All Girls Code
- Berytech WEEL
- TechWomen Lebanon Delegation
- ArabWIC Lebanon Chapter
- WIT Lebanon
- Women Techmakers Lebanon
- University Scholarship Pipelines
- UNDP and UN Women Grants
- Lebanon Connect and Diaspora Networks
- The Power of Connections
- Frequently Asked Questions
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LebNet Women in Tech Community
As the cornerstone professional network connecting Lebanese women in tech worldwide, LebNet Women in Tech (WiT) operates as a career accelerator with a membership exceeding 420 women. Its flagship initiative is the structured, goal-oriented SMART Mentorship Program, which pairs seasoned professionals with those seeking guidance on navigating complex career paths, from AI specialization to international roles.
Members gain direct access to a powerful global diaspora network, an invaluable asset for securing job referrals at multinationals like Microsoft and PwC Middle East and for benchmarking salaries in a volatile market where local LBP figures can be misleading. For students at universities like AUB, LAU, and the Lebanese University, the affiliated WiT Fellows program offers fellowships and early-career coaching, creating a direct talent pipeline to global opportunities.
"[It provides] coaching and guidance for future tech leaders" - a benefit members say is often missing from traditional academic pathways in Lebanon.
In an environment where formal job markets are strained, the community's real value is its trusted referral network. It directly addresses the critical barrier of limited local investor circles by creating bridges to capital and opportunities abroad, proving that professional resilience in Lebanon is increasingly network-driven.
All Girls Code
A grassroots, volunteer-led powerhouse, All Girls Code has become a global beacon for girls' education in technology. Recognized with the prestigious 2025 UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education, this initiative has empowered over 2,500 girls across Lebanon with hands-on skills in coding, robotics, and leadership.
Involvement is direct and accessible: girls apply for free bootcamps and workshops, often held in community spaces or online to circumvent Lebanon's mobility and infrastructure challenges. The value is concrete, providing high-quality technical training that would otherwise be cost-prohibitive, with many professionals from Beirut's tech scene volunteering as mentors. The organization further plans to launch a free global digital resource hub, democratizing access beyond physical borders.
This work tackles foundational barriers head-on. By providing free, Arabic-friendly resources and creating a supportive peer community, it directly counters cultural expectations and the lack of early STEM exposure. It builds a confident pipeline of young women ready to enter and enrich Lebanon's multilingual tech talent pool, ensuring the country's strategic position as a regional hub is fueled by diverse, homegrown innovation. You can follow their ongoing work on the All Girls Code Facebook page.
Berytech WEEL
In Lebanon's constrained economic landscape, Berytech's Women Economic Empowerment for Lebanon (WEEL) project stands as a critical financial lifeline. Managed by the leading ecosystem builder and funded by the European Union, the WEEL project provides substantial, equity-free grants ranging from €15,000 to €50,000 (approximately 2.5 to 8.5 billion LBP at volatile market rates).
Access is through a competitive application process for registered Lebanese startups with at least 51% female ownership or leadership. The value is starkly financial and strategic: direct non-refundable capital to navigate hyperinflation, paired with essential business coaching and incubation support within Berytech's network. This directly mitigates the most significant barrier for female founders: access to investor networks and hard currency.
When traditional bank credit is nonexistent, such grants are transformational. They allow founders to pay critical salaries in fresh dollars, purchase essential hardware, and maintain operations despite daily infrastructure challenges. As part of a broader support suite, Berytech also runs complementary initiatives like the Femme Francophone Entrepreneure competition, creating multiple pathways for women-led innovation to secure funding and growth.
TechWomen Lebanon Delegation
A prestigious international professional exchange program led by the U.S. Department of State, TechWomen creates profound impact on Lebanon's tech landscape. The program selects Lebanese women as Fellows for an immersive five-week mentorship at leading U.S. tech companies, offering an unparalleled gateway to Silicon Valley and other global innovation hubs.
Participation comes through a highly competitive annual global application. The value extends far beyond the fellowship period, granting lifelong membership in an elite global network and a dedicated professional mentor. This experience provides vital external validation and perspective, effectively helping Lebanese technologists bypass regional limitations.
"Noura Merhabi (2024 Fellow) was instrumental in leading the EdTech Syndicate Lebanon to new heights through strategic international partnerships." - TechWomen Impact Stories
The program’s impact stories from Lebanon showcase how fellows return with not just enhanced skills, but crucial partnerships and investor contacts. For women operating in Lebanon's challenging market, this breaks professional isolation and creates direct connections to global standards and opportunities, turning international exposure into local advantage.
ArabWIC Lebanon Chapter
Serving as the Lebanese chapter of the first and largest international organization dedicated to empowering Arab women in computing, Arab Women in Computing (ArabWIC) focuses on building a robust regional support system. This network moves beyond local circles to foster collaboration across the Middle East and North Africa.
Professionals and students engage through chapter events, the annual international conference, and dedicated mentorship programs. Membership provides significant visibility on a regional stage, offering publishing opportunities and mentorship from tech leaders in hubs like Dubai, Amman, and Cairo. The ArabWIC organization actively facilitates research collaborations and provides a crucial platform for presenting work, which is essential for both academic and career advancement.
For Lebanese women, this network is instrumental for professional benchmarking. It provides clear insight into regional salary expectations, which are often quoted in stable currencies like USD, and clarifies in-demand skills across the MENA market. This turns Lebanon’s strategic location into a tangible professional advantage, allowing members to build bridges and collaborate with peers across borders, effectively integrating into the wider regional tech ecosystem. The chapter's activities, including partnerships detailed by implementers like DARPE, solidify these cross-border connections.
WIT Lebanon
As one of Lebanon's longest-standing local institutions for women in technology, Women In IT (WIT) Lebanon, founded in 2005, represents deep-rooted community support. Recently relaunched with a renewed strategy for 2025, this non-profit focuses squarely on technical capacity building and career excellence, filling a critical gap in continuous, localized upskilling.
Professionals and students can engage through events, workshops, and networking forums listed on the WIT Lebanon website. The value lies in its enduring local presence and commitment to affordable, relevant professional development. In a market where international conference fees are prohibitive and online learning requires stable electricity, WIT’s workshops offer practical, accessible knowledge directly applicable to the Lebanese and regional job market.
This focus on cultivating technical excellence is vital for career progression. As emphasized by co-founder Nancy Aoun of Weeklik, the community is about being part of a movement that helps women "grow, lead, and thrive." In an ecosystem navigating economic instability, such consistent, ground-level support for skill advancement is not just beneficial - it's essential for building resilient, competitive careers in IT and beyond.
Women Techmakers Lebanon
As Google's global program for women in technology, Women Techmakers maintains an active and impactful chapter in Lebanon. This initiative provides a vital platform for visibility, community, and high-quality resources, connecting local talent directly to the tools and networks of a tech giant.
The community is open, often gathering through major events like the annual International Women’s Day summit or specialized online conferences. Participants gain access to Google-led workshops on cutting-edge technologies like Android, Cloud, and AI, exclusive networking sessions with Google experts, and valuable speaking opportunities. Engaging with the community is straightforward through platforms like the Women Techmakers Lebanon Facebook page.
This access is particularly crucial within Lebanon's context. It directly supports national upskilling goals aligned with the government's Digital Transformation Strategy 2025. Furthermore, it complements large-scale national tech partnerships, such as Oracle's agreement to train 50,000 Lebanese citizens in AI and cloud computing. For women technologists, this chapter is a direct bridge between Beirut's talent pool and international tech standards, ensuring their skills remain competitive in both local and global markets.
University Scholarship Pipelines
The foundational academic support system in Lebanon extends beyond education, acting as a critical financier for future tech talent. Universities like AUB, LAU, and USJ serve as ecosystem feeders through need-based scholarships and dedicated tech hubs, making world-class STEM education accessible despite the economic crisis.
With annual tuition fees that can exceed $20,000 (equivalent to billions of LBP), these scholarships are often the only pathway for talented women from middle and low-income families. They provide direct financial relief and enable participation in flexible, digital education pathways crucial for balancing study with other responsibilities amidst instability.
| University | Scholarship/Program | Key Details | Value Proposition |
|---|---|---|---|
| American University of Beirut (AUB) | Higher Education Scholarships (HES) | U.S.-funded for low-income students; new endowed scholarships like Amer Zeitoun (2024) for engineers. | Direct financial aid enabling access to AUB's Maroun Semaan Faculty engineering and online programs. |
| Lebanese American University (LAU) | Entrance & Need-Based Awards | Merit and need-based awards, including entrance scholarships covering 10-30% of tuition for 2026-2027. | Substantial reduction of dollar-denominated tuition costs, lowering the barrier to entry. |
| Université Saint-Joseph (USJ) | Merit Scholarships | For high-achieving students ranked in the top 10%, with applications open for the 2025-2026 cycle. | Recognition and support for academic excellence in tech-related fields. |
Students typically apply through university financial aid offices. Initiatives like AUB's HES program and LAU's scholarship portal are essential starting points. This academic pipeline ensures Lebanon's famed talent pool continues to grow, directly feeding the local tech ecosystem and diaspora network with highly skilled graduates.
UNDP and UN Women Grants
In Lebanon's collapsed economic environment, large-scale direct financial support from international development organizations serves as a crucial stabilizer. Agencies like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women provide targeted grants that preserve women-led businesses and employment during crisis and recovery periods.
Access is structured through competitive Calls for Proposals. In 2025 alone, the UNDP disbursed over $1.5 million in grants to 96 women-led Lebanese SMEs as part of its Women Economic Empowerment recovery project. Similarly, UN Women issued a call for proposals with budgets ranging from $500,000 to $2.3 million for partnerships focused on economic empowerment.
The concrete value of this donor funding is multifaceted. It provides survival capital that allows businesses to retain female staff and cover soaring operational costs denominated in fresh dollars. Furthermore, it enables local organizations to run training bootcamps with essential stipends that cover transport and data costs, directly addressing the acute financial barriers posed by currency instability and hyperinflation for both entrepreneurs and aspiring professionals.
Lebanon Connect and Diaspora Networks
Strategic initiatives that formalize the link between Lebanon's vast global diaspora and local innovators have become a pragmatic engine for growth. Programs like Lebanon Connect 2.0, held in May 2025, act as curated matchmaking events that physically bring diaspora professionals back to Beirut to collaborate with homegrown talent.
Local tech professionals, startups, and scale-ups can apply to be "matched" with diaspora experts in their field, while selected international participants receive airfare and accommodation. The value is immediate and multifaceted: it facilitates the direct transfer of global market knowledge, opens doors to fresh investment in hard currency, and builds indispensable business connections abroad.
As highlighted in Berytech's announcement, the event is designed as a space "where global talents meet local innovation." This model directly leverages Lebanon's most powerful, non-traditional asset - its dispersed professional network - to compensate for limitations in the local financial ecosystem.
In practice, this turns the challenge of brain drain into an opportunity for "brain circulation." For women founders and tech leaders, it provides a vital channel to bypass historically closed, local investor circles and gain validation, mentorship, and capital from successful diaspora figures who have a vested interest in Lebanon's success.
The Power of Connections
Stepping back from the individual entries, the true picture that emerges is not of ten isolated resources, but of a resilient, adaptive network. The 2024 closure of an international franchise like Women Who Code didn't create a void; it revealed the inherent strength and self-sufficiency of the local "souk." Here, connections are the currency.
In practice, this means a grant from Berytech's WEEL project might fuel a startup whose founder was mentored through the LebNet WiT community. That same founder may then volunteer as a role model for All Girls Code, inspiring a student who will later attend AUB on a need-based scholarship. This virtuous cycle is powered by Lebanon's unique assets: its multilingual talent, strategic regional position, and powerful diaspora actively re-engaged through initiatives like Lebanon Connect.
The real power for any woman navigating this landscape lies in understanding and activating these connections. Use this guide not as a definitive ranking, but as a map to the most active gates into a living ecosystem. Your journey truly begins when you step through one gateway - whether it's applying for a mentorship, attending a local workshop, or reaching out to a diaspora professional - and start contributing your own thread to this vibrant, enduring web.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did you decide which groups are the top 10 for women in tech in Lebanon?
We prioritized groups that foster deep, local connections and resilience, focusing on impact like mentorship reach and financial support. For example, LebNet WiT has over 420 members offering career acceleration, while All Girls Code has empowered 2,500 girls, tackling barriers in Beirut's tech ecosystem.
Which resource is best for getting funding or grants for a women-led startup?
Berytech's WEEL project is a top choice, providing non-refundable grants from €15,000 to €50,000 (about 2.5 to 8.5 billion LBP) along with business coaching. This direct funding helps startups navigate Lebanon's economic challenges, such as hyperinflation and limited investor access.
Can students or young women benefit from these groups in Beirut?
Absolutely, resources like All Girls Code offer free coding bootcamps, and university scholarships at AUB and LAU cover tuition fees that can exceed $20,000/year. These initiatives build Lebanon's multilingual talent pipeline, supporting future tech leaders from local universities.
How do these groups help with job opportunities in Lebanon's tech market?
Groups like LebNet WiT provide job referrals at firms like Microsoft and PwC through its global network, crucial for salary negotiations in a volatile LBP environment. This leverages Lebanon's diaspora to connect talent with opportunities both locally and internationally.
What role do international programs play in supporting women in tech here?
Programs like TechWomen offer Lebanese women mentorship at U.S. tech companies, bringing back global insights and partnerships. This helps break isolation in Lebanon's market and aligns with initiatives like Beirut Digital District to enhance the regional ecosystem.
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Irene Holden
Operations Manager
Former Microsoft Education and Learning Futures Group team member, Irene now oversees instructors at Nucamp while writing about everything tech - from careers to coding bootcamps.

