Facing regulation individually
Founders faced regulation one by one, no one aggregated the sector's position and put it to government.
Syrian Entrepreneurs Union
By entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs
A community of Syrian founders who built and sustained startups through market collapse, diaspora, sanctions and economic isolation, founded in late 2024, officially registered as an association in late 2025. Ahmad Nahas is a co-founder and Secretary, one of 14 founders.
Official website: aosen.org
Why the Union exists
Syrian entrepreneurs were operating in isolation, each solving the same problems alone. Six gaps drove its founding:
01
02
No shared infrastructure
Deals, talent and partnerships depended on personal luck rather than on shared infrastructure.
03
The investor-language gap
Founders knew their market but lacked the language and tools investors expect.
04
Imported training
Available training was imported wholesale, frameworks that did not survive contact with the Syrian market.
05
A missing channel to capital
Diaspora and regional investors had appetite. No credible channel existed to reach them.
06
Community-born, not donor-designed
Founded by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs, never a donor-designed structure.
The Path
Late 2024
Syrian Entrepreneurs Union, SEU
Founding the Union as a community and body bringing Syrian founders together, with 14 founding entrepreneurs.
Late 2025
Association of Syrian Entrepreneurs, AoSEn
Official registration as an association, institutionalizing the work under a recognized legal structure. Ahmad Nahas serves as Secretary. Official website ↗
Highlights
Demo Day with Angel Investors
An SEU-initiated Demo Day bringing Syrian entrepreneurs face to face with angel investors, Syria has capital in the room and founders in the room; what was missing was the room. Founders arrived pitch-ready thanks to the preparatory sessions, with strong participation by women founders. Watch the Demo Day video ↗
Entrepreneurial Dialogues, Regional Knowledge Exchange
Curated sessions with regional entrepreneurial figures bringing regional experience to Syria, a session with Salman Butt, founder of Saudi platform “Salla”, and a session with Khaled Abulkasem, founder of “AlGooru”. Every session is recorded and published, turning a one-off event into a lasting knowledge asset.
Khaled Abulkasem
Co-founder, AlGooru, educational technology platform
Salman Butt
Founder, Salla, e-commerce platform, Saudi Arabia; investor and mentor
Abdulaziz Al-Nufaie
Founder, Zero to One, entrepreneurship platform
Tripoli Entrepreneurs Club, TEC
“The Role of Entrepreneurial Unions in Supporting Ventures and Attracting Startup Investment, the Lebanese Experience”, with Fadi Mikati and Danial Dallati: deliberately studying a neighbouring union that already works rather than designing the model in a vacuum, and opening a standing relationship with the Lebanese ecosystem, sealed with a memorandum of understanding.
Working with Government
A series of official meetings, including with the Minister's advisor, establishing a working partnership; a formal position paper submitted on behalf of Syrian and diaspora founders seeking to launch digital services in Syria; and participation in national technology events as a recognised ecosystem body.
Capacity Building
Consistently oversubscribed practical sessions, among them a social-entrepreneurship session with Firas Al-Jarrah, and a business-model session with Hisham Haramlani for founders and early-stage teams.
From the Archive
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