Tripoli Entrepreneurs Need Better Funding, Skills and Support to Help Businesses Grow

Persistent skills gaps drew attention to the need for practical training, mentoring and learning through work, supported by closer relationships between education providers and industry.

Building a business in Tripoli often means drawing on personal savings, turning to family or finding informal sources of finance, with entrepreneurs facing difficulties securing funding suited to their needs. These challenges were central to discussions at Tripoli's public library on 15 September 2026, where more than 50 representatives gathered to review preliminary findings from the Inclusive Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Assessment. Co-organized by Libya's Ministry of Planning in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the workshop opened with remarks from the UN Resident Coordination Office and gave participants an opportunity to help shape priorities for stronger business support.

Financing Remains a Barrier to Business Growth

The assessment examines the conditions affecting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Tripoli, paying particular attention to women, young people and internally displaced persons, alongside the institutions, services and market connections that influence business creation and growth. Its preliminary findings describe an entrepreneurship ecosystem showing resilience and potential, but with fragmented support and uneven coordination that need attention. Access to suitable finance emerged as a major constraint, with entrepreneurs frequently relying on savings, family networks, grants or informal arrangements to support their businesses.

Improving that situation requires more than identifying additional sources of money, because entrepreneurs also need greater awareness of existing financing options and support to prepare their businesses for investment. Participants discussed alternative financing pathways and the importance of expanding access to financial products and services that match enterprise needs. Stronger investment readiness featured among the priorities, recognising that access to finance depends partly on helping entrepreneurs prepare to engage with potential funders and make use of available opportunities.

Practical Skills and Connected Services Matter

The findings identified opportunities for entrepreneurship support organisations to work more closely together and provide better assistance with business growth, investment preparation, market expansion and export readiness. More integrated business development services would help address the fragmentation highlighted by the assessment, bringing greater coherence to the support available as enterprises develop. Stronger coordination between the organisations involved emerged as a priority across the workshop's discussions, connecting the challenges of finance, skills and business support rather than treating each as a separate concern.

Persistent skills gaps drew attention to the need for practical training, mentoring and learning through work, supported by closer relationships between education providers and industry. The discussion focused on making skills development more responsive to market demand, including opportunities linked to the digital and green economy. For entrepreneurs and people preparing to enter employment, the emphasis was on learning that connects with the needs of businesses, giving training institutions and employers a clearer role in shaping relevant skills and practical experience.

Local Feedback Will Shape the Next Steps

The workshop brought together representatives of public institutions, social partners, business and financial organisations, education and training providers, entrepreneurship support organisations, entrepreneurs, the United Nations system and development partners. Technical presentations drew on the ILO's international experience in promoting inclusive entrepreneurship, including in crisis settings, and provided a basis for discussions and group work. Participants examined the preliminary findings and recommendations, identified points needing further refinement and considered possible interventions according to their relevance, feasibility and potential impact.

Feedback from the gathering will contribute to finalising the assessment and identifying priority areas for intervention, with better coordination, alternative financing pathways, market-driven skills and integrated business support among the strategic directions discussed. The process gives Libyan stakeholders a role in shaping the response to the barriers identified in Tripoli, keeping the experiences of entrepreneurs and support providers central to the next steps. The ILO's continuing work with those stakeholders supports sustainable enterprises, productive employment and decent work within a more inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem.