Startups brewing change for Lebanon’s workers

No policy support: An employee serves coffee at Agonist, a coffee shop that hires people with special needs, in Zalka, Lebanon. Lack of government support is making it difficult for such ventures to thrive. — Reuters

FARAH Ballout’s big, infectious smile is the first thing that greets you at her workplace, a cafe in Lebanon with a mission to do more than just brew coffee.

Before she was hired, the 29-year-old, who suffers from Angelman Syndrome, a genetic disorder that means she has developmental disabilities, had struggled to find work in a country with high unemployment.