News & Stories
Erbil-Based Shiffer Wins the MITEF Pan Arab’s Innovate for Refugees
The Innovate for Refugees competition awards the best solutions to tackle the refugee crisis across the Middle East. US-based Engineering For Social Good and Lebanese startup KwikPak won the Idea Track. Peer-to-peer logistics platform Shiffer, founded in Iraq, has just been awarded the ‘Startup Track’ at the Innovate for...
5 Entrepreneurs Spill the Beans on How to Build an Awesome Team
One of the 3 top reasons startups fail is hiring the wrong team. Hadeel Hegazy asks entrepreneurs from Syria and Egypt how they can build a winning team. By Hadeel Hegazy Nine out of 10 emerging startups fail, according to Fortune magazine. Amongst the top three reasons, failing to pick the right calibres stands out, according to...
From Product-Based to Story-Based: the Syrian Entrepreneur Disrupting E-commerce with the Power of AI
“The world of e-commerce is traditionally product-based, but people buy with their emotions,” says Oubai Al Hendi. So he is building a platform that responds to that. By Merna Fawzy “People buy based on their emotions,” says Oubai El Hindi, determined. The Dubai-based entrepreneur is heavily entering the world of e-commerce...
How This Syrian Entrepreneur Built a 9.000-strong Community of “Conscious Mothers’’ in Cairo
We meet Reem Sabouni, the Syrian entrepreneur supporting mothers through Montessori education. By Shadw Helal Mom’s club main office certainly speaks for itself. Set in a small, cozy apartment with home vibes, the setting allows for mothers to interact with other mothers, relax, read books, have some time for themselves while their...
Syrian Startup Reviving Home Scores €20.000 at SINGA’s Berlin Newcomer Startup Award
The startup, founded by Hadi Soufan, aims to help displaced people to rebuild and revive their war and crisis-torn cities. Bote and Niuversity took the second and third prize. By Rana Hafez Last week in Berlin, newcomer entrepreneurs competed to win prizes of more than €50.00 at Berlin Newcomer Startup Award, organized by SINGA...
This Syrian Woman Just Won the Startup Roadshow Finals in Lebanon
The EdTech startup is based in Gaziantep and focuses on bringing marionettes to the 21st century. This was the roadshow’s second Demo Day, following Ignite 2018 in Amsterdam. By SWB Team Syrian entrepreneur Juman Jamal Sakkae won the $8.000 first prize of the Startup Roadshow Second Demo Day, held at the Beirut Digital District on...
6 Migrant Entrepreneurs Whose Startups Are Rocking the Tech World
On International Migrants Day, we take a look at the tech innovations of 6 migrant entrepreneurs who are disrupting the tech industry across borders, from Germany, to Norway, to the US. By SWB Team 1. Raafat Hantouch Born in Syria and based in Germany, Raafat Hantouch turned a dramatic childhood experience into an innovative tech...
Gaza Sky Geeks and Re:Coded Discuss Tech and Refugees at Egypt’s RiseUp Summit
The panel “Refugees: Digital Lifelines” took over the main stage at Cairo’s leading startup summit, where Re:Coded and Gaza Sky Geeks talked about their tech programs. By SWB Team Last weekend, Egypt’s Riseup Summit kicked off their sixth edition at the heart of Cairo’s tech hub, The Greek Campus. Themed “Grounded...
How Are Newcomers Shaping the Economy? Startup Migrants is Crowdfunding the New Innovation Map
Immigrants today represent 3.3% of the world’s population. But what does this mean for the European economy? We meet the team crowdfunding the migrant innovation map. By SWB Team Today, immigrants today represent 3.3% of the global population, with several of the top destinations based in Europe. Germany currently hosts 12.0 million,...
“We Couldn’t Keep Teaching Art in Yemen, So We Started an Online Academy Across the Entire Middle East”
A successful couple of award-winning entrepreneurs, Fardous Mohamed and her husband had to start their arts academy abroad all over again – but this time, online. By Yasmeen Smadi For Fardous Mohamed and her husband, entrepreneurship took a different turn when they traveled to receive an award, and found themselves stranded in...
Syrian Startup Shiffer Champions the Startup Roadshow Finals at Amsterdam’s Ignite Conference
Erbil-based Shiffer took home the $8.000 prize. HealthTech startup Fadfed, based in Amman, took home the second prize, while Sharqi Shop won the Young Advisory Group Audience Award. SWB Team In a conference filled with energy, Syrian-led startup Shiffer, a peer-to-peer shipping platform, won the first prize of the Startup Roadshow....
Defying Statelessness: How My Daughter’s Birth Inspired Me to Start a Peer-to-Peer Shipping Company in Iraq
What happens to Syrian refugee children who are born abroad? The hurdles to get a birth certificate in Iraq led Azhar Al Madani to start a shipping company. By Hadeel Hegazy and Valentina Primo Brought by Jusoor and Spark “In April 2016 I welcomed my baby girl, and after a long and exhausting journey to …...
These 10 Syrian Startups are Heading Off to Pitch their Businesses in Amsterdam’s Ignite Conference
10 Syrian-led businesses based in Beirut, Amman, Erbil, Istanbul and Gaziantep are taking off to pitch their ideas to an international jury at the SPARK Ignite Conference: Rebuilding Futures next November 28th. The competition is the concluding phase of the exciting Startup Roadshow: A competition for Syrian startups, organised by...
She Fled the Scars of War. Now, She’s The Force Behind of One of America’s Top 5.000 Tech Companies
She arrived to the US at 18, with only 1.000 in Her Pocket. How did this power woman build a tech empire, listed as one of Inc’s 5000 companies? By Valentina Primo Like a tornado, like a force of nature unravelling from East to West, Rania Hoteit has been leaving an indelible imprint in the …...
Congolese Entrepreneur Olivier Mukuta Wins the Nordic Startup Awards with his Blockchain Startup VipiCash
The entrepreneur, who came up with his first startup in a refugee camp in Malawi, is now using blockchain to help women have financial independence. By SWB Team Oslo-based entrepreneur Olivier Mukuta was awarded the the Nordic Startup Awards last October 30th, in the Brave Founder Beginnings category, the first of its kind in the...
