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A very intelligent person once said that only the dead have seen the end of war. In the 20th century, 108 M people were killed in wars. War is the biggest disease of humanity. Even in this so-called modern era, we have not learned to move forward putting our childish differences aside. In the midst of political conflicts, the fire of violence has tortured the hearts and minds of the peace-loving people of Syria for years. But, it has failed to suffocate the spirit of Syrian tech entrepreneurs. Let's explore the tech startup landscape in Syria.
Bot economy is growing very fast. Popular chat/message platforms such as facebook messenger, slack, and cisco spark are promoting chat bot culture. Mujeeb is a tech startup from Syria which allows the user to build chatbots for facebook platform. Businesses are learning that in order to ensure timely response to customer requests, chatbots are the most reliable solution. Using automation gives an edge to a business over its competitors. Services offered by Mujeeb allow businesses improve their customer services and increase their reach manifold. The meaning of the word "mujeeb" is responder. The startup has received wide international press coverage due to their innovative concept. The startup has a special focus on Arabic, which is an intelligent strategy by the founders because people in the MENA region and beyond appreciate the platform's offering. The startup was founded by three computer engineering students from the University of Damascus. Trjmly is a popular app that provides translation services. It intends to become the "first and most reliable translation service in the Arab world." It's built on Mujeeb. Mujeeb aims to improve natural language processing support for Arabic. It has received $10,000 in a recent startup event in Beirut, Lebanon.
Remmaz is a platform that teaches coding in Arabic, the world's sixth most spoken language. The startup has received $3,000 UNFPA innovation fund and has a growing user base. The interactive platform teaches web development basics and has interesting courses in its pipeline. The web development basics track teaches the students to build their first website. It has four chapters or challenges. The first one teaches html site structure, the second one is on css basics, the third one teaches dividing the page into rows and splitting the page into separate convenient units, and the last one introduces image formats and the method of adding images to a website. Lean Darwish and Muhammad Sultan, the founders of this wonderful platform are graduates in CS from the University of Damascus. Remmaz is going to play a phenomenal role in rebuilding what the war has destroyed in Syria.
NaTakallam is a startup that bridges the gap between Syrian refugees & Arabic learners all over the world. The name means "we speak" or "we are speaking" in Arabic. The platform offers language learning sessions over skype. It is not uncommon for refugees to face inconveniences in earning a living due to deteriorating security situations. On the other hand, people who want to learn a rich language such as Arabic often find it difficult to find a good teacher. The platform bridges this gap in the most comfortable manner. In the process, NaTakallam creates strong cross-cultural ties that forge ever-lasting friendships. The startup was founded in 2015 by Aline Sara. The platform went viral even when it was in trial phase. With interest in Arabic language studies growing all over the US, NaTakallam is going to get more and more popular in the US. Learning Arabic is essential for people from various fields, for instance, a journalist in the middle east covering the Syrian conflict must communicate with Arabic-speaking people to uncover the truth to the world. Most institutes teach formal Arabic, Fusha and not colloquial Arabic, Ammiyyah. This is a serious problem because Ammiyyah is what is used prevalently in day-to-day conversation in the region. Due to NaTakallam's innovative model, users learn Ammiyyah from people who speak the language day in and day out. Despite being a for-profit corporation, NaTakallam has done what hundreds of not-for-profits would take years to accomplish. The corporation has received support from Columbia University’s Start up Lab, Lebanon-based NGO arcenciel & Washington DC-based non-profit Aspen Institute. Alfanar, a venture philanthropy fund based in the UK, has invested $55,000 in this startup.
Syrian tech startups are not lagging behind in green tech. Yaman Abou Jieb, an engineering alumnus of Damascus University, invented an environment-friendly, solar-powered, & power-and-water-efficient washing machine, Glean. The startup has attracted investor attention in Saudi Arabia and in the west. He was the winner of the Stars of Science, Season 7. Stars of Science is an edutainment reality show launched in 2009 that encourages innovation. Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is the promoter of the show. Yaman's score was 37.2%. The reward was $300,000. During the course of the show, his determination and resilience impressed the viewers. Yaman has been recognized by MIT Technology Review’s Arab Edition as one of the five best inventors of the Arab world. Yaman is also passionate about helping others in discovering the spirit of innovation.
Beeorder is a food ordering app that has become very popular among the masses due to its remarkable simplicity and strong restaurant network. The startup is based in Damascus. The startup has tie-ups with hundreds of restaurants. Joining Beeorder network is profitable for restaurants because, through it, they gain increased exposure, which ensures a higher profit. In addition to that, it relieves restaurant owners and customers from the hassles of long queues, delays, and missed payments. Beeorder is the first online food ordering app in Syria. It's available on google play, app store, apkpure and through direct download. Beeorder started its journey on January 1, 2016, and has a solid user base.
There are international organizations that are actively engaged in promoting Syrian entrepreneurs. Jusoor is perhaps the most prominent of them. Jusoor, a not-for-profit organization, has taken steps to encourage and provide guidance to tech-entrepreneurs of Syria. Run by Syrian expatriates, the organization has over 123,000 community members. It has partnerships with Boeing, arabnet, Startup Next, & others. It has launched Disruptor Labs Competition to reward ground-breaking ideas that address problems faced by refugees and resettled refugees. It also offers mentorship & funding for entrepreneurs. Jusoor mentors are experienced business owners or top-level executives who volunteer to share their knowledge and experience with startup founders. Jusoor's entrepreneurship competition started in '14-15, and every year has granted funding to winning young talented entrepreneurs. It also organizes bootcamps that train aspiring entrepreneurs in business management, finance, and presentation. Despite the ongoing war, Syrian startup founders were very enthusiastic about Google's Startup Weekend Damascus events. Such events encourage young entrepreneurs of Syria to create their own opportunities instead of searching for them. The Startup Weekend Damascus generated waves of enthusiasm all over social media. Ahmad Sufian Bayram's team was the organizer of the events. In recent years, Ahmad and his team have worked very hard to keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive amidst the conflict. The reports published by him and his team give the world glimpses of the Syrian startup ecosystem. In a recent report, he mentions, "the protracted war in Syria has exacerbated the challenges facing entrepreneurs working to create their startups. [...] since 2013, a slight recovery in terms of startups supporting new ideas and seed-focused entrepreneurs has taken place, led by a new generation of the community." The report also mentions that contributions from female entrepreneurs have strengthened the startup ecosystem. Techstars, an international network of entrepreneurs, has ongoing programs in Damascus and offers resources for startup founders.
After the war started, over 5 M people have left the country and over 6 M are displaced inside the country. The continuous war has devasted the lives of people. Syria has an overall Doing Business rank of 173, eight places below Iraq. It takes courage to even dream about founding a startup while living in Syria. In a recent article published on World Entrepreneurs' Day, 21st August, Ahmad Sufian Bayram shared some interesting numbers that show how Syrian refugees have started contributing to the international startup ecosystem. The startups discussed in this article prove that although the war has robbed a lot from Syrians, it will never be able to take away the resolve of brave Syrian entrepreneurs determined to take the country forward through innovation.
Image credit: Sleepi Alleyne, pexels.com
Remmaz is a platform that teaches coding in Arabic, the world's sixth most spoken language. The startup has received $3,000 UNFPA innovation fund and has a growing user base. The interactive platform teaches web development basics and has interesting courses in its pipeline. The web development basics track teaches the students to build their first website. It has four chapters or challenges. The first one teaches html site structure, the second one is on css basics, the third one teaches dividing the page into rows and splitting the page into separate convenient units, and the last one introduces image formats and the method of adding images to a website. Lean Darwish and Muhammad Sultan, the founders of this wonderful platform are graduates in CS from the University of Damascus. Remmaz is going to play a phenomenal role in rebuilding what the war has destroyed in Syria.
NaTakallam is a startup that bridges the gap between Syrian refugees & Arabic learners all over the world. The name means "we speak" or "we are speaking" in Arabic. The platform offers language learning sessions over skype. It is not uncommon for refugees to face inconveniences in earning a living due to deteriorating security situations. On the other hand, people who want to learn a rich language such as Arabic often find it difficult to find a good teacher. The platform bridges this gap in the most comfortable manner. In the process, NaTakallam creates strong cross-cultural ties that forge ever-lasting friendships. The startup was founded in 2015 by Aline Sara. The platform went viral even when it was in trial phase. With interest in Arabic language studies growing all over the US, NaTakallam is going to get more and more popular in the US. Learning Arabic is essential for people from various fields, for instance, a journalist in the middle east covering the Syrian conflict must communicate with Arabic-speaking people to uncover the truth to the world. Most institutes teach formal Arabic, Fusha and not colloquial Arabic, Ammiyyah. This is a serious problem because Ammiyyah is what is used prevalently in day-to-day conversation in the region. Due to NaTakallam's innovative model, users learn Ammiyyah from people who speak the language day in and day out. Despite being a for-profit corporation, NaTakallam has done what hundreds of not-for-profits would take years to accomplish. The corporation has received support from Columbia University’s Start up Lab, Lebanon-based NGO arcenciel & Washington DC-based non-profit Aspen Institute. Alfanar, a venture philanthropy fund based in the UK, has invested $55,000 in this startup.
Syrian tech startups are not lagging behind in green tech. Yaman Abou Jieb, an engineering alumnus of Damascus University, invented an environment-friendly, solar-powered, & power-and-water-efficient washing machine, Glean. The startup has attracted investor attention in Saudi Arabia and in the west. He was the winner of the Stars of Science, Season 7. Stars of Science is an edutainment reality show launched in 2009 that encourages innovation. Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is the promoter of the show. Yaman's score was 37.2%. The reward was $300,000. During the course of the show, his determination and resilience impressed the viewers. Yaman has been recognized by MIT Technology Review’s Arab Edition as one of the five best inventors of the Arab world. Yaman is also passionate about helping others in discovering the spirit of innovation.
Beeorder is a food ordering app that has become very popular among the masses due to its remarkable simplicity and strong restaurant network. The startup is based in Damascus. The startup has tie-ups with hundreds of restaurants. Joining Beeorder network is profitable for restaurants because, through it, they gain increased exposure, which ensures a higher profit. In addition to that, it relieves restaurant owners and customers from the hassles of long queues, delays, and missed payments. Beeorder is the first online food ordering app in Syria. It's available on google play, app store, apkpure and through direct download. Beeorder started its journey on January 1, 2016, and has a solid user base.
There are international organizations that are actively engaged in promoting Syrian entrepreneurs. Jusoor is perhaps the most prominent of them. Jusoor, a not-for-profit organization, has taken steps to encourage and provide guidance to tech-entrepreneurs of Syria. Run by Syrian expatriates, the organization has over 123,000 community members. It has partnerships with Boeing, arabnet, Startup Next, & others. It has launched Disruptor Labs Competition to reward ground-breaking ideas that address problems faced by refugees and resettled refugees. It also offers mentorship & funding for entrepreneurs. Jusoor mentors are experienced business owners or top-level executives who volunteer to share their knowledge and experience with startup founders. Jusoor's entrepreneurship competition started in '14-15, and every year has granted funding to winning young talented entrepreneurs. It also organizes bootcamps that train aspiring entrepreneurs in business management, finance, and presentation. Despite the ongoing war, Syrian startup founders were very enthusiastic about Google's Startup Weekend Damascus events. Such events encourage young entrepreneurs of Syria to create their own opportunities instead of searching for them. The Startup Weekend Damascus generated waves of enthusiasm all over social media. Ahmad Sufian Bayram's team was the organizer of the events. In recent years, Ahmad and his team have worked very hard to keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive amidst the conflict. The reports published by him and his team give the world glimpses of the Syrian startup ecosystem. In a recent report, he mentions, "the protracted war in Syria has exacerbated the challenges facing entrepreneurs working to create their startups. [...] since 2013, a slight recovery in terms of startups supporting new ideas and seed-focused entrepreneurs has taken place, led by a new generation of the community." The report also mentions that contributions from female entrepreneurs have strengthened the startup ecosystem. Techstars, an international network of entrepreneurs, has ongoing programs in Damascus and offers resources for startup founders.
After the war started, over 5 M people have left the country and over 6 M are displaced inside the country. The continuous war has devasted the lives of people. Syria has an overall Doing Business rank of 173, eight places below Iraq. It takes courage to even dream about founding a startup while living in Syria. In a recent article published on World Entrepreneurs' Day, 21st August, Ahmad Sufian Bayram shared some interesting numbers that show how Syrian refugees have started contributing to the international startup ecosystem. The startups discussed in this article prove that although the war has robbed a lot from Syrians, it will never be able to take away the resolve of brave Syrian entrepreneurs determined to take the country forward through innovation.
Image credit: Sleepi Alleyne, pexels.com