Originally from Palmyra, Syria, 28-year-old Ahmad graduated with a degree in economics from the University of Hama. When he came to Turkey, he looked for employment first in Istanbul and then in Mersin, but found few opportunities in either city. Instead he turned his focus toward his dream of starting a new business.
Name: Zeinab Wazzan
Business: Cosmetic and Food-Enhancing Plant Extract
LIFE Cohort: 1st Cohort, Mersin
Home Country: Syria
Originally from Latakia, Syria, Zeinab studied fine arts and taught painting. Her father and uncle were well known Attars, people who extract natural essence from flowers and plants for health benefits. As a child, she was fascinated by how her father extracted flower essence: “We had a garden with lemon trees and we would gather the flowers of the lemon tree together to extract the essence [...] After he passed away, I carried on and started first distributing bottles of plant extracts in his honor, as he would have done if he was alive. I then started selling them and generating revenue.” Identifying a lucrative business venture, Zeinab started producing flower essence to sell for health benefits and food flavoring and sold bottles in her uncle’s shop in Latakia’s Hanano street.
When the war broke out in Syria, Zeinab moved first to Antakya and then to Mersin. She was immediately attracted to the flowers there. “After some doing market research, I learned that in Mersin, and Turkey in general, the essence of flowers is not extracted in a natural way- it is just for commercial use and it is not natural at all.” Realizing that there was an opportunity in the Turkish market for natural flower extracts, Zeinab coordinated the retrieval of the machine she used in Latakia to extract the essence of plants. With the machine and flowers imported from Syria, she began her business and is doing well, “A month ago, a merchant from Latakia bought all my flower essence bottles to export them to the Netherlands.”
After graduating from the first cohort in Mersin, Zeinab reflected on her experience in the LIFE Project incubation program: “My experience in [the LIFE Project] was very positive. I was introduced to many people and specifically benefited from the training related to the techniques for pitching my business.” As one of the winner’s of the first business competition in Mersin, Zeinab plans to use the seed funding she received to buy two more machines to increase production. She is planning to partner with fellow LIFE members to develop her business and offer them income generating opportunities. “I dream of having my product with my own name,” she says.
UPDATE June 2020: After sharing her product with “Tea’n Cake,” a cafe located in one of Mersin’s largest shopping centers, Zeinab now supplies her rose water and other extracts to the cafe.
Are you interested in Zeinab’s story or see potential in her business as an investor? Reach out to her directly: @rose_water3.
After working in corporate marketing for 15 years, Turkish LIFE Entrepreneur Devrim started looking for new areas where she could use her skills and knowledge. Now, she is building a fresh food production business to provide healthy versions of everyday staples. The LIFE Project Entrepreneurship Incubator helped her develop her business model and product.
Syrian LIFE Entrepreneur Mohammed is an electrical engineer from Damascus. When he moved to Turkey, he had no experience or connections and had trouble finding a job in his field due to language barriers. He started making Syrian-style homemade cheese and sharing it with his neighbors. With the help of the LIFE Project, he built the skills and knowledge to develop cheese products for the Turkish market.
Turkish LIFE Entrepreneur Feryal started her healthy snack brand fistik.co after retiring from the banking sector. Already involved in running and sports, she saw an opportunity to sell her product at stands during jogging events. With the support of the LIFE Project, she was able to expand her professional network and customer base.
23-year-old LIFE Entrepreneur Nedal came to Istanbul from Syria almost four years ago. He quickly discovered he had a passion for working in the dessert sector and became the main chef for a Turkish sweets company. Now, Nedal is utilizing the LIFE Project's business support services while developing his own project in the dessert sector.
Back in Damascus, Syrian LIFE Entrepreneur Inam was a housewife. After coming to Istanbul, she turned her 20 years of experience cooking at home into a catering business. Through the LIFE Project Entrepreneurship Incubator, she honed her cooking skills and also built the knowledge she needed to navigate the Turkish market and legal system.
Turkish LIFE Entrepreneur Nadide has been working in the food industry for 20 years. Today she is launching a food business venture centered around her ancestral sourdough and a belief in the importance of good nutrition. The LIFE Project helped her build a professional network and gain new confidence in her vision.
Five years ago, when Hamdo moved to Turkey from his home country of Syria, he started several business ventures in both food and coal, all of which faced challenges due the economic and security situations in the area. Hamdo was convinced that working alone would not allow him to reach his goal of launching a successful food business so he joined the LIFE Project in Mersin to connect with other entrepreneurs in the area.
Marya had a background as a physical fitness trainer when the war in Syria forced her to relocate and find a job in a restaurant in Raqqa. After the conflict spread to Raqqa, Marya fled Syria altogether with her two children and resettled in Mersin, Turkey. In Mersin, Marya connected to the LIFE Project after having an idea to start a business that sells peanut butter and jams that she would prepare in her home.
Meysa Umayir left Syria for Turkey with her family four years ago. She was intrigued by the food sector and was looking to start a business venture, which led her to join the LIFE Project. The LIFE Project allowed Meysa to take her idea – developing healthy versions of traditional Syrian dishes – and build a business model around it.
It was a passion for food that drove Hussein to make a career change from hospitality to starting his own business in Syria as a dessert chef. He quickly found success as an entrepreneur and turned one dessert shop into four. However, after the conflict in Syria began, Hussein was forced to migrate to Mersin and leave his booming businesses behind.
After migrating to Turkey, Mahmoud was determined to take on a new challenge: he bought several plots of land to grow lemon trees and began harvesting and selling lemons both domestically and regionally. When the business took off, Mahmoud started his own restaurant, but this time focused on his true passion – pizza and pastries.
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.
Ammar’s dream project is starting a food business focused on desserts and smoothies. He even already has a name for it: PH7 or ‘Pleasure of Heaven’. Since deciding on his initial idea, Ammar has been looking to rent a small restaurant in the Fatih neighborhood of Istanbul to start his business and is looking for business partners to promote his product and fund his start-up costs.
Shaker always likes to introduce himself by highlighting his impressive academic background, as he holds a PhD in Sharia Law and a Master’s degree in Child’s Rights. Shaker has travelled extensively in Europe and Africa, worked in universities, and managed schools. “At one point, I realized that I couldn’t make a living with my academic job, so we opened a sweet shop in Syria.” The business focused on mamul, a traditional Middle Eastern pastry filled with a variety of stuffings. Shaker’s mamul had a unique twist - instead of the traditional nuts and dates, his pastries were filled with cheese.
Waad was a teacher for 14 years in Palmyra, Syria. “Palmyra is very famous for dates which are filled with other ingredients and sold to tourists.” In 2016, she fled the country and settled in Mersin, where she had siblings. She was always actively looking for opportunities to learn the Turkish language and develop her skills, which is how she came to learn of the LIFE Project.
As a creative chef in homemade desserts, Waad was initially interested in the LIFE Project to build her marketing skills.“The business pitch competition itself was a very big step for me to take; it developed my character and allowed me a chance to meet people.”
Saleh is a food entrepreneur from Deir ez-Zor, Syria. After graduating from the Technical Institute for Tourism and Hotel Sciences in Syria, he worked in Sham Palace and other hotels for twelve years. Almost four years before the outbreak of the Syrian conflict, Saleh opened his own restaurant for pizza and sweets along with all kinds of juices.
Forced to leave his home country, Saleh moved to Turkey in 2016. “I came straight to Mersin as I had friends before me settling here and their feedback in general was always positive about this city. I [then] worked in restaurants in Mersin.” As Saleh realized that the market demand in Mersin focused more on delivery services than restaurants, he transitioned to Turkish sweet shops.
From Consortium Partner The William Davidson Institute (WDI) at the University of Michigan
In Istanbul, Mohamad Bakkar, a Syrian refugee and now food entrepreneur, (pictured right) produces his own special Syrian cheeses and yogurt. About three and a half years ago, Bakkar fled the civil war in Syria, where he was an electrical engineer. As a refugee in a new place, life was not easy. To improve his family’s situation, Bakkar opened his own food business in Istanbul.
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