Name: Meyas Saati
Business: Makdous Production
LIFE Cohort: 2nd Cohort, Mersin
Home Country: Syria
Before the conflict began in Syria, Meyas Saati had established a successful home-based business in her hometown of Homs producing a traditional regional dish called ‘Makdous’, pickled and stuffed eggplants, and selling to customers within Syria and in the Arab Gulf states.
However, after the Islamic State (ISIS) occupied her neighborhood four years ago, Meyas was forced to flee with her four children to Mersin, a southern port city of Turkey.
After arriving in Mersin, Meyas first heard of the LIFE Project when friends who worked in the food sector told her a project focused on food entrepreneurship was accepting applications. Faced with having to start a business from scratch in a new country, Meyas applied and joined the LIFE Project’s next cohort of entrepreneurs in Mersin.
“I learned so many things [from the incubation trainings] I did not know before, such as the fact that I need to get my business registered if I am going to provide larger quantities, and how to promote my business and make new contacts in Mersin,” Meyas reflected about her time with the LIFE Project. “I joined the LIFE Project to specifically promote myself and my product, and to learn about increasing my sales at the same time.”
Going forward, “I want to continue doing the same business,” Meyas told the LIFE team, “but I want to get it done seriously. After winning the business pitch competition, I have enough resources right now to create samples and promote the business properly.”
Meyas’s advice to anyone considering applying to the LIFE Project? “At first when I entered the project, I felt very motivated and got a push in the right direction, I advise all women with ideas not to take them lightly and join the LIFE Project.”
Interested in Meyas’ business? Follow her on Instagram: @makdus33