MILAN, Italy — Lebanon has been navigating one of the most severe economic collapses in modern history since 2019. The Lebanese pound lost 98% of its value and pushed more than a third of the population into poverty.
With banks restricting withdrawals and traditional advertising budgets out of reach for most entrepreneurs, Lebanese small businesses have turned to TikTok as a low-cost way to reach customers. The platform now generates an estimated $150 million a year for Lebanon’s economy, according to a 2024 study by software engineer Mohamed Soufan and journalist Emad Chidiac.
A Free Marketing Tool for a Cash-Strapped Economy
TikTok’s appeal for Lebanese entrepreneurs lies in its cost. Unlike television ads or print campaigns, a business can reach thousands of potential customers with nothing more than a smartphone and an internet connection. A 2024 study found that 60% of surveyed Lebanese small businesses reported higher sales after adopting TikTok, and local artisans have used TikTok Live to sell products directly to customers, cutting out middlemen and retail markups.
One entrepreneur who built a business this way is Elio, a chef in Kfarshima who could not afford to open a restaurant. Instead, he began grilling smashed burgers on his apartment balcony and lowering finished orders to customers in a basket, a nod to a Lebanese tradition of neighbors passing goods between balconies and the street. He filmed the process and posted it on TikTok under the name Balcony Burgers.
Food reviewers on TikTok picked up on the videos, and the account has since grown to more than 103,000 followers on TikTok and nearly 40,000 on Instagram. Balcony Burgers now operates out of a storefront in Kaslik, delivers through the food delivery app Toters and stays open from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily. What started as a way to practice cooking with no professional experience became a full-time business built almost entirely on organic social media exposure.
Fashion brands, home cooks and family-owned shops have found similar traction. Because TikTok’s algorithm promotes content based on viewer interest rather than an account’s existing follower count, even businesses with no prior online presence can reach a wide audience if a video resonates. This has proven especially valuable for family-owned businesses that could not previously afford paid advertising during a currency collapse that has made every dollar count.
Nearly 3.92 million people in Lebanon used TikTok as of April 2024, and the country is home to 781 active TikTok influencers whose follower counts range from 50,000 to 25 million. Some of the platform’s top creators earn as much as $2 million annually, a level of income unmatched by many conventional sectors in Lebanon’s shrinking formal economy.
Organizations Step In to Build Digital Skills
Recognizing that not every business owner knows how to turn a smartphone camera into a sales tool, nonprofit organizations have stepped in to help Lebanese small businesses build lasting digital skills rather than relying on luck alone. Berytech, a Lebanese entrepreneurship hub, partnered with the international nonprofit SPARK on a program called Spark to help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) digitize their operations. The initiative is funded by the European Union, the EU Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, the EU Madad Fund and Sanad.
Selected businesses receive cash grants alongside four months of webinars and one-on-one coaching. Sessions cover how to build a digital marketing strategy, including social media content creation, running campaigns and generating leads and revenue online. Trainers also help businesses convert traditional marketing budgets into digital strategies, aiming for better targeting and lower costs. Priority is given to businesses in essential sectors such as health, education and agri-food, though the program accepts applicants from other industries as well.
Turning Views Into Sustainable Income
TikTok’s growth in Lebanon has not been limited to marketing alone. Influencer income now supports thousands of households, and the platform’s broader creator economy adds an estimated $50 million a year beyond direct sales generated by small businesses.
Challenges remain. Lebanon’s frequent electricity shortages and unreliable internet connectivity force many creators to plan filming around power availability or rely on private generators to keep producing content.
Even so, the combination of viral marketing and structured digital training is giving Lebanese small businesses a path to sustainable income during a prolonged economic crisis. As more entrepreneurs learn to use the platform strategically, and as organizations like Berytech continue building digital skills across the country, TikTok is emerging as an accessible tool for economic resilience and poverty reduction in Lebanon.
– Nay Mohamad
Nay is based in Milan, Italy and focuses on Business and Good News for The Borgen Project.
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