Written by Marco De Novellis – businessbecause.com

The Middle East is often in the news for all the wrong reasons. Yet amid the wars, the terrorism and the tension, new generations of entrepreneurs are looking to change perceptions, drive societal change and improve quality of life.

Among them, Saleh el Khazen, a Lebanese innovator using sports to make a
social impact. Over the past decade, Saleh has worked on construction
projects in Qatar and Lebanon.

He’s a partner and board member of the pioneering ELKA construction
group and founded its Lebanon-based subsidiary – project development and
management company Sminds – before embarking on a project
management-focused EMBA at SKEMA Business School.

The French “Grande école” jets its EMBA students off to study at a
range of international campuses; in Oslo, Shanghai, Dallas, and, as of
2017, Belo Horizonte in Brazil. The program culminates in the “capstone
project” where students can build business plans for their own
entrepreneurial ventures.

And it was there that Saleh developed his construction plan for a
sports park in Jounieh, a coastal city in Lebanon, located 16 kilometers
north of Beirut. His aim: to unite a troubled community through sport.

Saleh completed his EMBA at SKEMA earlier this year. Now, he’s getting
permits, planning permission, developing designs, and looking for
investors.

How did the idea to your sports construction project come about?

The idea was to create a safe environment, far from tension and noises,
to bring people of different ages together and unite them under one
umbrella called sport.

In Lebanon, healthy living has become a trend and people are giving
much more importance to sports. In 2006, in the middle of the Lebanon
War, sports facilities kept their doors open even though almost
everything else was closed.

The Jounieh sports park plan is for a venue for all kinds of indoor and
outdoor sports, with a gym, swimming pool, running track and a
playground for kids.

What do you hope to achieve?

I am definitely aiming to develop my business plan. This market is not
yet well exploited in Lebanon, but it is considered a growing market
worth investing in. So I can be a pioneer in the field.

What challenges do you face?

The economic and political situation in Lebanon, and the Middle East in
general, has the potential to explode at any time. The risk in
developing a business and investing a lot in it cannot be
underestimated.

Why did you decide to pursue an EMBA at SKEMA?

I have always been an inquisitive person and I strongly believed that
an EMBA would benefit my career and help me grow as an individual.

SKEMA ranks as a leading global business school and among the best in
France. It offers a very flexible blended-learning program that combines
e-learning sessions and interactive workshops with highly renowned
lecturers.

How have you profited from your EMBA experience at SKEMA?

The EMBA gave me the ability to innovate, to take a new idea and to
build a successful business around it. It made look at my business from
different perspectives. I was able to discuss it with a network of
professionals and get a range of useful feedback.

There’s no denying that an EMBA will grant you access to a better
career and a higher quality of life. I acquired the knowledge, skills
and tools that I need to succeed in the world of business. I expanded my
network, visited different countries and developed my strategic vision.