“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…

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 …

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…

SPARK’s Ignite Conference Kicks Off In Amsterdam, And Here’s 10 Speakers You Should See

The 6th edition of the international IGNITE conference ‘Rebuilding Futures’ by SPARK, is kicking off on November 28th in Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw, gathering key players in the refugee entrepreneurial startup ecosystem to…

EBDA! Newcomers in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon Can Now Apply to SPARK’s New Program

Do you think you have the next big idea for a business ? Do you want to improve your skills and skyrocket your business to success? The Entrepreneurship and Business…

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…

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…

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…

The Next Society Launches the Startup Booster Across These 7 Countries in MENA

THE NEXT SOCIETY is calling for talented entrepreneurs and innovative businesses in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia. SWB Team Get your business to take-off with THE NEXT…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…