Techstars Startup Weekend
About This Programme
For nearly a decade, Syria was absent from the global map of Techstars Startup Weekend. Bringing it back in 2026 was a national moment, run across eight cities under one shared framework.
Startup Weekend Syria: A National Moment, Built From Within
Startup Weekend Syria re-inserted Syrian cities into a worldwide network of founders, mentors, and startup communities that has run thousands of weekends in more than 150 countries. It was designed from the start to be led from within: eight cities hosted their own locally led Startup Weekends under one national framework, with local organizers coordinating partners, engaging mentors, and guiding participants through the 54-hour experience.
Across three weekends, 625 participants worked in 132 teams to turn everyday problems, power cuts, crowded clinics, interrupted studies, fragile supply chains, into first versions of real solutions. Two teams from each city advanced to a national bootcamp, and sixteen finalist teams ultimately presented on one stage at the National Demo Day in Damascus.
Programme Details
Date: April and May 2026
Category: Community
Program Status
Done
Program Outcomes
+1,800
Applications
625
Participants
8
Cities
132
Teams Formed
+100
Mentors
28
Local Partners
32%
Female Participation
3.9 / 5
Overall Participant Satisfaction
+78
Net Promoter Score — Organizers & Facilitators
46%
Participants on a Full Scholarship
What this program aims to achieve
A National Vision, Locally Driven
Startup Syria set one shared framework aligned with Techstars standards, while local organizers and facilitators in each city shaped the experience to fit their own community and constraints.
Catalysts: The Power of Local Connectors
Trusted local leaders explained the format in practical terms, drew on years of informal networks to find mentors and venues, and made the weekend feel like something built "for us, by us."
No Founder Left Behind
An uncapped scholarship program meant cost was never a barrier to participation; 46% of participants joined on a full scholarship, rising to 100% of participants in Deir ez-Zor.
From Ideas to the National Stage
Selected teams moved through a three-week online bootcamp of customer discovery and business modeling before sixteen finalists pitched live at the National Demo Day in Damascus.
Facilitators
Suzanne Alfares — Homs
Nour Abdou — Hama
Hassan Mohammad — Idlib
Ahmad Alhusein — Deir Ezzor
Walaa Oweir — Daraa
Ez Eddin Hayaria — Aleppo
Ola Alhaj — Latakia
Abdalkareem Mahmoud — Latakia
Selected Teams
Damascus
Mahsoul
Winning TeamAI co-pilot helping farmers from seed selection to harvest.
Lamha
An app for transforming traditional print ads into interactive, game-like experiences.
Daraa
Taza
A platform for bakeries and restaurants to sell daily surplus food at a discount to prevent waste.
Blatos
Platform connecting pharmacies to patients seeking specific medical supplies and prescriptions.
Homs
Dawai'i
SmartGrid tracks power in real time via hardware and an app to eliminate unpredictable electricity bills.
SmartGrid
Interactive platform helping children of returnees reintegrate into their local community.
Latakia
Naqa'a
A solution to sort and recycle waste into material supplied to manufacturers, cutting costs.
Jouthur
A platform to build organization-specific AI agents that learn from an organization's data.
Selection Process
Level 1 — Pitch or Join
Stand up, speak clearly, and convince others your idea is worth building, or trust your instincts and join a team that feels right. Skill unlocked: Initiative.
Level 2 — Build Under Pressure
Once teams form, the clock changes everything. Ideas become decisions, roles become clear, and assumptions get tested against reality. Skills unlocked: Teamwork, Initiative.
Level 3 — Test, Pivot, Repeat
Mentor questions, user feedback, and time pressure force teams to simplify fast. Some ideas get sharper, others change shape completely. Skills unlocked: Adaptability, Teamwork, Initiative.
Level 4 — Step onto the Stage
The final pitch shows how far a team can move in one weekend, from uncertainty to action, from concept to something real enough to defend in public. Skills unlocked: Confidence, Adaptability, Teamwork, Initiative.
The Bootcamp
Selected teams enter three focused weeks of online support, running customer discovery interviews, testing assumptions, and developing their business model, tracked and coached toward the national stage.
National Demo Day — Damascus
Sixteen finalist teams, two per city, pitch live in front of partners, government representatives, Startup Syria Catalysts, and investors. The audience votes, and three teams rise to the top.
Thanks to our Partners
