Damascus – The startups in Syria appear as one of the new engines for economic growth in a new reality that imposes the need for innovative and flexible solutions that are appropriate to the limited resources, and the need to create job opportunities, especially for young people, graduates, and others.
Startups are defined as small or medium -founding institutions, based on innovative ideas and seeks to provide new solutions to existing market problems, or provide new services and products, and these companies are often related to the fields of technology and digital economy.
These companies often lead young, and are a vital lever to revive the economic cycle in both cities and regions, even given the experiences of multiple countries.
In the Syrian context, the importance of these companies is increasing in light of the attempts of the new government and the private sector to find innovative solutions and methods that contribute to rebuilding the economy.
A contribution to growth
The expert in entrepreneurship and startups, Ahmed Sufyan Bayram, told Al -Jazeera Net that startups can contribute to the growth of the Syrian economy through the following factors:
- Development of jobs
Entrepreneurship stimulates local economies by creating job opportunities and enabling individuals to achieve sustainable income. This reduces dependence on aid and speeds up the recovery efforts.
In Rwanda, small and medium -sized companies played a pivotal role in reducing unemployment after the genocide in 1994, and these companies are now contributing more than 41% of GDP, and employing more than 80% of the workforce.
An evaluation conducted by the Norwegian Refugee Council in March 2025 concluded that Syria needs investments that support small projects and provide job opportunities in projects concerned with reforming civil infrastructure.
- Motivating innovation and local solutions for problems
Sufyan believes that Syria faces complex challenges in sectors such as education, energy, water and health care, noting that startups are able to provide local and effective technical solutions that are appropriate to the Syrian reality, such as solar energy projects or distance education.
- Attracting international financing and investment
Sufyan believes that the difficult investment environment in Syria does not prevent successful entrepreneurial projects that attract the attention of international supporters and development funding funds, which opens a window to enter new and smart capital into Syria.
- Building a more flexible and comprehensive economy
Sufyan confirms that by diversifying the sources of income and adopting sustainable business models, startups contribute to building an economy that adapts to crises, and includes large segments of society.
For his part, Abdel Rahman Suleiman, an investment analyst in “Multiples” and investment guide for startups, says in an article on the “LinkedIn” platform that these companies play a vital role in economic and social development, and can contribute to generating jobs and income and enhancing social cohesion through enhancing cooperation between societies.
Supporting the innovative productive process
Mujahid Aqeel, an expert in project, says in an article on the “Linkedin” platform that the traditional model of the economy that depends on huge investments and the establishment of unrealistic infrastructure in a risky environment such as Syria, and has now persuaded major companies or international investors to pump millions of dollars into a country that still touches its way towards stability.
Al -Aqil proposes that the Syrian state adopt an alternative model, which is the “participatory economy” that depends on benefiting from the resources available to people to build an integrated project.
For example, according to Al -Aqil, if a person wants to establish a traditional shipping company in Syria, he will have to build customer reception centers in each governorate, warehouses, daily delivery network, shipping tracking system and truck fleet, and the cost of such a project may exceed millions of dollars, with the risk of operating it.
But in the participatory economy model, Al -Aqil adds, the technical pioneering project can be established at a lower cost by developing a smart technical platform (application on mobile phones), and individuals who own cars are recorded on the platform, receiving shipping requests from customers through the application, and the profits between the driver and the platform are divided according to a transparent model.
Through this process, everyone who owns a car can become part of a charging network, and in this way a flexible, expandable logistical system is built, and at an incomparable cost with the traditional method.
Flexibility
Al -Aqil believes that there are great opportunities for startups to benefit from the current reality of the Syrian market by exploiting three factors as follows:
- The local, unsafe and demand that exceeds the supply in almost all sectors.
- The low cost, any simple project in Europe or the Gulf costs many times what it may cost in Syria in terms of rents, employment and employment.
- Provides qualified human cadres.
Al -Aqil pointed out that the success of emerging projects depends on being appropriate to the current Syrian reality.
It is advised to rely on startups on projects targeting customers outside Syria, such as e -commerce projects directed to export and benefit from the strength of the Syrian product and the competitor.
Al -Aqeel believes that when the purchasing power of citizens improves, it is possible to work on the electronic commercial platforms projects directed at home, and the platforms that provide services.
Go to startups
The Syrian Minister of Communications and Information Association, Abdel Salam Haykal, launched a strategic vision entitled “A digital map for the future of Syria”, aimed at rebuilding and modernizing the country’s digital infrastructure, enhancing its position in the global digital economy, empowering innovation and technical entrepreneurship, supporting startups and attracting investment funds.
According to a report published on the “Startup Syria” website, after a poll, he reached the presence of more than 200 active startups in Syria currently, and more than 300 community initiatives that helped keep entrepreneurship activities.
According to the report, the percentage of Syrians who believe the importance of entrepreneurship increased from 26% in 2015 to 80.5% in 2025.
Sufyan believes that the expansion of the work of startups in Syria in the current situation must be supported through the contributions of expatriates with capital, guidance and experience in entrepreneurship, filling resource gaps and enhancing innovation.
It refers to the Cosovo experience after the war, as the communities in the diaspora invested more than $ 500 million in local companies between 2000 and 2010, which motivated the country’s economic recovery.
Challenges
Sufyan believes that startups in Syria face many challenges, the most important of which are:
- The scarcity of financial investment, as access to financing is limited, and the majority of projects are dependent on small grants.
- The increasing economic pressures, and the low purchasing power of the citizen.
- An unsuccessful organizational environment, and lack of clarity in the registration of companies.
- Penalties and restrictions on payments that hinder the import of technology and access to international markets.
- Collapsed infrastructure, and the lack of electricity and the Internet.
- Weak stability, which raises operational risks to startups.
