Navigating Complexity: Designing a Roadmap for Middle East Startups

USAID was having trouble structuring an investment program to accelerate entrepreneurial growth in the Middle East. Uncertain of fund structure, regulatory landscape, and the right folks to partner with to propel nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems in Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon, it turned to WhiteLabel. Starting in DC, we worked with senior members of the USAID team on correcting “perverse incentives” in the initial structure. WhiteLabel then designed what became a much-replicated assessment framework. For more than three months in-country, WhiteLabel implemented the assessment, meeting with hundreds of companies, investors, government officials, mentors and managers of incubators, and legal and regulatory professionals. The team was able to broaden the initiative’s focus, define the investment terms and fund structure, and find the best-suited professionals for USAID to partner with, guaranteeing the initiative’s success. As one senior USAID official said, “One of the best processes I have experienced at USAID, from design to execution–creative and professional. These folks are sharp.”