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The message, somewhat ironic, from Areej Selmi was clear from the start of her interview with The National: the internet in Gaza is not stable, she said apologetically, uncertain if we could properly communicate. Yet, just as her persistence has carried her business through the year-long war in the enclave, she succeeded in getting through.
Like everyone affected, Ms Selmi cannot wait for the conflict to end. Personal wishes aside, she has big plans for her start-up, e-commerce platform builder Almnssa. For now, however, she's improvising and making do despite limited and often unavailable resources.
“My company relies entirely on the internet and electricity … at the beginning of the war there was no way to solve the problem. I had to contact customers via WhatsApp and email to tell them that there was a problem and that there would be a delay in responding due to technical problems,” she told The National. “But there was great understanding and sympathy from customers.”
Gaza-based Almnssa provides integrated services for creating websites for “everything related to the web”, spanning design, domain and email hosting, marketing and Google search optimisation. It counts companies in industries such as travel, recruitment and health care across the Middle East as its clients.
The platform has about 730 members and has helped procure more than $500,000 in sales, according to its website – humble numbers that Ms Selmi is determined to build upon.
“I will try to continue developing the site and try to obtain investment and expand the scope of my work,” she said. “If I am able to travel, I will complete the company’s procedures abroad to facilitate communication with customers and develop programming for the platform.”
Used to adversity
Ms Selmi is accustomed to adversity: the lightbulb moment for the creation of Almnssa was born out of exactly that.
Before the pandemic, she worked remotely for a software company in Canada, getting her feet wet in the world of marketing, sales and communications with clients from all over the world.
She said she expanded the company and helped to increase its revenue per employee multifold. As a result, she was given shares “so they wouldn't lose me”.
However, in 2020, Ms Selmi said she faced false allegations that led to a one-year legal battle, which she eventually won.
It was during that drawn-out period that she decided to build her own platform. Again, she faced a new set of problems, this time gathering finance to get the company rolling.
“I had some money, but I needed additional support from my family. It was debt that I had to pay off a year after starting Almnssa. They were in shock at the idea of the project and it was difficult for them to give me money,” Ms Selmi said.
'I am a girl from Gaza'
She then approached business incubators, particularly the EU-backed Ucas Technology Incubator, which is based in Gaza.
Ms Selmi did not mince her words and straightforwardly said, with conviction: “I am a girl from Gaza and I understand technological matters.” With that, she said, “they all trusted me … because they knew that I had the determination to succeed”.
After she received her first grant and Almnssa was launched, she gave them another shock: she quickly showed financial returns and was able to pay off debts.
“There is an opportunity in the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf … to receive a good amount of investment,” she said.
Still, the pinch of the war was too much: Ms Selmi was unable to attract investments because “no one wants to invest their money in a war-torn country, specifically Gaza”.
She also had the opportunity to attend the Arab SMEs Summit in Doha next month, but with borders closed, she will not be able to make it.
She was, however, able to receive more financial and service grants, such as Amazon hosting Almnssa's website for two years on top of a $15,000 grant.
All these developments led to Ms Selmi's first trip outside Gaza backed by the Ucas Technology Incubator. Subsequently, more fully-funded trips came her way, enabling her to visit more places and register with programmes that support women in technology in Dubai, Egypt, Jordan, France and Italy.
The grants totalled $40,000, which pales in comparison to what other start-ups have been receiving. Nevertheless, Ms Selmi remains very grateful as “that saved me large sums of money”.
The year-old Israel-Gaza war has left Ms Selmi unable to afford to boost Almnssa's research and development to enhance its services.
“But I have the determination to invest my time in searching for ways to help introduce me to institutions outside Palestine so that they can embrace me and my project,” she added.
Ms Selmi is keen to travel more to bring Almnssa to a wider audience once restrictions ease. She had considered travelling outside the Gaza Strip, specifically into Egypt – but people at the border are charging “a high-value individual co-ordination amount”, exceeding $5,000 per person, she said.
“That's higher than the financial capacity for me, my children, and my husband to travel,” she said. Instead, she opted to stay and “try to maintain my current clients as much as possible through continuous communication”.
She has established good relationships with clients, and they have stuck with her start-up throughout the conflict. “They also renewed their annual subscription because mutual trust was built,” she said.
Ms Selmi's biggest target is Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's biggest economy, a key consumer market for technology and a place with an appetite for using the latest innovations. “Therefore, it is easy to convince them to use technology to sell their products, especially after the pandemic,” Ms Selmi said.
As well as her commitment to developing Almnssa, she remains open to other opportunities. In fact, she still submits her CV to Palestinian companies in the hope of landing a job as a secretary or project manager.
However, there has been no luck so far “because job opportunities are limited in the Gaza Strip and all work contracts cannot be renewed”. At least she has Almnssa, which she describes as “a passion”.
Q&A with Areej Selmi, founder of Almnssa
Are there too many players in e-commerce? If so, is this an advantage or otherwise?
Yes, there are. It may be an advantage because the world is multiplying and greatly needs more service, and technological awareness has become great, so it is not difficult to convince the customer that [they] need to develop and have a special store.
But it may be tiring because you must explain to customers why they should choose you over other companies.
What do you do in your free time?
Right now I am looking for an opportunity to travel. I am carrying out some field charitable initiatives despite the existing danger. I help communicate with donors and supporters and direct them to people in poor situations in terms of materials, food and drink.
What was the most interesting moment in your career?
When you persuade a client to pay you for the service you provide, specifically for annual subscriptions and major packages. When a client comes to me, I find that he has heard about me from another client.
What is your advice to budding entrepreneurs?
Your idea is definitely not the first or the last, but your self-confidence and diligence are much more important than the project idea. You must be confident in your ability to persevere, continue and present the idea in an attractive narrative form.
When the idea appears, you must start; do not be lazy because the opportunities may decrease with time. Find a unique point in your idea, build the rest of the project on it, promote it wherever you find [the opportunity] and talk a lot.
What makes you unique to your competition?
I had challenges on how to accept payments from customers and get the money to Gaza, difficulty registering the company, building a team and being a girl in a small Arab community, in addition to the challenges of permanent power outages and interruptions in internet networks, and having a family and children.
Despite the lack of financial, social and local capabilities and all the great challenges I faced in establishing a technological project over the course of four years, I did not fail and my belief in my ability to achieve success and continuity did not weaken.
