In the aftermath of a brutal civil war and subsequent regime change, Syria is at a crossroads. For the first time in decades there seems to be a real opportunity to craft an entrepreneurial future for young Syrians, yet the path to that future is unclear and has no precedent. Existing models for building entrepreneurial support infrastructure are based in logic of a Silicon Valley context and are a complete misfit with the post-war Syrian context. So how can Syrian community builders (i.e., Startup Syria) make the most of a narrow window of opportunity to revive Syrian's entrepreneurial potential and lay the groundwork for its economic future?
This paper offers practical insights for entrepreneurial ecosystem building in a fragile post-war country. In the context of post-war Syria, entrepreneurship is a complicated and uncertain endeavour—it goes far beyond individual grit, clever approaches to opportunity recognition, hustle, and heroic improvisation. In post-war Syria, cultivating entrepreneurship in helpful ways is seen as critical for opening pathways for dignity, local capacity, peace, and just futures for many Syrians.
We engaged with Startup Syria to understand obstacles they face and solutions they might pursue. We offer recommendations to Startup Syria on how to stitch together scattered actors, resources, and hopes, as well as how to navigate ongoing tensions stemming from the fragile post-conflict context. Specifically, there are three big ideas relevant to those seeking to aid in the rebuilding of Syria, but also to actors in contexts outside the narrow-yet-dominant logic of Silicon Valley ecosystems. Our hope is that this paper can serve as a roadmap to rethink your own role in post-conflict/crisis settings.

1. Great things occur by small means. With complex problems comes a desire to ‘go big!’ However, it is often the smaller moments that serve as catalysts for larger change. To make a real difference, start by mapping where your interventions sit in a broader system and look for small, simple hinge points that hold the potential to catalyse extraordinary gains.

2. The answer lies with the locals—find and resource them! Pushing governance down to local levels is critical to accurately identify problems and context-specific solutions. As outsiders, well-intentioned yet ignorant interventions may unintentionally reinforce short-term fixes that trade-off long-term gains and self-reliant independence of those being ‘helped.’

3. Learn of and lean into local organizing scaffolding—formal and informal. Redesign programs, partnerships, funding, and structures so they amplify local capacity, voice, and coordination rather than just delivering “support services.” An inclusive, localized scaffolding for post-war ecosystems is essential for Syria to have a hope of building its future.