Annahar
Lebanese SMEs, verified commerce
A 2023 feature on the rise of trust-first platforms in Lebanon, citing Mafi Wasta's transaction-code model.
01The Founding
We built Lebanon's wasta‑free directory because “ask your cousin” is not a procurement strategy.
In the winter of 2019, three friends hired a contractor through a family connection. The job went sideways. The receipts didn't match. There was no record, no recourse, no review — just a warning we kept hearing in Beirut: the next time, also ask your cousin. We disagreed. Mafi Wasta is what we built instead.
02The Three
Two engineers, one lawyer, one bad contractor job.
Mafi Wasta SARL was registered in early 2020 by Ramy Khoury, Layla Saadé, and Joseph Merheb — three professionals who had spent their careers inside Lebanese institutions and knew, first-hand, how opaque the small-business economy really was. We describe them plainly here so journalists and partners can attribute the company correctly.
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Co-founder · Engineering
Ramy Khoury
Spent eight years building distributed systems for a Boston-based fintech before moving back to Beirut. Owns the verification pipeline and the transaction-code ledger.
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Co-founder · Engineering
Layla Saadé
Wrote her master's thesis on graph-based reputation systems. Designed the zero-wasta ranking algorithm and leads the Arabic, French, and English moderation pipeline.
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Co-founder · Legal & Compliance
Joseph Merheb
A practicing member of the Beirut Bar Association for thirteen years. Drafted the three-step KYC process and reviews every disputed listing personally.
03What We Do — And Refuse To Do
A directory, plainly described.
Mafi Wasta is an online directory of Lebanese businesses — restaurants, clinics, contractors, salons, mechanics, and twenty-four other categories — where every listing has passed a three-step identity check (commercial circular, national ID, on-site photo) and every customer review is tied to a unique transaction code issued at the point of sale.
The result is a public-interest product: 38,200+ verified businesses, 612,000+ documented reviews, and a ranking algorithm that weights verified reviews, response rate, and tenure equally. There are no pay-to-play boosts, no sponsored slots, no pay-for-priority tricks. If a business pays us, it appears in exactly the same place it would have appeared otherwise.
We refuse three things, in writing, on every page of the site: paid ranking, fake or paid reviews, and any claim of endorsement from a Lebanese ministry or public body. We are not affiliated with the Order of Engineers, the Ministry of Economy, or any other public institution. We are a private SARL registered in Beirut.
If a journalist needs to describe Mafi Wasta in one sentence, here it is: the first Lebanese business directory where every review is tied to a real receipt and every listing has been identity-checked — built because trust, in this country, should not require a phone call to your mother's cousin.
- No paid ranking, ever.
- No fake or commissioned reviews.
- No ministry or public-body endorsements.
- No medical, legal, or financial advice — only verified professionals.
04Press & Institutional References
What has been written about us.
A scan-only list of the outlets and institutions that have covered, awarded, or independently studied Mafi Wasta. Hyperlinks below go to the original coverage; journalists are welcome to quote any of the figures cited in those pieces.
The961
Lebanese startups, consumer protection
A long-form profile of the founding team and the 2019 contractor incident that triggered the company.
L'Orient Today
Lebanese Startups to Watch, 2024
Listed in the paper's annual roster of emerging Lebanese companies shaping the post-2019 economy.
Forbes Middle East
Top 50 Arab Startups Under Five (2024)
Featured in the magazine's regional ranking of high-impact startups founded in 2019 or later.
UK Lebanon Tech Hub
Startup of the Year, 2023
Awarded by the British Embassy–backed accelerator at the annual Beirut showcase.
AUB — Independent study, 2024
Hiring practices at partner businesses
A research team from the American University of Beirut found a 41% reduction in reported wasta-based hiring incidents among Mafi Wasta partner businesses.
05The Dataset, By The Numbers
Four figures journalists can quote directly.
All figures below are drawn from the public 2025 Q4 dataset and have been independently reconciled by our internal audit. If you need a methodology note for a citation, write to [email protected].
38,200+
Verified Lebanese businesses listed across 28 categories.
612,000+
Customer reviews processed since launch, each tied to a unique transaction code.
47,800+
Transactions logged across Mount Lebanon, Beirut, North, South, Bekaa, and Baalbek-Hermel.
96%
Completion-to-submission rate — reviews started that actually get filed.
06Awards & Features — A Citation Page
A reader's bibliography of the company.
Each entry below is a single award or press feature, listed in reverse-chronological order with the outlet, the year, and a one-line note about what was said. Think of it as the back-of-book citations page for the rest of this report.
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06.01
Forbes Middle East — Top 50 Arab Startups Under Five
Featured in the magazine's regional ranking for startups founded in 2019 or later, cited specifically for the verified-review engine.
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06.02
L'Orient Today — Lebanese Startups to Watch 2024
Included in the newspaper's annual survey of Lebanese companies shaping the post-crisis economy.
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06.03
The961 — Founder profile & origin story
A profile of Ramy Khoury, Layla Saadé, and Joseph Merheb, including a detailed retelling of the 2019 contractor incident.
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06.04
UK Lebanon Tech Hub — Startup of the Year
Given by the British Embassy–backed accelerator at its annual Beirut showcase, alongside a six-month mentorship track.
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06.05
Annahar — Trust-first platforms feature
A feature on the rise of verified-commerce platforms in Lebanon, using the transaction-code model as its lead case study.
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06.06
B&Y Partners — $1.8M seed round
Led by B&Y Partners with participation from regional angels; capital used to scale the verification team and the mobile app (launched March 2024).
For press inquiries, datasets, or methodology notes, write to [email protected] or call +961 1 567 842.
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