The Story of Sami: Bringing His Ideas to Life

Sami Al Ahmad is an inspiring Syrian entrepreneur who was one of the first participants in Jusoor’s first Entrepreneurship competition. In 2012, he decided to leave Syria to pursue his education in Egypt. During his transition to a new university, Sami realized that many students are facing difficulties regarding their university applications and registration. That was when he came up with the idea of “Khutwa”; an initiative that helps Syrian and foreign students to continue their academic journeys in Egypt.

“Khutwa” attracted many students from around the Arab world. High school graduates and university applicants started reaching out to Sami and his team asking for guidance and mentorship.

When Sami first heard about Jusoor’s Entrepreneurship competition, he knew it was the perfect opportunity to present “Khutwa” as a startup, and to see where he can go next. In that time, the young entrepreneur was not fully familiar with the concept of entrepreneurship. He was hesitant as he submitted his application, but full of hope that someone might value his idea.

“Khutwa” got accepted in Jusoor’s competition and worked its way to the top ten startups in the region. Sami was in a state of disbelief when he realized that his startup had actually won the first edition of Jusoor’s entrepreneurship competition.

“I felt extremely overwhelmed. A lot of ideas were popping up in my mind. I was shocked and very happy”After winning the competition, Sami channeled his efforts into fully understanding the needed skills and network in order to build a successful startup. Jusoor’s entrepreneurship team supported Sami creating a new mindset that will serve him in his journey. He found himself asking the right questions, investigating success stories in the region, and thinking of all the different ways he can grow and scale up his project.

Following this stage, Sami took part in Jusoor’s entrepreneurship bootcamp. He was tirelessly keeping up with all the new information and trying to figure out a new business model for his startup. In 2016, "Marj3” was born. Today, “Marj3” is the biggest educational platform in the Middle East with more than 2.5 million monthly website visits. The platform connects students in the Arab world to their desired educational opportunities.

The success of “Marj3” encouraged Sami to further support and mentor other startups in his community. He is now working on helping other entrepreneurs by sharing the valuable experience he gained during his time with Jusoor.