Advisory
I built and ran Syria's first full e-commerce platform for six years, through blackouts, currency collapse and broken supply lines. Today my field team reports from Syrian markets twelve times a month.
I advise consumer brands, retail groups and platforms on what actually works on the ground here.
Mine is two weeks old.
Since the transition, Syria has become one of the most talked-about and least understood markets in the region. Most of what is written about it is either outdated, or written by people who have never operated here.
I fund and run Mokhtar Al Souq, a field media project publishing twelve episodes a month from inside Syrian markets: price updates, merchant interviews, and on-the-ground trade movement. It reaches 3.59 million views a month.
That means when you ask me what a product costs in Damascus this month, or which distribution channel is actually moving goods, I am not guessing and I am not quoting a 2023 report.
You are a good fit if you are:
This is not for you if:
Six years running Harbuk, Syria's first full e-commerce platform, from launch in 2017 to a peak of over 20,000 orders per month in 2021, and through to closing the chapter in 2023.
I then wrote the book on it, the first published account documenting the Syrian startup experience from the inside.
Harbuk closed. That is not a footnote I hide. It is the reason my read on this market is useful.
I can tell you where a venture here dies, because I watched it happen to mine.
Before any commitment, fifteen minutes to find out whether I am the right person for your situation. I ask about your market, your timeline and the decision you are trying to make, and you leave knowing whether I can help and what working together would look like.
This is an introduction, not an advisory session. No commitment either way.Sixty minutes. One decision.
Bring your specific question: a market, a partner, a product, a go/no-go. You leave with a direct answer and a written summary of what I would do in your position.
For companies that have decided to look seriously.
A complete written picture of the market, a partner shortlist you can act on, and a clear recommendation, not a generic report that goes in a drawer.
For companies actively operating or launching in Syria.
Not a one-off report, a standing presence alongside your weekly decisions, with field intelligence that refreshes every month.
You will get a short form first, so I arrive prepared rather than asking basics.
Sixty minutes, direct. No pitch deck and no warm-up.
Delivered within 48 hours, whether or not we work together.
If it makes sense, I send one. If it does not, I will tell you.
I am not a lawyer and I do not provide legal, sanctions or compliance advice. If your question is regulatory, I will say so and refer you to counsel who handles it properly.
What I provide is commercial and operational judgement about this market, from someone who has operated in it.
That is a legal and compliance question specific to your jurisdiction, and you need counsel to answer it. My work begins after that question is settled, or in parallel, if you are assessing whether the market would even be worth the effort.
Field reporting from Syrian markets, twelve times a month. Ask me about this month, not last year.
No. I am paid by you and only by you. That is the entire point of the recommendation being worth something.
Yes. All deliverables in English, Arabic on request. النسخة العربية ←
Yes, before any substantive discussion.
Most of them do not have people on the ground in Syria, and their reports are assembled remotely. I ran a company here for six years and my team is in these markets weekly. For a market this opaque, that is not a small difference.
A short call to find out whether I have something useful for your situation, and from there we decide the next step together.
This is an introduction, not an advisory session. No commitment either way.