Maastricht University School of Business and Economics

Tilburg University

University of Oregon

Damascus University

Honors Student BSc International Business Administration  -  Founder and CEO at ChangeMakers

As a Justice Innovation Officer at HiiL, I am dedicated to driving positive change in the justice sector by researching, analyzing, and supporting innovative solutions and monitoring the growth of the Justice Accelerator's portfolio aiming to advise growth interventions in the future.

HiiL | User-friendly Justice

Justice Innovation Officer

FarmAI is a smart early warning system powered by AI technology dedicated to enhancing food supply security. Throughout my involvement, I played a pivotal role in securing FarmAI's first non-equity investment from Huawei through effective negotiation and startup's investment readiness evaluation.

During the 12-month contract period, I led the market entry strategy development of the AI-driven solution, overseeing the team's organization, market research activities, feasibility study, UX/UI research and business viability ensuring the enhancement of the product-market fitness and sustainable market penetration. The startup addresses 2 large markets, namely Algeria and France with an estimated startup revenue of over USD$1M in the first 5 years and more than USD$60K annual savings for farmers in Algeria.

Warsha Consulting (ورشة)

Venture Building Specialist at FarmAI

In partnership with Seeds For The Future, Huawei's global CSR flagship program, and Purpose in Motion, I was privileged to work with 200+ enthusiastic teams worldwide who analyzed and developed socially impactful business models. In my capacity as their mentor, I deployed challenge-based learning techniques and agile methodologies to guide their design thinking and address global issues through developing tech-based and innovative solutions. Since my enrollment, I have delivered more than 100 in-person and online workshops on business development for social impact and ensured a 60% success rate in transforming ideas into viable business models.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Consultant - Huawei Seeds for the Future

Warsha ( و ر شة ) is an Arabic word which translates to the “Workshop” in English. Warsha is a Netherlands-based consultancy startup (KVK 82302448) that strives for youth development and empowerment through entrepreneurship, technology, and innovation. Warsha's mission is to help organizations and global socially responsible corporations contribute to youth empowerment worldwide by enabling more education and employment opportunities. Its vision is to create a world with equal opportunities for all.

Warsha aims to assist organizations and corporations in the West by providing them with research-based consultancy services to develop empowerment programs that are tailored for young people in the Middle East, with a special focus on cultural sensitivity and female participation. Given our extended experience of the region, knowledge of culture and language as well as access to grassroots communities, we ensure that no one is left behind and that the desired positive impact is well achieved.

Business and Innovation Consultant - Founder

After completing my master's program at Maastricht University, I made the deliberate choice to embark on a one-month unpaid sabbatical to explore Africa. This unique journey coincided with the Women Deliver conference, where I had the privilege of reconnecting with my fellow advocates who are dedicated to tirelessly advancing gender equality and women's economic empowerment.

This transformative month marked my inaugural visit to the African continent, an experience I wholeheartedly endorse to anyone. During this time, I immersed myself in the wonders of nature, took my first-ever hiking expedition up Bisoke Mountain, embarked on captivating safaris, and had the privilege of meeting incredible wildlife in their natural habitats, including rhinos, giraffes, lions, and more. Furthermore, I had the enriching opportunity to engage with and draw inspiration from real entrepreneurs. This unforgettable experience has not only broadened my horizons but has also fueled my passion for driving positive change in the world.

Travel

The Justice Accelerator (JA) has been HiiL’s flagship programme for justice startups for the past 10 years. The programme has an experienced team with The Hague based experts and regional hubs to fund, train and coach startups towards impact across West Africa, East Africa (incl Uganda), Southern Africa, MENA, and Ukraine.
Key Responsabilities:
- Facilitating the execution of the JA program via utilizing project management skills and optimizing the use of technology and software’s, such as ClickUp and Google Workspace, to ensure a smooth workflow of tasks across teams.
- Measuring and reporting social impact using data and analytics, via AirTable, to identify opportunities for improvement and to communicate the company's social impact to stakeholders.

Project Officer Global Justice Accelerator Program

Orange Corners is an initiative of the Kingdom of The Netherlands that provides young entrepreneurs across Africa and the Middle East with the necessary training, mentorship, network, funding and facilities to start and grow their businesses. Specific focus is given to entrepreneurs creating innovative and sustainable solutions to local challenges and contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

During my 6-month internship at Orange Corners, I conducted a research-based strategy aiming to improve their expansion of activities in the Middle East. In my research, I focused on analyzing challenges and barriers which young people in the Middle East face when they aspire to become entrepreneurs based on pre-existing literature and inspired by the group discussions I had with young entrepreneurs in the region. The resilience and determination which young people in conflict zones develop inspired me. My 5+ years of personal experience in entrepreneurship in Syria allowed me to reflect on the academic findings I was able to learn during my internship which strengthened my strategy recommendations and allowed me to thrive in strategizing and development.

Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO)

Program Assistant - Orange Corners

The dynamic position enabled me to work and coordinate between various departments at the organization, interact closely with the board and leadership team as well as engage with +500 scholars and prestigious university partners.

Key responsibilities and achievements were:
- Aligned the program's strategy with the organization's overall vision and ensured documentation for organizational learning purposes.
- Built Relationships with 3+ Program Partners and 3+ universities globally.
- Oversaw the program's financial payments.
- Onboarded 30+ new scholars at globally recognized universities, including designing and implementing a competitive selection process.
- Managed progress and donor reporting, including data collection and editing.
- Led coordination for program communications, including the website updates.
- Established a strong alumni network and engaged with 500+ scholars globally, at a 100% alumni engagement rate.

Jusoor

Scholarship Program Manager

LeafUp offers memberships to invest in coffee farms allowing ethical coffee drinkers to fight poverty, support the farmer, protect our planet earth and get discounts at the best coffee shops! At LeafUp, we pay farmers a living wage to plant fruit and hardwood trees on coffee farms. 

In the past several decades, millions of trees have been lost to make room for mono-culture coffee.  If this continues, the environment will suffer, more birds will lose their habitats and more chemical pesticides will be used which will have major impacts on everyone’s lives, in addition to damaging the soil which will result in low quality coffee.

LeafUp is turning things around by letting coffee drinkers pay for planting trees, save money in return through cool discounts, protect the environment, and empower the farmer.

* Honored to had worked on this remotely with an amazing team from Morocco, The US, Algeria and Tanzania. LeafUp is founded in partnership with Yara International and as part of YSI Innovation Program, which brings together top young talent from across the globe. With over 12k applicants and space for only 27 participants each year, it's an incredibly selective, and incredibly awesome, program. A video intro to our team is below.

LeafUp

Market Analyst - Co-Founder

Working with a team of national and international experts seeking to develop efficient and timely donor reports, research and information gathering to contribute to the developing of funding proposals. The reporting team is responsible for capturing UNFPA’s programmatic successes and key achievements.

•	Establish an effective reporting and reports tracking system for donor reports.
•	Monitor deadlines while ensuring that reporting requirements (frequency, quality, capacity and timeliness) for all running activities have been planned and agreed upon.
•	Support the Drafting of data for periodic presentations and meetings with 10+ donors.
•	Produce accurate, regular and timely narrative reports in English (ensure an Arabic version is available when needed).
•	Support the coordination of statistics, maps and photos in reports in collaboration with Country Office and regional communication and reporting staff.
•	Gather and analyze of information on potential donors and preparation of donors’ profiles.
•	Facilitate knowledge building and information sharing by providing support and training for the reporting focal points of implementing partners.
•	Produce human interest stories for various outlets, such as website, newspapers and different social media channels.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

National United Nations Youth Volunteer - Reporting Assistant

Jusoor is a US 501c3 NGO organization of Syrian expatriates supporting the country’s development and helping Syrian youth realize their potential through programs in the fields of education, career development, and global community engagement. It is a detail-oriented, confidential role, requiring superb organizational skills, accuracy, and team-work and collaboration across multiple departments of the organization.

- Record day-to-day financial transaction in the organization’s financial software (QuickBooks) overseeing around 5,000+ transactions
- Prepare monthly financial statement and reports.
- Track expenditure of program-locked donations.
- Ensure compliance to legal requirements.
- Keep and organize financial documents.

Bookkeeper

ChangeMakers is a social enterprise born from the heart of Damascus, Syria, aiming to teach the youth the principles of programming and improve their ability to communicate effectively. ChangeMakers seeks to bridge the gap in school education by adapting convenient curriculum and interactive teaching while also reduce the gender gap in the tech field.

ChangeMakers played a great role in achieving Quality Education (SDG4) and Gender Equality (SDG5) in Syria and was recognized as a market leader in tech empowerment for youth by several stakeholders, including the UN, The Dutch Government and by testimonies of our participants.

•	Lead a team of 15+ online and offline motivated young people.
•	Ensure strategy alignment with vision and objectives while developing strategies and plans.
•	Oversee the mobilization of funds.
•	Develop and sustain strong relations with national and international partners.
•	Represent ChangeMakers in international events and ensure well visibility in conferences and various media outlets. 
•	Organize ChangeMakers’s Innovation Bootcamps impacting 50+ young people, Hackathons producing 15+ tech and web-based projects.
•	Facilitate the implementation of ChangeMakers’s meetups impacting +1,000 young programmers and university students.

ChangeMakers

Startup Growth Officer - Co-Founder

Working with a dedicated team of national professionals to develop communication plans to strengthen public’s understanding of UNFPA mission and objectives, enhancing organization’s credibility as well as to provide effective and timely professional assistance and support in developing, drafting and maintaining contacts’ information, relations with media and maintaining publications materials.

•	Write and edit 150+ human interest stories for various outlets and media purposes.
•	Create social media visibility content and assist in the development and implementation of the organization’s communication strategy.
•	Organize 50+ youth events and national campaigns impacting 50,000+ youth.

Communication Assistant

Lead the Academic Mentorship Program which offers academic advice to Syrian students requiring help in their university application processes and seeking more information on academic choices and studying abroad. The program is focused on connecting expatriate Syrians and volunteers with highly ambitious students in Syria and those recently displaced to provide coaching and mentoring throughout their academic life.

- Select mentees and mentors to participate and hold interviews as needed.
- Match mentees and mentors and following-up with them.
- Lead lectures series, which includes inviting mentors to lead sessions, host and publicize the sessions.
- Oversee the webpage of the mentorship program online.
- Report on the status of the program and evaluate its success and areas for improvement.

Salam Al-Nukta