Month: October 2018
Syrian Anti-Car Theft App AWI and Smart Marionette Win the Startup Roadshow in Gaziantep
SWB Team Syrian-led startups AWI-Car Secure and Smart Marionette have just won the pitching competition at the Startup Roadshow in Gaziantep, Turkey, after a 5-day bootcamp where 20 teams of Syrian startups battled it out for the first prize. AWI International, founded by Firas Sheakh Mousa, is a mobile app and an electronic device to...
Five One Labs Opens the Second Entrepreneur Academy in Iraq – and Applications are Open!
SWB Team Five One Labs is looking for strong entrepreneurs from diverse communities including refugees, internally displaced people, and locals to join their second Entrepreneur Academy, starting on November 11th in their coworking space in Sulaimani, Iraq. The Entrepreneur Academy is a two-month, business and design-focused training...
Saleem Najjar, The Syrian Entrepreneur Building the Artisans’ Gateway to Global Markets
Yasmeen Smadi meets the Syrian entrepreneur giving artisans in Jordan access to market with Sharqi Shop. By Yasmeen Smadi Brought by: Jusoor and Spark It’s Monday evening and I’m driving through the streets of Amman, the windows rolled down to enjoy the spring breeze, as I head off to the city’s Business Park to meet …...
5 Things I learned Interviewing 13 Refugee Changemakers
While writing her book ‘Refugee Changemakers,’ Apoorva Mittal embarked on a journey to encounter newcomers across the Netherlands. This is what she learned. By Apoorva Mittal What if we took a tour across the Netherlands to find the refugee changemakers turning adversity into unimaginable strength? That’s what Apoorva...
10 Speakers You Can’t Miss at the Techfugees Summit
Just as the tech community gathers in Paris to explore tech solutions to hack the refugee crisis, we take a look at 10 speakers hitting the summit. By SWB Team The Techfugees Summit is just about to start in Paris’ tech hub, Station F. Titled “Let’s Tech the Borders Down” the conference will focus on …...
Inside Amsterdam’s Only Arabic Bookstore Cafe: Meet the Syrian Entrepreneur Behind ‘Pages’
Yasmeen Smadi meets the relentless award-winning publisher who brought Arabic literature to the city of canals. By Yasmeen Smadi In the heart of Amsterdam, amongst one of its three main canals lined with beautiful old houses, tall trees, and bicycles chained to its bridges, lies a cultural gem: the city’s only Arabic bookstore...
Inside TEDx Roma Salon: Innovation By and For Migrants Takes the Stage at Porous Borders
By Valentina Primo Inside a packed auditorium in Rome’s MAXXi Museum, we get to meet the changemakers behind Arian Teleheal, Mygrants, and Re-future Project. It was a packed room at Rome’s MAXXi museum last September at TEDx Roma Salon as “Porous Borders,” a relay series of talks held in five cities geared up to begin. …...
E-Commerce Startup Sharqi Shop and HealthTech Fadfeth Championed the Startup Roadshow in Amman
Amman. Syrian-led e-commerce platform Sharqi Shop, and Fadfeth have won the Startup Roadshow competition in Jordan, held on October 11th. The Startup Roadshow, organised by Jusoor and SPARK, is in the midst of its tour across 5 cities, setting off to discover the next generation of Syrian entrepreneurs in Turkey and the Levant region....
Newcomers in Finland: Startup Refugees Can Train and Fund Your Project
Are you a newcomer to Finland? “Immigration is brain gain.” That’s the motto behind the Startup Refugees Business Program, which offers support for newcomers interested in starting companies in Finland. They provide the guidance needed in all steps from forming the business idea to actually running a profitable...
Refugee Entrepreneurs Are Using Facebook to Sell their Products. What Can Facebook Do for Them?
By Valentina Primo “Learning is key – not only for refugee entrepreneurs but also for us,” says Facebook’s Vice President in the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey Ari Kesisoglu. “We’re here to give hope. There are 3 groups of people that matter: SMEs, entrepreneurs and women. When these three groups success, countries do...
Peer-to-Peer Logistics and AgriTech Startups Win Big at the Startup Roadshow in Erbil
Shiffer, a peer-to-peer, online logistics platform for express shipping, and Agri-Answer have won the Startup Roadshow competition, held in Erbil on October 4th. This is the second round of the competition organized by Jusoor and SPARK to support Syrian entrepreneurs, after a successful first edition in Beirut last September. At the end...
MITEF Pan Arab Launches Innovate for Refugees Competition – Applications are Open!
The competition, running its 3rd edition, has supported over 40 projects and injected $250,000 in equity-free investment to startups. Does your startup create solutions for refugees? The MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab (MITEF Pan Arab), has just announced the launch of one of its flagship competitions, Innovate for Refugees, in...
How 10 Years in a Dutch Refugee Camp Prepared Sina Azizi for Trading Cryptocurrency
The Iranian entrepreneur began trading penny stocks to learn about the stock market. Today, he advices firms through his startup. By SWB Team Trading on the stock market is a volatile and risky business; it is a simple reality that everyone loses money at some point. But then again, refugees are known for taking risks. …...
Home Chef Lebanon and Loop Just Won the First Prize at the Startup Roadshow in Beirut
The startups, a home-made meals delivery service and a peer-to-peer platform for exchanging and commercializing second-hand toys, will compete at the finals in Amsterdam next November. It’s October, but it still feels like summer in Beirut. At the Beirut Digital District, Lebanon’s tech hub, Syrian entrepreneurs ...
7 Migrant Entrepreneurs Going from Dreamers to Founders in Cairo
What makes someone a founder? We speak with 7 refugee entrepreneurs turning their ingenious ideas into concrete business plans. Last summer, 20 bold entrepreneurs met as the SWB Coaching Competition kicked-off in the heart of downtown Cairo. The sessions started off with a group session led by Business Coach Reem Sherif, who went on to...
