More than 6,300 visitors, 12 national panels, dozens of workshops, and the first-ever Startup World Cup Lebanon mark the largest edition of the summit to date, held under the High Patronage of H.E. the President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun.
Dbayeh, Lebanon 30 August 2026 LEBTECH 2026, Lebanon’s premier technology and innovation summit, concluded today at Le Royal Hotel, Dbayeh, wrapping up three days of panels, workshops, an exhibition floor, and startup world cup competition hosted for the first time in Lebanon by LEBTECH. All under the theme “Shaping the Future of Tech in Lebanon & Beyond
Held from 28 to 30 August 2026 under the High Patronage of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Lebanon, General Joseph Aoun, the summit brought together government ministers, members of Parliament, security and judicial institutions, syndicates, universities, corporates, investors, startup founders and students around a single question: how technology can drive Lebanon’s recovery, modernization and competitiveness.
According to the organizers, the 2026 edition drew more than 6,300 visitors across the three days, supported by over 5,630 online registrations a significant increase on the 5,000-plus attendance recorded at LEBTECH 2025, and confirmation that the event has become a fixed annual milestone for the country’s digital economy.
Opening ceremony
The summit’s opening ceremony began with a welcome address by Maya Zgheib, General Manager of Strawberry Agency LLC, followed by remarks from the endorsing partners: Georges Khoueiry, President of the Lebanese IT Syndicate; Patrick Nakouzi, President of the Lebanese Graphic Design Syndicate (LGDS); and Elie Aboud, President of the Lebanese Association of Certified Public Accountants (LACPA). The address of H.E. the President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, was then delivered on his behalf by his representative, H.E. Minister Kamal Shehadi, Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence. The ceremony was further marked by the participation of the government’s strategic partners, including H.E. Minister Dr. Fadi Makki (OMSAR), H.E. Minister Paul Morkos, and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
A national programme across ten panels
Day 1 (28 August) opened with official speeches and the inauguration of the exhibition, followed by a ministerial panel on “Future-Ready Government” featuring H.E. Dr. Kamal Shehadi, Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence; H.E. Dr. Fadi Makki, Minister of State for Administrative Reform; and H.E. Haneen Sayed, Minister of Social Affairs. Subsequent sessions addressed the National Data Center, data silos and software integration with participation from the Internal Security Forces, General Security and public finance leadership alongside panels on FinTech and Blockchain, an audit and finance panel led by LACPA, and a closing panel on Cybersecurity and AI Governance.
Day 2 (29 August) focused on the legal and societal frameworks for technology, opening with “Legislating the Digital Future: Parliament, the Beirut Bar Association and the Path to AI-Ready E-Governance,” with MPs Elias Hankash and Said El Asmar and Beirut Bar Association President Imad Martinos. Further panels covered the future of media and digital platforms (AI, regulation, responsibility and trust), technology redefining accessibility and health-tech, bridging education and employability, and smart cities and sustainable communities, the latter featuring Georges Khoueiry, President of the Lebanese IT Syndicate and Co-Founder of LEBTECH.
Day 3 (30 August) was dedicated to implementation, with panels on digital transformation in education, delivered with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and CRDP, and on “Dawlati: Accelerating Lebanon’s Digital Government Transformation,” bringing together OMSAR, Intalio and public-sector digital leaders. A parallel Startup Lounge ran hands-on workshops on AI productivity tools, content automation and investor pitching.
Across all three days, a continuous workshop programme delivered practical training on enterprise engineering, exposure and vulnerability management, offline and on-device AI, nonprofit fundraising, maritime-sector innovation, AI for HR, and turning domain expertise into digital products.
Startup World Cup Lebanon: a first for the country
For the first time, LEBTECH hosted a national round of the Startup World Cup, the global competition organized by Pegasus Tech Ventures across some 60 countries, culminating in a US$1 million investment prize at the world finale in San Francisco on 20 November 2026.
Twelve Lebanese startups competed as regional finalists on the LEBTECH stage. Brighter Energy was named winner of Startup World Cup Lebanon and will represent the country at the global finale giving a Lebanese company direct access to an international investor audience.
Themes that defined the 2026 edition
Discussions across the summit converged on ten priority areas: AI and automation, digital governance, cybersecurity, fintech and blockchain, green tech, women in tech, Education 5.0, accessibility and inclusion, digital transformation, and startup scaling. A recurring thread was resilience — how Lebanese institutions and companies can keep building, digitizing and exporting talent despite a difficult operating environment.
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