Early-stage startups in MENA, especially among underserved and displaced communities, struggle to become investment-ready, despite strong entrepreneurial potential.
Entrepreneurs in these contexts face limited access to finance, mentorship, and structured business support, alongside ecosystem and regulatory barriers that constrain their ability to scale and attract investment. And as a result, there's a persistent gap between promising startups and investable ventures, limiting job creation and economic growth.
Our Intervention
Jusoor's ‘Disruptors’ project is specifically tailored for high-potential tech startups, aiming to expedite their path to becoming investable startups. This project aims to address the current market challenge of identifying investable ventures effectively by providing comprehensive support and resources. The offerings include a startup bootcamp, incubation programs with group training sessions, personalized consultations with industry experts, extensive networking opportunities, seed money prizes, and an EOCCS program-accredited certification to affirm their market readiness and appeal.
The Disruptors project unfolds through several hybrid phases, starting with in-person bootcamps. Selected startups participate in a three-day intensive bootcamp in their city, focusing on business validation and networking. This leads into the online incubation phase, where startups are nurtured on scalability, financial management, legal affairs, and effective networking, supported by weekly training, one-on-one expert sessions, and design development services. A distinctive feature is the 'Meet the CEO' sessions, offering direct insights from successful leaders and entrepreneurs.
The journey culminates in an in-person Demo Day and Networking Event, where top startups pitch to a panel of judges, investors, and accelerators, competing for a total of $22,000 in seed money prizes split among the top three performers, incentivizing excellence and innovation.
The project’s curriculum is extensive, covering market analysis, digital marketing, sales strategies, and financial management. It also delves into team roles, organizational management, product management, setting and achieving organizational goals, scalability, customer validation, pitching and storytelling, legal aspects of startups, and fundraising strategies. This comprehensive training ensures that startups are well-prepared to navigate the complex business landscape and succeed in attracting investment and scaling their operations.
Our Impact
- 15 startups supported
- 53 entrepreneurs trained
- 79 expert mentoring sessions delivered
- 24% women founders participation
- 22 jobs created within the incubation
Six-Month Tracer Study Highlights
- 22 new jobs created by participating startups.
- 18 jobs are paid positions.
- 4 jobs held by women.
- 7 jobs held by Syrian employees.
- 5 startups registered their businesses.
- 2 startups secured additional external funding.
- 4 startups participated in additional accelerators or competitions (e.g., ZINC, Misk Launchpad).
Twelve-Month Tracer Study Highlights
- 22 jobs created cumulatively by responding startups.
- 8 positions held by women.
- 4 positions held by Syrian employees.
11 paid roles and 15 long-term contracts. - 4 out of 5 startups formally registered their businesses.
- 3 startups reached break-even and 1 startup achieved profitability.
- 2 startups participated in external accelerators and ecosystem initiatives.
"During the bootcamp, we learned how to talk to our customers, we studied our customers. We presented, we discussed. This was a huge added value in this program." – Badie Fathi - Founder of Smart Psyche
Stories
Safa Elcasim: Moving Job Markets
Disruptors Wraps Up With Three Winners in Amman
Support Us!
If you are keen to join us to transform lives and forge pathways to success for Syrian entrepreneurs, we would be thrilled to make this vision a reality together. connect@jusoor.ngo.
