Starting a small business is difficult. Scaling one across borders, currencies, and regulatory systems that were not built with displaced entrepreneurs in mind is a different challenge altogether. Across Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, small and medium enterprises are quietly driving job creation and economic recovery, yet the founders behind many of these businesses, particularly Syrian entrepreneurs, face a distinct set of obstacles when they try to grow beyond their first storefront, workshop, or client base.
We have spent over a decade working alongside these founders through our Entrepreneurship Program, and we have learned that scaling a small business in the Levant takes more than a good product. It takes access to capital, mentorship, digital tools, and a network that understands the realities of doing business as a Syrian across Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria itself. This post looks at what those realities are, and how tailored support, from seed grants to investment readiness coaching, is helping founders move from surviving to scaling.
Key insights:
- Small and medium enterprises are central to economic growth across Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, yet access to finance remains the leading barrier to their growth.
- Syrian entrepreneurs face added constraints, including ownership caps in some countries, complex registration processes, and restrictions on cross-border movement.
- Since 2011, we have trained more than 2,000 entrepreneurs and supported over 600 businesses and startups across four continents.
- Our Small Business Accelerator, Startup Roadshow, Scale Beyond, and Disruptors projects pair founders with seed grants, one-to-one mentorship, and investment readiness coaching.
- Since 2025, we have extended this support inside Syria itself, through Bridges to Syria.
The Small Business Landscape Across the Levant
Small and medium enterprises are not a side story in Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. They are the backbone of these economies. Worldwide, small and medium enterprises make up around nine in 10 businesses and account for more than half of global employment, and the Levant is no exception. Yet founders in this region operate under conditions that make growth harder to sustain than in many other markets.
In Lebanon, business owners contend with currency instability and an unpredictable economic environment. In Jordan, a founder's path to registering and scaling a company runs through layers of documentation, a required local partner, and, for a Syrian, an ownership cap that few other nationalities face. Inside Syria, entrepreneurs are working to rebuild a private sector after years of conflict, in a regulatory environment that is still taking shape. Across all three contexts, access to finance, access to markets, and access to reliable digital infrastructure remain the common threads that determine which small businesses scale and which stay small out of necessity rather than choice.
The Barriers That Slow Growth for Syrian Entrepreneurs
Our research and years of program delivery point to a consistent set of barriers. Access to finance tops the list. Banks across the region often require collateral that many founders, especially women-led and displaced-led businesses, simply do not hold, and formal lending products designed for small businesses remain scarce.
Registration and regulation add another layer of difficulty. In Jordan, for example, a Syrian entrepreneur can own no more than 49% of a registered company, and the process requires a Jordanian partner along with multiple rounds of security clearance. Restrictions on movement compound the problem: a Syrian passport limits a founder's ability to travel for supplier meetings, investor pitches, or trade fairs, narrowing the markets a business can realistically reach.
Finally, many founders are held back by gaps that targeted training can close. Digital transformation, financial literacy, and business English proficiency are recurring needs we hear from founders who have a strong product but are still managing their books, their marketing, and their operations manually.
How We Help Businesses Move From Surviving to Scaling
This is where our Entrepreneurship Program is built to make a difference. Through our Small Business Accelerator and Startup Roadshow, we connect founders across Lebanon, Jordan, and the wider diaspora with seed funding, one-to-one expert consultations, and structured needs assessments that map out a clear path for growth, covering everything from cash flow management to brand positioning.
For women-led startups specifically, our Championing Women in Business Leadership project pairs founders with more than 32 hours of leadership training, up to 20 one-to-one expert sessions, and a $10,000 pre-seed grant. The results speak for themselves: participating founders saw their Investment Readiness Scores rise by 13.71%, and the number of team members their businesses could financially support increased by 18.52%.
For technology-driven founders, our Disruptors project offers a dedicated pathway to nurture early-stage tech startups, while our Scale Beyond initiative works specifically with Jordan-based startups ready to move past their first stage of growth. Across our Entrepreneurship Program, we have mobilized over $27 million in support and trained more than 2,000 entrepreneurs, evidence that with the right combination of capital and mentorship, small businesses across the Levant can, and do, scale.
Bridging Growth Into Syria
Since 2025, we have extended this work inside Syria itself through Bridges to Syria. In the post-Al-Assad period, Syrian entrepreneurs are rebuilding a private sector in real time, and the scale of the task ahead is significant. The World Bank has estimated that Syria's reconstruction will cost approximately $216 billion after years of conflict, a figure that underscores both the barriers ahead and the scale of opportunity for local entrepreneurs ready to help rebuild.
Through Launchpad, our investment readiness residency for Syrian startups, we are working to make sure founders inside Syria have access to the same mentorship, capital readiness support, and networks that have helped businesses scale in Lebanon and Jordan. Bridging this gap between talent and opportunity is central to what maximizing the potential of Syrian youth through education actually means when applied to entrepreneurship.
What Sustainable Scaling Looks Like
Scaling a small business in the Levant is rarely a straight line. It requires founders to be adaptable and resourceful, and, most importantly, it requires a network that understands the specific barriers they are navigating. The Syrian entrepreneurs we work with are not asking for shortcuts. They are asking for the same access to capital, mentorship, and markets that founders elsewhere take for granted. When that access exists, the results are measurable: businesses that grow, jobs that are created, and communities that become more resilient.
Frequently Asked Questions
What programs does Jusoor offer to help small businesses scale in the Levant?
We support founders through our Entrepreneurship Program, which includes the Small Business Accelerator, Startup Roadshow, Championing Women in Business Leadership, Disruptors, and Scale Beyond. Each project combines seed funding, mentorship, and needs-based coaching tailored to a founder's stage of growth.
Who is eligible to join Jusoor's Entrepreneurship Program?
Our entrepreneurship programs are open to Syrians and Palestinians from Syria, including those based in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and across the diaspora. Specific eligibility criteria vary by project and cohort.
What kind of funding do participating businesses receive?
Depending on the project, eligible startups can receive seed grants, such as the $10,000 pre-seed grants provided through our Championing Women in Business Leadership project, alongside one-to-one expert consultations and access to our global network of mentors.
Does Jusoor support businesses operating inside Syria?
Yes. Since 2025, we have operated inside Syria through Bridges to Syria, including Launchpad, our investment readiness residency for Syrian startups rebuilding and scaling their businesses inside the country.
What are the biggest barriers Syrian entrepreneurs face when scaling a business in the Levant?
The most common barriers are access to finance, complex registration and ownership requirements, restrictions on cross-border movement, and gaps in digital and financial literacy. These barriers tend to compound over time, making sustained growth harder without dedicated support.
How can I support Jusoor's Entrepreneurship Program?
You can support our work by visiting our get involved page to learn about partnership, mentorship, and funding opportunities, or by making a donation directly to fund seed grants and mentorship for the next cohort of founders.
Conclusion
Scaling a small business in the Levant takes more than ambition. It takes access to capital, to mentorship, to markets, and to a network that understands what it means to build a business as a Syrian founder across Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. Through our Entrepreneurship Program and Bridges to Syria, we are working to close that gap, one founder, one seed grant, and one growing business at a time. If you would like to be part of that work, visit jusoor.ngo to learn how you can get involved or donate today.
