Forbes 30 Under 30: SmartGov’s digital push for Lebanon

“Today, Lebanon is in a critical time and technology could solve literally most of our problems if we do it right”, says Ihab Hallab, SmartGov’s founder and executive director. When tackling reform and policy, centering technology around these conversations should be the aim. Failing on paper time and again, digitization can make things easier for the government and citizens alike.

Under the Social Impact category, Ihab made it to the coveted Forbes 30 under 30, Middle East and North Africa, 2025 list. This honor recognizes his undertakings across the Code for MENA program, GovTech ecosystem-building, pioneering research, and his most recent initiatives: Maliyati and Raqeb.

“It’s a recognition of a phase of work; it has sharpened the responsibility. I’m proud to be a Lebanese from Tripoli on a list of bright talent from Lebanon and the MENA region”.

A think and do tank

A team of seventeen, personnel, consultants and advisors, SmartGov was founded five years and ten months ago. They built a social capital at the time with people who believed in this mission who now work in top consultancy firms, big four companies.

In Lebanon, reform in government was discussed for decades. The main goal is to enhance this sector.

“If e-government is done right, it can significantly reduce corruption and operational inefficiency, because you can’t bribe a computer, and it’s much harder to work around it”, affirms Ihab.

The technology in ministries will bring the government closer to the people and create more comfort and ease. SmartGov began as an app to accomplish just that. Then, they noticed a huge lack in the field. Governments either turn to companies who treat technology as a stand-alone practice, trying to implement a digital transformation then failing, or they go to consultancy firms who execute everything in a segmented manner.

That’s where the concept for the first Middle Eastern Think and Do tank came from, concerned with the public sector innovation, five months after the company was founded in 2020. Strategies need to precede digital transformations, and doing the opposite for decades has cost Lebanon millions of wasted dollars.

“We do an in-depth analysis on the institutions’ needs, detect problems early on, and provide research-guided technology and insights relying on context-based studies”, says Ihab.

 People who wouldn’t normally be in the same chamber are gathered, social scientists, technologists and policy makers. Therein lies their strength and distinction.

Currently, they have three projects, seven completed related to research in digital transformation, policy insights and technology. They’re planning to scale and establish a presence in the GCC. As it happens, they were incubated in Washington DC in 2022 by a leading social impact business incubator.

In addition, they’re in close coordination with the Lebanese ministry of Finance. The upcoming plan is to digitize 50,000 pages in the ministry to be linked to a portal called Maliyati, the first platform where you can chat with Lebanese fiscal data. “We want to promote transparency and data utility”.

An enhancement project

“You can ask the chatbot for the Lebanese government’s budget or tax collection between 2020 and 2024”. They monitor the fiscal health of the government, advocate for policies and fill in the gaps in fiscal data. The first parties to benefit from this project would be the Lebanese government and the Lebanese citizen.

A memorable moment in Lebanon urged him to work on governance. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese gathered on the streets demanding reform and participation in the political life in 2015 and 2019, 2019’s uprising being the main push. “The Lebanese people care so much about their country and are brilliantly talented, as indicated by Forbes. We are the highest represented per capita”.

With a strong operational inefficiency in Lebanon, where public servants are affiliated to political elites, digital transformation is necessary in the digital age of 2025. “Procedures that could take weeks or months can be done in a few minutes or a few hours, if there’s an interoperable system in the Lebanese government”.

It could make corruption almost impossible. It would save hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayers’ money and would make establishing businesses much easier, simplifying the life between the government and citizens. “We can transition into digital democracy and protect the integrity of the law through digital systems”, says Ihab.

A resuscitated economy

In terms of ease of doing business, the key element for a healthy economy, Lebanon ranked around 143rd out of 190 economies in recent years, reflecting complex regulations and poor infrastructure. You must go to the Ministries of interior, finance, and justice to get the paperwork. The government is not one entity, making it more complicated, and everyone involved is requiring a way around the transaction. It is as frustrating for citizens as for foreign investors. If the government were to be a single-entry point where systems are interconnected, papers would be drawn up instantly, as is the case in most GCC countries and developed nations.

Digital systems would treat everyone equally while safeguarding integrity. “In public procurement, if several parties have applied to a tender, following the same legal procedure, the more competitive party will get it away from favoritism”. Ihab emphasizes that It’s an incremental approach to digital transformation, tailoring their strategies perfectly in a nuanced manner.

Success for SmartGov looks like pushing boundaries for things that don’t exist yet in the midst of an untapped market. “Seek opportunities where you see problems, we’re in a desert of problems”. People who want to see change are the majority, therefore can instigate positive impact. Ihab is in uncharted territory, and incremental transformations will undoubtedly create a ripple effect.