About Us
We envision a world where everyone has the opportunity to pursue their entrepreneurial ambitions, regardless of their passport. We invest in this future by inspiring, connecting, and backing some of the most overlooked founders today: newcomer entrepreneurs.
By supporting early-stage founders, strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems, and creating direct pathways to capital and markets, we turn untapped potential into scalable businesses that generate economic growth and drive innovation in host communities.
Driven by partnerships with 500+ world class corporations, investors and international organizations, our ecosystem brings together capacity-building, an investment network, world-class events, and educational media to drive job creation, foster economic resilience, and promote inclusive growth in 15 countries.
Our work goes beyond individual founders. We shift the systems that determine who can access capital and opportunity, bridging the private and public sectors to create durable pathways for globally experienced entrepreneurs. The impact compounds as founders scale, create jobs, and contribute to shared prosperity across both newcomer and host communities.
WHY CHOOOSE US?
A UNIQUE CROSS-BORDER NETWORK
With over 20,000 entrepreneurs, 700 mentors and investors, and 500 partners from the private and public sector in 15+ countries, our network functions as market infrastructure, enabling founders to access funding, partnerships, supply chains, and international markets. By bridging fragmented ecosystems, we reduce information asymmetries and accelerate the integration of underrepresented entrepreneurs into mainstream economic systems.
OUR SYSTEMS CHANGE APPROACH
Our multi-layered ecosystem integrates capacity building, capital access, network activation, localized engagement, and information dissemination into a coherent infrastructure model. Rather than delivering isolated interventions, our 5 interconnected platforms reinforce one another and generate compounding value over time, enabling newcomer entrepreneurs to access capital, markets, and opportunity.
AN EVIDENCE-BASED MODEL
Evidence shows that migrants and refugees are highly entrepreneurial yet face disproportionate barriers to capital, markets, and institutions. By enabling access to these systems, our model converts entrepreneurial activity into measurable economic outcomes aligned with international durable solutions frameworks, driving revenue growth, job creation, and long term resilience for communities and economies alike.
The Story behind Startups Without Borders
Behind the impact of Startups Without Borders, there is a story of migration, discovery, and cultural immersion. A journey that started with a question: what if there is more to the Middle East than the headlines?
I am Valentina. A journalist, entrepreneur, and a migrant. Growing up in Argentina, the Middle East felt both fascinating and distant; a land that, in the distance filtered by mainstream media, is told through the lens of conflict, instability, and crisis.
But curiosity pushed me to look beyond those narratives.
Founder Stories
Hadeel Galal
Hadeel Galal was 23 years old when war broke out in her home country of Sudan. Having to leave her promising path in banking, she resettled in Cairo and decided to start over supporting her mother’s sewing project. Through the Refugee Launchpad Program, she launched an e-commerce platform for her business Hadeel Designs, expanding her reach and increasing profits by 1,513%. Today, Hadeel is growing her brand with the support of our network of mentors and partners, aiming to grow her brand.
Khaled Megahed
Khaled moved from Egypt to Italy 10 years ago but, despite having many entrepreneurial ideas, he never found the opportunity to turn them into a business. After taking part in the Diversity Innovation Days program, he launched Parko, a startup that leverages AI and IoT to transform urban mobility. Today, he has started partnerships in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, signed agreements with 5 Italian universities, completed a PoC with Enjoy, Italy’s largest car-sharing platform, and is planning Parko’s implementation with the Rome city council.
Yasmeen Darwish
Inspired by electricity cuts in Lebanon, Yasmine Darwish founded DonaLeb, a startup that unites people, businesses, and nonprofits through virtual fitness challenges to drive collective social impact. After taking part in the Startups on the Move Incubation Program, she engaged over 140,000 users and 52 companies, won the World Summit Awards 2022, and secured $500,000 in investment. She has also been featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 for Social Impact.
Our Programs
Digital Skills training for 1,500 Entrepreneurs with Meta
In partnership with Facebook, we launched the Boost With Facebook program, an intensive training program designed to support 1,500 migrant and refugee entrepreneurs in MENA and Europe through teaching them how they can boost their business and reach more customers through Facebook.
Incubation program: 130 Startups On The Move with Google
In partnership with Spark and Google, in 2022 we launched the Startups on the Move Incubation program, training 130 refugee and local entrepreneurs to go from idea to business in Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq. As part of the program, we held 3 networking events in Ramallah, Beirut and Erbil, gathering over 250 entrepreneurs, ecosystem players and investors and a final Pitching event in Amsterdam with a $1o,000 final cash prize.
Advancing Impact Investment with UNDP
Leveraging on Startups Without Borders’ focus on impact-driven business, a multi-year partnership with UNDP Egypt was established, aiming to increasing awareness and advocacy on the SDGs, as well as the importance of impact investment and impact management in the context of the startup landscape. The partnership involved with thought leadership instances and capacity building with intermediary organizations, investors, and stakeholders.
Hackathons for refugee and local entrepreneurs in Italy
In partnership with the American Embassy in Rome, we hosted the “Diversity Innovation Days” program. The initiative aims to foster entrepreneurship and innovation among young migrants in Rome through a series of hackathons to equip 200 migrants, refugees, and local Italians with the skills to build their entrepreneurial projects.
Digital Skills training for 500 entrepreneurs with GoDaddy
Start & Grow Online with GoDaddy program is an intensive training designed to support migrant and refugee entrepreneurs from the MENA region through teaching them how they can boost their business online by building their websites. The training aims to take entrepreneurs, as well as aspiring entrepreneurs from disadvantaged communities, through a journey to start, improve and expand their business
Mobile-First Skills for African Diaspora Entrepreneurs with Meta
In September 2021, we hosted the event “Boost with Facebook bil Mobile, Diaspora edition,” in partnership with Boost with Facebook. The event was streamed live from London and trained Arabic-speaking entrepreneurs in the diaspora on digital skills.
Boosting Female Entrepreneurship with Hivos
Driven by the effort to effectively support female entrepreneurs in the MENA region, we partnered with Hivos to design the Female Founders Track at the Startups Without Borders Summit, featuring panels and worshops with some of the most successful women entrepreneurs in the region.
Mentorship & Awards for EdTech Startups in MENA
In September 2021, we partnered with Spark to host the Edtech Startup Competition in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. The competition gathered 660 applications, and supported 50 startups by refugees and locals with a mentorship program, connecting them to mentors from Europe, North America, and MENA for 3 months.
MEET THE TEAM
Valentina Primo
Victoria Kuketz
Victoria Kuketz is thrilled to join Startsups Without Borders as the Vice President of Partnerships. She is an executive leader specializing in strategic partnerships, external affairs, public policy, and social impact. Victoria has led cross-sector collaborations spanning business, government, philanthropy, and civil society, with expertise in ecosystem building, stakeholder engagement, and inclusive innovation. Previously, she was a 2026 Obama Foundation Scholar at Columbia University, and she held senior leadership roles in public policy advsisory and business development at Catalyst and the Public Policy Forum, where she advanced national initiatives on democratic resilience, workforce development, inclusion, and responsible technology. She is passionate about expanding opportunities for entrepreneurs and building partnerships that drive lasting social and economic impact in service of SWB’s mission.
Evelyn Pereira
Ramona Bajema
Farah Rehan
Ameer Sherif
Amr Mohsen
Abdallah Adel
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Judith Diers
Over the course of her career, Judith Diers, Ph.D, has served as an ethicist, coach, researcher, policy advisor, UN senior staff, and in leadership positions in philanthropy. Her passion has always centered on adolescent girls and young feminists around the world and reforming and reimagining the institutions that support them. Her advanced degrees include an MA in Ethics and a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Demography.
Nizar Ladak
Over his 33-year career, Nizar Ladak has held influential C-suite roles in healthcare and post-secondary education sectors. Nizar’s roles include, CEO of the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, President and CEO of Compute Ontario, Executive Vice President and COO of Health Quality Ontario, Vice President and CIO at North York General Hospital, National Director at the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), and other roles in Federal and Provincial Government agencies and non-profit organizations.
Mr. Ladak has numerous publications and has delivered over 800+ talks and keynotes. His presentation style conveys passion with tailored personal anecdotes, resulting in numerous invitations to speak nationally and globally. Mr. Ladak published his first book titled: “The Power of Scars – My Journey from Refugee to CEO” which is both memoir and contains leadership lessons learned over his rich career.
Mr. Ladak has a Master of Education degree and has completed Executive Leadership Programs at Harvard Business School, Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and the Rotman Graduate School of Business. Mr. Ladak is the Board Chair of the Touchstone Institute and, a Governor with the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario.
Giving back to his professional community through volunteer work, Board roles and mentoring young professionals is an intellectual and personal joy. Mr. Ladak is a Board Chair and is Adjunct Faculty teaching Leadership at the University of Toronto. Mr. Ladak’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including being named one of Canada’s Top 25 Immigrants and receiving U of T’s Leaders and Legends Distinguished Service Award.
Abin Kuriakose
Abin Kuriakose is an economic development executive with more than 15 years of experience driving innovation and impact across the public, private, and non-profit sectors. He serves as the first-ever Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at World Business Chicago, the City of Chicago’s economic development non-profit, chaired by the Mayor. As a public-private partnership, WBC drives inclusive economic growth and job creation, supports the business and innovation ecosystem, and promotes Chicago as a leading global city. Abin and his team manage a portfolio of high-impact economic development programs to grow the region’s tech, innovation, and startup economy. This includes the Chicago Venture Summit (the city’s flagship startup & venture capital conference series), Startup Chicago (a capital attraction & startup growth program), and ThinkChicago (a STEM talent attraction & retention program). Abin’s team led the largest innovation and venture program year in WBC history with 80 unique events (2023). As lead organizer, Abin also led the largest Chicago Venture Summit (2023), which brought together more than 1,000 startup entrepreneurs, investors, and Fortune 500 executives from around the world.
Abin launched his career in Cook County Government, where he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Public Policy Director, and Community Affairs & Engagement Director for the Board of Commissioners (Tenth District) – the county’s legislative and governing body. He served as the staff leader for the Cook County Board’s Pension Committee and Workforce, Housing, & Community Development Committee, where he developed OpenPensions.org, one of the first open-data platforms in local government.
Abin is an Emerging Leader of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (2022) and a Civic Leaders Academy/CLA Fellow of the University of Chicago (2018). Governor J.B. Pritzker appointed Abin to the State of Illinois’ Asian American Employment Plan Advisory Council. Chicago Scholars recognized Abin as one of “35 under 35 Young Leaders Making an Impact” (2017). He’s also a 2025 Honoree of the Chicago Culture Ball and a 2026 Chicago Titan 100 honoree, recognized as one of the Top 100 Chicago CEOs and C-Level Executives.
OUR CORE VALUES
Optimism
Because we believe there are new realities in the making. And we want to support those shaping them.
Empathy, not Sympathy
Because we don’t want to give them an opportunity; we believe that they are the opportunity.
Respect
Because we want to change perceptions. Because it’s time migrants are seen not as job seekers but job creators; not at technology consumers but innovators.
Diversity and Innovation
Because if we all think the same way, then no one is thinking.
OUR international PARTNERS
