{"id":161038,"date":"2025-09-16T14:47:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T14:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/161038\/"},"modified":"2025-09-16T14:47:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T14:47:09","slug":"syrias-tech-entrepreneurs-rebuild-after-war-and-sanctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/161038\/","title":{"rendered":"Syria\u2019s tech entrepreneurs rebuild after war and sanctions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"has-drop-cap has-normal-font-size\">At the end of November, Hamza Hourani\u2019s phone rang. It was a cloudy morning in Damascus, and some Syrians were quietly stocking their cupboards as rebel fighters marched south toward the city after seizing much of the rest of the country. But the government of Bashar al-Assad still controlled the capital.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On the other end of the line was an official from the Ministry of Communications, summoning the 26-year-old Hourani and his co-founder, Bashar Saaduddin Al Jbawi, to its offices to discuss their startup: an education app called Quizat.<\/p>\n<p>The communications ministry, located in a traditional Damascene marble building next to the Parliament, was viewed by many Syrians as an extension of the feared Mukhabarat, the country\u2019s sprawling intelligence apparatus. Hourani stayed at the office, waiting nervously as Al Jbawi attended the meeting, where the ministry official, with a polite smile, grilled him about their business.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fastly.restofworld.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0D7A2603-copy_CROP.jpg?width=600&amp;dpr=2&amp;crop=9:16\"   alt=\"\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 825\/1237\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tQuizat founder Hamza Hourani.<\/p>\n<p>Quizat helped high-schoolers learn with games and quizzes. Officially running for over a year, it had been downloaded by around 15,000 students. But despite months of visits to the relevant government departments, the company had struggled to obtain an operating licence.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The official warned Jbawi that he and Hourani faced arrest for operating without a license. He also asked them to withdraw Quizat from the app store. The pair believed the meeting was part of a wider squeeze on educational apps and websites. Even in its dying moments, a regime crippled by sanctions and war was trying to take cuts from its impoverished citizens.<\/p>\n<p>The official left the Quizat founders with a list of demands. The ministry did not want them to use a server based outside the country. It demanded access to their customer database. And it wanted a cut of their profits, on top of taxes. A follow-up meeting was arranged for Sunday, December 8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When the day arrived, Hourani woke up fearing the meeting could lead to arrest. But it never happened. Instead, rebel fighters stormed the capital that morning. Regime forces melted away, and Assad, whose family had ruled for more than 50 years, fled to Moscow.<\/p>\n<p>Fourteen years of a grinding civil war were over. Over half a million people were dead, the economy was in a freefall, and state coffers were drained. The country would now be ruled by the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham \u2014 then a U.S.-designated terrorist group credibly accused by human rights groups of detaining and torturing civilians. Hourani had no idea what might come next. He packed up his office and rushed home.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The next morning, though, Hourani was surprised to find the capital calm. He called his employees to congratulate them on Assad\u2019s fall and then went outside to celebrate. For the first time in years, he told Rest of World, he felt optimistic for Syria \u2014 and a nascent tech economy he had always hoped would help his long-suffering country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was our dream, but it was surprising,\u201d Hourani said of watching his country change overnight. \u201cThe first thing that happened when the regime fell is that the mobile phones started working again!\u201d It was, maybe, a good omen.<\/p>\n<p>Syria\u2019s conflict began in 2011 as a peaceful uprising against Assad amid a wider Arab Spring. As regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya fell, many Syrians hoped their country would follow. But Syria\u2019s government responded to street protests with extreme force, and a brutal civil war quickly drew in government forces, rebel groups, Islamist extremists, and foreign powers. The country of more than 22 million people spiraled into one of the worst humanitarian crises of the century.<\/p>\n<p>Syria\u2019s social media-savvy generation had played an important role in the spread of the country\u2019s initial demonstrations, as many Syrians got around the country\u2019s extensive internet censorship with proxy tools.<\/p>\n<p>In 2011, Syria\u2019s tech scene, while small, had been slowly emerging. The government <a href=\"https:\/\/www.educ.cam.ac.uk\/networks\/eri\/publications\/syria\/190606-BC_SYRIA-REPORT-ENGLISH_HR.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">explicitly encouraged<\/a> students to take up degrees in science and technology, and local universities were producing skilled engineers and programmers. Many young Syrians were highly literate in math and science, and there was a growing interest in coding and tech jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Syria\u2019s tech industry remained extremely cautious, however, for fear the government would try to co-opt their enterprises, or crack down on them. The Syrian economy under Assad was characterized by widespread cronyism, and many large companies were controlled by relatives or allies of his regime. Smartphone penetration was low, with a clear digital divide between cities and rural areas. Popular apps from abroad like WhatsApp and Skype were widely used but occasionally blocked. Many Syrians relied on virtual private networks to bypass restrictions and maintain access to essential services and information.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fastly.restofworld.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0D7A1370.jpg?width=800&amp;dpr=2&amp;crop=16:9\"   alt=\"A view through a broken wall into a desolate landscape of ruined buildings, with collapsed structures and debris scattered across the ground under a clear blue sky.\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 2000\/1333\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tWar-damaged buildings in the suburbs of Damascus.<\/p>\n<p>As the conflict pushed some 13 million Syrians to flee their homes in one of the largest global displacements since\u00a0World War\u00a0II, among them was an exodus of tech talent. While regional neighbours saw a tech explosion embracing online services, e-shopping, and fintech in the 2010s, the war left Syria largely disconnected. Digital infrastructure was destroyed, digital payment options were scarce, and internet speeds remained painstakingly slow. While state institutions were heavily staffed, they operated with minimal efficiency behind stacks of paperwork. Almost all the elements needed for a tech ecosystem were largely missing \u2014 from incubators to accelerators, mentorship, training, seed funding schemes, and venture capital.<\/p>\n<p>Sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other Western powers \u2014 intended to limit the regime\u2019s ability to wage the war, force political reform, and push accountability for human rights abuses \u2014 left Syrians even more economically isolated.<\/p>\n<p>[Assad] wanted us to leave, and I was going to stay. Staying here was defeating him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite these limitations, a handful of Syrian tech companies managed a level of breakthrough success during the war. The ride-hailing app YallaGo hired drivers across the country, and the on-demand food and grocery delivery platform BeeOrder was headquartered in Damascus with branches in four other cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To many Syrians, Hourani told Rest of World, these apps offered a glimpse of a more streamlined, contemporary way of living. \u201cWhen we want to order food in Syria, we say we\u2019re getting YallaGo, even if we\u2019re using another app,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were more than just apps. \u2026 BeeOrder started offering training workshops for young people in Damascus on how to launch a startup. They became like an academy.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>YallaGo founder Khaled Moustafa told Rest of World his company tussled endlessly with the state, which demanded they share their customer and driver databases, hand over shares, and pay off regime officials. Tensions with the Assad regime reached a tipping point in late 2020, when authorities switched off access to the proxy server that hosted the YallaGo app.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe streets went crazy,\u201d recalled Moustafa. In a country where, according to the United Nations, almost nine in 10 Syrians lived below the poverty line, YallaGo had become a source of income for around 15,000 families and an almost essential service for half a million customers.\u00a0Protests against the Assad regime during the war had seen tens of thousands of Syrians killed or thrown in prison in forceful crackdowns, but supporters of YallaGo took to the streets and social media in a rare, public show of anger. Within 24 hours, authorities switched the server access back on. But like other companies, YallaGo was later forced to move its servers and database to be hosted locally in Syria \u2014 a slow, expensive, and invasive switch.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fastly.restofworld.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0D7A1193-copy-scaled.jpg?width=800&amp;dpr=2&amp;crop=16:9\"   alt=\"A black car with a 'Yalla Go' sticker drives on a street lined with trees and residential buildings. In the background, there are multiple parked cars and a gated entrance to a building complex.\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1280\/853\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tA YallaGo driver makes deliveries in Damascus.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fastly.restofworld.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0D7A1059-copy.jpg?width=800&amp;dpr=2&amp;crop=16:9\"   alt=\"A service desk area with multiple individuals seated. Two men in striped shirts are conversing, while three others are engaged with laptops. The desk displays the logo &quot;YallaGo!&quot; and includes a fan and water bottles. A sign indicating the number &quot;3&quot; is visible in the background.\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 2000\/1333\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tYallaGo employees at their Damascus headquarters.<\/p>\n<p>Moustafa had left Syria before the war, in 2001. Speaking from his office in Dubai, he told Rest of World he felt a strong responsibility to support those who stayed. \u201cSyria is still kind of offline when it comes to multiple services, from e-payment to online verification tech, delivery, e-government, the simplest things,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The U.N. reports that only a third of the population is now connected to the internet \u2014 with around 70% reliant on limited 3G networks. Syria also ranks 163rd out of 193 countries in the E-Government Development Index.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But Moustafa, like other Syrian tech optimists, hopes that a new wave of innovation can help the country begin to bounce back.<\/p>\n<p>And in the biggest contrast from the past, entrepreneurs say, the new government isn\u2019t just getting out of the way \u2014 it\u2019s inviting them to collaborate in the rebuilding process.<\/p>\n<p>Almond and citrus trees were blooming in Damascus. On a Wednesday this past spring, Hourani and 15 other app and business owners gathered in the iconic Rawda Cafe, just across the road from Parliament, to do the once unthinkable: freely discuss their ideas with a Syrian government official.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Shortly before being appointed Syria\u2019s new minister of communication and information technology at the end of March, Abdulsalam Haykal had invited members of the country\u2019s tech and business community for a coffee. With its traditional arched windows, a wide leafy terrace, and timeworn wooden chairs, the Rawda Cafe has been a popular spot for politicians and intellectuals since the 1930s. In the early days of the war, however, it became a meeting point for activists, and the regime responded by inserting informants among the staff and clientele, stifling discussion. Now it was roaring back to life.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fastly.restofworld.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0D7A1744-copy.jpg?width=800&amp;dpr=2&amp;crop=16:9\"   alt=\"A group of four men are sitting around a colorful, patterned table in a lively caf\u00e9 with indoor greenery. One man, wearing an orange shirt, is on a phone, while the others are engaged in conversation. In the background, a fountain can be seen and patrons are scattered throughout the caf\u00e9.\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1189\/793\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tThe iconic Rawda Cafe.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fastly.restofworld.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0D7A2672-copy.jpg?width=800&amp;dpr=2&amp;crop=16:9\"   alt=\"Three men are working at a cafe table, each using a laptop. One man in a white shirt is focused on his screen while gesturing with his hands. Another man in a grey shirt appears to be typing, and the third man, wearing glasses, is looking down at his laptop. The table is cluttered with cups, glasses of water, and a small decorative item, with colorful cushions and wall art visible in the background.\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1000\/667\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tPatrons use the internet at a cafe in the diplomatic quarter of Damascus.<\/p>\n<p>The small group sat around a table and talked about the future of Syria and how tech could contribute to its rise. \u201cHe was so kind and open to all our ideas and initiatives,\u201d Hourani said. \u201cWe discussed all the problems and obstacles, and he clearly understands the technology sector.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A tech and media entrepreneur in his own right, Haykal, 46, had left Syria in the early days of the conflict. In 2009, the Damascus native was the first Syrian to be named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.\u00a0Until returning to Syria after the fall of the Assad regime, he lived in the United Arab Emirates as the CEO of his grandfather\u2019s business, Haykal Group, which had invested in various sectors including enterprise software and mobile technology.<\/p>\n<p>These are serious people who want to bring about change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Haykal charmed Syrians in his induction speech as the new minister of communications, in which he admitted he\u2019d used ChatGPT to cut the address in half. As one of his first acts in office, he issued an order to cancel all licensing systems, permits, and fees previously imposed on providing services through online applications. The feared Mukhabarat would no longer be involved in the process; developers needed only to register their businesses online. Haykal pledged to advance digital transformation, improve nationwide telecom infrastructure, and support entrepreneurship by leveraging local and expatriate talent in partnership with the private sector.<\/p>\n<p>Hourani could not believe government officials were now calling him for advice as they tried to untangle the regime\u2019s archaic rules, layers of corruption, and antiquated way of doing things. \u201cThese are serious people who want to bring about change, and we, together with them, want to achieve that,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to rebuild our home properly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fastly.restofworld.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0D7A0824-copy-scaled.jpg?width=800&amp;dpr=2&amp;crop=16:9\"   alt=\"Three people working in an office; one woman at a desk on the left using a computer, a man in the center working on his desk, and another woman on the right focused on her computer, surrounded by paperwork and file folders.\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 2560\/1707\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tEmployees inside Syria\u2019s Ministry of Communications.<\/p>\n<p>Over half a dozen Syrians in the tech community told Rest of World they believed the country\u2019s new rulers had integrity, were approachable, and were willing to listen. Hourani compared the flurry of activity he was witnessing to frantically tidying your home before guests arrive \u2014 he could see the new authorities were working as fast as they could to make Syria\u2019s new order acceptable to citizens.<\/p>\n<p>Syria\u2019s leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, was designated a terrorist in 2013 by the U.S. after declaring his militant group, the Nusra Front, as a Syria affiliate of al-Qaeda. The terrorist designation carried over to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which Sharaa formed in early 2017 after saying he\u2019d severed ties with al-Qaeda. According to the U.N., HTS was responsible for arbitrary detention and torture, summary executions, and the persecution of women under harsh social restrictions in areas it controlled as a rebel group.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Since taking over the country, Sharaa had received cautious praise for showing restraint and statesmanship. He laid out plans for rebuilding a more united Syria. Many Syrians in minority groups, however, have remained unconvinced, and sectarian armed groups have largely kept their weapons amid outbreaks of communal violence.<\/p>\n<p>Despite this uncertainty, Hourani was plotting how to expand Quizat, including outside the country. He is unmistakably Damascene \u2014 quick-witted and, with his soft, elegant accent, often dropping local proverbs into conversation. Born to a religious, middle-class family in 1999, like many in the capital, he did not support the Assad regime but remained neutral to avoid trouble.<\/p>\n<p>After getting his education in religious studies and securing a law degree from Damascus University, Hourani knew he didn\u2019t want to follow the well-trodden path into government officialdom, or to become a judge. He often contemplated leaving the country, but became passionate about improving Syria\u2019s education sector while working as a school administrator to help fund his degree. After graduation, he joined a small group of friends to tutor students and then spent years honing his app.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fastly.restofworld.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0D7A9783-copy.jpg?width=800&amp;dpr=2&amp;crop=16:9\"   alt=\"A group meeting in a modern office setting where a man in a white polo shirt is standing beside a wall covered with brown paper and notes, explaining a concept; two seated individuals, one wearing a hijab, are attentively listening with laptops open on their desks.\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1100\/733\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tHourani and staff at the Quizat headquarters.<\/p>\n<p>Hourani avoided the military draft with a high blood pressure diagnosis and a bribe. For him, quietly growing his business was a form of resistance. \u201cAs far as I was concerned, I wanted to contradict [Assad]. He wanted us to leave, and I was going to stay,\u201d he said. \u201cI believed in what I was doing. Staying here was defeating him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sitting in his office in downtown Damascus, Hourani was clearly proud of his achievement. Above a handful of chairs upholstered in the company colors of bright yellow and blue, there was a whiteboard and a scroll of brown paper covered in Post-it notes scribbled with diagrams and ideas. \u201cI think it\u2019s easy to be successful outside Syria. It\u2019s way more difficult to be successful inside,\u201d he said. \u201cI have taken very small steps, but I am hanging in there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His company reflects another shifting dynamic in Syrian society \u2014 the majority of Hourani\u2019s nine employees are women. Data from the community-led organization Startup Syria showed the percentage of female entrepreneurs rose sharply during the war \u2014 from just 4.4% of female-owned startups in 2009 to 34.7% in 2025. With many men forced to flee or join armed groups, or killed or detained, women increasingly stepped into the workforce to support their families.<\/p>\n<p>Syria will be the ultimate disruptor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since the fall of the regime, Quizat has grown. It hired a senior programmer to introduce AI-driven educational features, and Hourani said it was in talks with investors to expand beyond Syria.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Khaled Moustafa, still based in Dubai, wanted to expand YallaGo, too, and was in the process of launching an academy to create a hub for ideas and aspiring entrepreneurs. Moustafa had built the company using his savings and money from relatives. He felt that until U.S. sanctions were lifted, foreign investors would remain reluctant and tech startups would continue to struggle. \u201cThe only thing that has changed is people\u2019s spirit,\u201d he told Rest of World in March. \u201cThe economic and social situation is still pretty much the same, but it starts with a great spirit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And then there was the sudden return of millions of Syrians. \u201cWe have a new generation who have been working for Google, Apple \u2026 and they\u2019re just emerging out [of exile],\u201d Moustafa said. \u201cSo, they will be able to build. We will be able to rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A group of Silicon Valley-based Syrian entrepreneurs staged the country\u2019s largest ever tech conference in Damascus in February. Dubbed SYNC, its aim was to connect the community, create jobs, and explore how the industry might help with rebuilding. Suddenly Syrians like Hourani were mixing with their fellow citizens who\u2019d jetted in from places like New York and Geneva with fresh ideas and expertise. Syrians who\u2019d stayed were also meeting again \u2014 during the conflict,\u00a0shifting battle lines and a complicated patchwork of control meant many citizens had been completely cut off from one another, even from one town to the next.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Organizers said they expected 50 to 60 people to attend. Within days of registration opening, over 1,000 had signed up, and another 1,200 were on the waiting list. The summit ultimately attracted over 3,000 people, with entrepreneurs, investors, and tech professionals arriving from more than 15 countries.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fastly.restofworld.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2E9A3821-scaled.jpg?width=800&amp;dpr=2&amp;crop=16:9\"   alt=\"A panel discussion at the SYNC '25 event featuring seven speakers seated on stage. The backdrop displays the event logo and the phrase 'Let's TECH it Out'. Attendees are visible in the foreground, and some audience members are wearing light-colored head coverings.\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 2560\/1707\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tThe 2025 SYNC conference in Damascus.<\/p>\n<p>One of those returning home to help organize the conference was Abdulwahab Omira. At the age of 14, Omira was already the owner of several patents. That had made him a target for authorities. After spending time in the country\u2019s notorious prisons in 2012, he had left Syria with his family as a teenager. Now a 28-year-old U.S. citizen and Stanford graduate living in Chicago, Omira knew the road ahead for Syrian entrepreneurs would be extremely challenging.<\/p>\n<p>Like many returnees, he found his family home in ruins when he visited last December. Much of his neighborhood, the historic suburb of Jobar just northeast of the Old City of Damascus, was now uninhabitable. Amid rubble and artillery casings, he found his tattered computer science book from seventh grade, and the smell of his grandmother\u2019s jasmine tree, still blossoming.\u00a0\u201cI have lived my whole life wondering if this moment would ever come,\u201d he told Rest of World. \u201cAs I was digging through the rubble, I thought, \u2018Okay, we\u2019re back. It\u2019s time to rebuild.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I have lived my whole life wondering if this moment would ever come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another SYNC organizer, Bassel Ojjeh, is a Syrian-born entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of LigaData, a Silicon Valley-based company that provides data and AI-driven telecom products. He described Syria as a \u201cgreenfield\u201d of opportunity. \u201cHere is a market of 22 million people that needs absolutely everything, because they have had nothing,\u201d he told Rest of World.<\/p>\n<p>Ojjeh was impressed by the energy and ingenuity of the country\u2019s potential workforce, explaining that just to survive daily life, Syrians required a level of innovation U.S. companies could tap. And he couldn\u2019t believe the number of talented female software engineers: \u201cSilicon Valley would die for [that], because they just don\u2019t have the numbers.\u201d He added, \u201cWhen you\u2019re in Silicon Valley, you never really think of the ordinary. You\u2019re always thinking of the disruptive. Syria will be the ultimate disrupter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fastly.restofworld.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2E9A4092.jpg?width=800&amp;dpr=2&amp;crop=16:9\"   alt=\"A diverse group of attendees sitting in a conference setting, with a woman in a red military-style jacket and white hijab, a smiling man in a dark blazer with a badge, a woman in a gray sweater with a patterned design, and others in the background, all focused on the event.\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 2000\/1333\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tAbdulwahab Omira at SYNC.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the SYNC conference, Omira, Ojjeh, and a handful of colleagues from the industry were invited to a last-minute meeting with Syria\u2019s new leader, Sharaa. They met inside Syria\u2019s presidential palace, a fortress-like structure that for decades was one of the most secretive buildings in the country.<\/p>\n<p>Before returning to Syria, Omira had been hesitant about a government led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. But at the meeting in the presidential palace, he found Sharaa to be open-minded, familiar with various AI tools, and enthusiastic about the tech scene. \u201cHe has an entrepreneurial mindset,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Sharaa had swapped his military fatigues for a suit and tie, and was working to reshape Syria\u2019s international narrative \u2014 courting investors and shaking hands with multiple foreign leaders to signal Syria\u2019s readiness for reconstruction and normalized diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.<\/p>\n<p>On the night of May 13, Syrians packed into the country\u2019s streets and squares, clapping, singing, and making peace signs for mobile-phone cameras raised high in the air. U.S. President Donald Trump had just made a shock announcement, during a trip to Saudi Arabia, that he was lifting sanctions on Syria. \u201cIt\u2019s their time to shine. We\u2019re taking them all off,\u201d Trump said. \u201cGood luck, Syria. Show us something very special.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fastly.restofworld.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0D7A0759-copy-scaled.jpg?width=800&amp;dpr=2&amp;crop=16:9\"   alt=\"A crowd of people joyfully celebrates at night, with one individual in a white shirt being held aloft by others. Many attendees have their hands raised, and some are recording the event with smartphones.\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 2560\/1707\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tDamascus residents celebrate the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Syria.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly afterward, YallaGo shared a celebratory message with its customers. \u201cTo the Syrian people: the hero of the past years and the creator of the future,\u201d it read. The message was accompanied by a 20% discount code: YALLATRUMP.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The lifting of sanctions accelerated the ambitions of Moustafa, the company\u2019s founder. He told Rest of World afterward that he wants YallaGo to grow into Syria\u2019s top super-app, and include everything from smart mobility solutions to e-payment systems. In the weeks following Trump\u2019s announcement, the company expanded to three more cities, hired more staff, and started discussions with authorities about introducing tech-driven improvements to public transportation, such as real-time tracking and bus booking systems. Moustafa said YallaGo also received interest from investors in the Arabian Gulf, EU, and U.S. \u2014 but that, for now, the company isn\u2019t looking for outside funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. also lifted its terrorist designation of HTS and Sharaa, saying it \u201crecognizes the positive actions taken by the new Syrian government.\u201d But the assumption that sanctions will soon be fully lifted is \u201centirely unrealistic,\u201d Karam Shaar, the chief economic consultant to the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Syria, told Rest of World. He explained that while executive sanctions can be removed by Trump, removing statutory sanctions will require U.S. congressional approval.<\/p>\n<p>Even so, as the removal of sanctions begins to take effect, Shaar is hopeful that Syrian companies will soon find it easier to operate in a globalized tech sector. International banks, corporations, and institutions will need clear, formal regulatory guidance before reengaging with the country.\u00a0Foreign investment will take time, but Shaar believes it might not be long \u2014 as soon as months \u2014 before global online services such as Google Workspace, Zoom, Slack, and Facebook are accessible.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fastly.restofworld.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0D7A1868-copy-scaled.jpg?width=800&amp;dpr=2&amp;crop=16:9\"   alt=\"A young woman with long brown hair, dressed in a white top and brown jacket, is intently looking at her smartphone in an urban nighttime setting. The background features blurry street lights and parked cars, indicating a busy city scene.\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 2560\/1707\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tThe bustling Al Abed Street in central Damascus.<\/p>\n<p>Deodat Maharaj, managing director of the UN Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries, told Rest of World that Syria does have the potential for a more buoyant tech sector if the new government can fix and upgrade its digital public infrastructure. He believes that Syrians who survived the war have proven their unique resilience, while those returning to the country will help drive change. \u201cThe Syrian diaspora is a massive diaspora,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a wealthy diaspora, and it\u2019s a highly trained diaspora and very closely connected with Syria up to this day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Still, the scale of the challenge is hard to overstate. A World Bank report published in July notes the country\u2019s economy is still navigating \u201cextraordinarily high\u201d levels of uncertainty and lays out the stark impact of conflict. Syria\u2019s GDP contracted by more than 50% between 2010 and 2022. The World Bank estimates that one in four Syrians live in extreme poverty. Exports have collapsed. Citizens and businesses alike weathered average inflation over 50% during 13 years of war. Security continues to be a major concern, with sectarian clashes, unresolved territorial disputes, and Israeli airstrikes underscoring just how vulnerable and fragile the country remains.<\/p>\n<p>Tech entrepreneurs hope they can start to unlock Syria\u2019s redevelopment, while providing tech-based solutions to improve people\u2019s lives. But a large-scale economic recovery \u2014 with a full-fledged tech boom \u2014 will likely be a long and grinding process.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The day that Trump announced the lifting of sanctions, Hourani did not join the street parties in Damascus. Instead, he celebrated with his family. \u201cI went home and said,\u00a0\u2018Congratulations!\u2019 And my family asked me if I was getting married. And I said, no, the sanctions have been lifted,\u201d he recalled.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He then got back to work, conferring with his business partner and colleagues about the future of Quizat. \u201cI believe that the future is ours in Syria,\u201d he said. \u201cThe most important thing is that we will remain operating. No one is going to stop us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Quizat also launched its own special discount code that day: Freedom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the end of November, Hamza Hourani\u2019s phone rang. It was a cloudy morning in Damascus, and some&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":161039,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[28,158],"class_list":["post-161038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entrepreneurship","tag-business","tag-entrepreneurship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}