I'm Anas Alhaj. My family has been working in agriculture in Syria for generations. I am 41 years old, husband, father of 4 children, and an entrepreneur!
My current focus is to establish a German company that provides cold-pressed oils from high-quality agricultural and fruit seeds grown in the Middle East.
When I was still living in Syria, I was the managing director of my own company, Agro Syrian Oil. I was the only one in Aleppo making cold-pressed oils, from seeds and kernels, processed with German machines.
During the war, I lost everything. I moved to Germany with my family and wanted to restart my business. However, the German federal organization to support unemployed people (Job center) was not promoting my model. Thanks to FITT gGmbh and The Human Safety Net, I could further develop my idea and adapt it for the German market. I dramatically improved my language skills, learning a lot about the German economic system. At the end of 2020, I pitched my idea in front of a jury and received the Cosmos Direct-THSN Award - both a recognition and a first building block to finance my company.
FITT gGmbH supported me to design a realistic business plan, and they started a contact with a pharmaceutical company interested in working with my Agro German Oil.
Building a bridge of high-quality seeds from the Middle East to Germany and producing them with German quality standards is a dream now that's closer to being achieved.