How Syrian entrepreneurs are creatively working through war

The tech ecosystem is booming in the MENA, we keep hearing. More investments were made in regional startups last year than ever before, more MENA-based entrepreneurs are making big time partnerships with multinational corporates all over the world, and more and more young people are seeing entrepreneurship as viable way to earn a livelihood in a region stricken with unemployment, corruption, and resistance to change.

But the good news doesn’t extend to every corner of the Arab world. Syria’s nearly four-year long civil war has, among other, more newsworthy tragedies, ground the country’s formerly vibrant tech scene to a skidding halt. “80% of medium-to-advanced level Syrian developers have left the country,” says Shopgo founder Moe Ghashim; this is a statistic also cited by Mohammed Habach, the editor-in-chief of Arabic language tech news site Tech-WD, who has worked from his home in Aleppo since the conflict began. “There’s no place for tech in today’s Syria,” adds Ghaith Akkad, cofounder of Picasso Interactive, a Dubai-based interactive and digital communication agency.

This is the first in a two-part series on how the ongoing conflict has impacted the livelihoods of Syrian entrepreneurs, developers, and startup employees. This first piece will examine how members of the tech community who remain in the country are dealing with the challenges of war; later this week, another piece will explore how the war has impacted diaspora Syrians working in the regional tech ecosystem.

Despite the exodus of entrepreneurs and startup employees (in addition to nearly everyone else), and the gloomy outlook of many involved in the regional tech scene, some stalwart entrepreneurs and startup employees not only remain in Syria, but have kept working on their various projects despite existential challenges to their livelihoods and lives. Their creative, community-oriented methods of coping are an inspiring reminder of what people can accomplish, even against serious odds, through sheer force of will.

Original article by Stephanie d’Arc Taylor

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How Syrian entrepreneurs are creatively working through war