Syrian diaspora hopes AI can help rebuild country’s tech future

London Sync event promotes Syria roadshow in Damascus, Latakia and Aleppo in August

Ram Albata (from left), Dr. Noor Shaker, Hadeel Tawfik and Nour Alkhatib at Sync London. Photo: Lemma Shehadi / The National

Syrians abroad are hoping the momentum of their transition to democracy could create a tech hub in their country devastated by more than a decade of war.

Syria lacks some of the basic infrastructure required for technological companies to thrive, such as good quality internet, data centres and access to the cloud.

But experts believe Syrians could skip some of the hurdles that countries previously faced when building their technology sectors, thanks to the recent rapid evolution of AI, which could do most of the legwork.

We're trying to focus on upskilling first

Ranim Alwair

“We are capable more than any time before. Now, all the AI technology will just enable more productivity,” said London-based AI scientist Rami Al Batal, speaking at a tech event for Syrians organised by Sync in London.

Some are hopeful the country could build a tech hub similar to those that emerged from Rwanda after the genocide, and Estonia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to the computer scientist Raafat Zarka.

“The common thread in both (Estonia and Rwanda) was a clear digital vision,” Mr Zarka, a Syrian working in London for Microsoft, told The National.

Rwanda’s capital Kigale is now home to the African continent’s leading start-ups, and Estonia has a track record of building tech unicorns including Skype in 2005, the taxi service provider Bolt, and payment platform Wise.

“They had limited resources, but they could go far with smart digital investment and cloud partnerships, with smart regulations to make it easier for public-private collaboration.”

From left, computer scientists Rami Albata, Dr Noor Shaker, Hadeel Tawfik and telecoms expert Nour Alkhatib at Sync London. Photo: Lemma Shehadi / The National

Though US, UK and EU sanctions were removed earlier this year, hesitation around investing in the country remains.

US President Donald Trump’s order to ease sanctions still needs to come into effect. Until then, Syrians will be unable to access the cloud, and western financial services continue to be hesitant about transacting in Syria.

The Syrian Ministry of Information is believed to have contacted cloud providers to request access until then.

“Now sanctions are lifted we should put more pressure to get access to cloud infrastructure,” Dr Al Batal said.

“We need to ask foreign governments about how to extend venture capital zones to cover Syria. I know it is still higher risk, but it’s now up to us to provide the stability and to prove how productive we are.”

London-based architect Ranim Alwair. Lemma Shehadi / The National

Nour Al Khatib, a Dubai-based telecoms leader at MTN, said international support for Syria was crucial in bringing the country out of its isolation and rebuilding trust.

“We have a historical moment, to collaborate with the UK government, as well as the people, in order to support Syrians in the journey of rebuilding the country, and having our Syria back and online again,” she told The National.

Ms Al Khatib is a board member of Sync, a Silicon Valley based platform for Syrians in tech, which organised the London event.

“Syria was offline for 54 years. Now Syria is back online, just give Syria and Syrians a hand in order to operate the way that it should be operating,” she said.

Syria can also rely on the experience of tech professionals from its diaspora.

Among them is Nour Shaker, the British-Syrian founder of SpatialX, an AI-powered cancer diagnostics application. In Silicon Valley’s Palo Alto, Bassel Ojjeh – a founder of Sync – is the CEO telecoms software product LigaData.

London-based architect Ranim Alwair has been advising Syrian ministries under the new administration on how to integrate AI into their daily work. She is working on a pilot project to train local government workers in Damascus in AI, and recently gave workshops to the Ministry of Transport.

“We're trying to focus on upskilling first in the short term, then automation. Syria is really falling decades behind,” she said.

“We’re trying to get officials exposed to the knowledge of AI so that they get to know how useful it is to use AI to automate tedious tasks, and how much time and money it will save,” she said.

She has urged government officials to bring overseas consultants to get advice on their digital infrastructure, and to teach more people English so that they can access technology products more easily.

“One official told me that employees really need upskilling from the basics, using a laptop, sending an email as well, how to use internet safely, and so on so forth. So we're trying to put programmes at the moment to start from these stages,” she said.

Alwair fled Homs in 2012 with husband, mother and two small children after her father was killed during a siege of the city by the Syrian army. “We lost everything,” she said, recalling how they left in haste with a small suitcase.

After coming to the UK, she applied to study architecture at University College London.

She never imagined at that time that she would one day be playing a role in building Syria’s future government and institutions. “I feel really happy and excited that I am delivering whatever I learnt in the UK, in Arabic to home country. Up until now it feels like a dream,” she said.

Dubai-based telecoms leader at MTN Nour Al Khatib. Lemma Shehadi / The National

Members of the Syrian community in London say they are able to work together for the first time in over a decade.

Laila Chamsi-Pasha, an event planner and founder of Khayo, a start-up specialising in promoting Middle Eastern food, said that the community had become divided after 2011 – with few people trusting each other.

“It’s really exciting after all these years to be able to come together as Syrians. The Syrian community felt like it was more and more fragmented. But now the walls aren’t listening any more,” she said.

Laila Chamsi-Pasha, London-based food entrepreneur. Photo: Lemma Shehadi / The National