What Alsama Project does

Alsama Project is a non-governmental charitable organisation founded in January 2020 by Meike Ziervogel and Kadria Hussien, registered as a charity in the UK (no. 1191810), a 501(c)(3) in the US (no. 87-1842640), and an NGO in Lebanon (no. 372/2021). It operates four WASC-accredited education centres across the Shatila and Bourj al-Barajneh refugee camps in Beirut, serving 950 refugee and displaced teenagers (approximately 60% girls) through a proprietary accelerated six-year curriculum that compresses twelve years of formal schooling. Ninety percent of arriving students are initially illiterate; the programme reports eradicating illiteracy and innumeracy in under six months. The organisation employs 97% local or refugee education staff and operates at approximately 83% of the UN Lebanon average cost per refugee, with 81% of donations directed to programmes.

The core technology consists of the WASC-accredited accelerated curriculum and the G12++ certificate, launched in February 2026, which is described as the world's first curriculum-agnostic high school-equivalent certification designed specifically for displaced youth. The G12++ is validated by Ecctis (UK RQF Level 2-3) and the SkillsBuilder Framework, developed with Cambridge University Press & Assessment, Cambridge Partnership for Education, and multiple universities. Supporting the academic programme are a cricket initiative spanning 20 hubs and 820 active players, and two social enterprises: Alsama Studio (hand-made embroidery employing approximately 50 mothers of students) and the Arabic Language School (founded 2024 by an ex-student).

Revenue is generated almost entirely through donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate donors (notably Olayan, Christoph Henkel, and the Ghandour Slawek Foundation), with supplementary transactional revenue from G12++ examination fees ($20 per attempt) and product/service sales through the two social enterprises. Distribution is direct-to-beneficiary through on-site education centres and globally through e-commerce (alsamastudio.com) and the digital G12++ platform. The organisation has won three major international awards (Library of Congress Literacy Award 2024, Ockenden International Prize 2025, Varkey Foundation Global Schools Prize 2026) and announced its first education centre outside Lebanon for 2026.

Name

Alsama Project

Legal name

Alsama Project UK

Website

https://alsamaproject.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Alsama Project is a Lebanon- and UK-registered non-profit that runs four WASC-accredited education centres in Beirut refugee camps, delivering an accelerated six-year curriculum to 950 displaced teenagers and operating the G12++ certificate, the world's first high school-equivalent qualification for refugee youth, alongside social enterprises employing refugee women.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Refugee Education Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Other Schools and Instruction (6116), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee, Crisis & Humanitarian Education Partnerships (EiE) (EDADALAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

NGO/Nonprofit Education Programs & Service Delivery (EDADALAC), Newcomer & Refugee Student Support Programs (EDAJAGAH), Immigrant & Refugee Community Education (Integration/Navigation) (EDAAAFAH), International Development & Donor-Funded Education Programs (EDADALAB)

Keywords

• Refugee education
• Secondary education
• Displaced youth services
• Social enterprise programs
• Women empowerment programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Beirut

HQ country

Lebanon

HQ region

Middle East

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Alsama runs entirely on donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate donors. The organization is registered as a charity in the UK (no. 1191810), a 501(c)(3) in the US (no. 87-1842640), and as an NGO in Lebanon. 81% of funds go directly to programmes.
2. Social Enterprise - Alsama Studio: Hand-made embroidery social enterprise employing around 50 mothers of students. Products include fashion, homeware, and accessories. 100% of profits go to refugee women. Products sold via alsamastudio.com.
3. Social Enterprise - Arabic Language School: Founded in 2024 by an ex-Alsama student, offers beginner to advanced Arabic lessons in Levantine dialect. Staffed by students with high English and Arabic proficiency. Classes available in-person or online.
4. G12++ Examination Fees: The G12++ certification is offered for $20, making it accessible in refugee camps and underserved locations worldwide where there is a computer and Wi-Fi.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Alsama Project operates four WASC-accredited education centres in the Shatila and Bourj al-Barajneh refugee camps of Beirut, delivering a free accelerated six-year secondary curriculum (equivalent to 12 years) to approximately 950 refugee and displaced teenagers aged 12–18, with 60% female enrolment. The organization complements this core education with the Cricket Programme (20 hubs, 820 players), the proprietary G12++ high school-equivalent certification, and two social enterprises — Alsama Studio (hand-embroidered products by ~50 mothers) and the Arabic Language School (Levantine Arabic lessons) — all supported through a donation-funded charity model registered in the UK, US, and Lebanon.

Product overview

Alsama Project is an NGO operating a portfolio of interconnected education and empowerment services for refugee and displaced youth in Lebanon. The core offering consists of four WASC-accredited education centres delivering an accelerated six-year secondary education programme (equivalent to 12 years), serving 950 students with a focus on girls (60%). Supporting this are the Cricket Programme (20 hubs, 820 players) for leadership development and the G12++ Certificate—the world's first high school-equivalent qualification for displaced youth. Social enterprises include Alsama Studio (handicraft embroidery business employing ~50 mothers) and the Arabic Language School (online/in-person Arabic lessons by ex-students). The ecosystem is complemented by volunteer programmes and an alumni network, all unified by the mission to transform refugee lives through education and economic empowerment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Education Centres (Shatila 1, Shatila 2, Bourj 1, Bourj 2) Four WASC-accredited education centres across two refugee camps (Shatila and Bourj al-Barajneh) in Beirut, Lebanon, delivering a free accelerated six-year secondary curriculum (equivalent to 12 years of formal schooling) to 950 refugee and displaced teenagers aged 12–18, with 60% female enrolment. Curriculum spans core subjects (English, Arabic, Maths), skills-based subjects (IT, Science, Logical Reasoning, Professionalism), and whole-child development (Art, Music, Yoga, Awareness), with 4–7 hours of teaching daily across 44 weeks per year.
• G12++ Certificate The world's first curriculum-agnostic high school-equivalent certification specifically designed for displaced and refugee youth. Validated by Ecctis (UK's national agency for international qualifications) at UK RQF Level 2 up to Level 3 for bench-markable subjects and accredited by the SkillsBuilder Framework for life success skills. Tests applicable maths, scientific thinking, English as a second language, Arabic as a first language (optional), and life success skills. Priced at $20 per attempt, significantly below standard exams (~$200+), and delivered digitally in refugee camps and underserved locations globally wherever a computer and Wi-Fi are available.
• Cricket Programme A whole-child sport and leadership programme operating 20 cricket hubs across three refugee camps (Beirut camps plus Bekaa Valley), engaging 820 active players with a 50/50 gender split (55% girls). Designed to build leadership, resilience, teamwork, and self-belief among refugee and displaced youth through a non-contact game boys and girls play together, and to create a pathway toward international competition through the International Cricket Council registration.
• Alsama Studio A social enterprise producing bespoke hand-made embroidery products — fashion, homeware, and accessories — designed and stitched by approximately 50 refugee mothers of Alsama students. Run by women aged 20–45 in Shatila refugee camp, 100% of profits return to refugee women and the Studio provides a sustainable monthly income to sole breadwinners, addressing unemployment, domestic violence vulnerability, and the social isolation of refugee women.
• Arabic Language School A social-enterprise language school offering beginner to advanced Levantine Arabic lessons, available in-person or online. Founded and staffed by current and former Alsama students, it serves as both a paid product for external learners (global diaspora, Lebanon-based professionals, academics) and an income-generating opportunity that allows Alsama students to develop business skills, practise English with native speakers, and earn independent income.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of arriving students are illiterate; illiteracy eradicated in under 6 months
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EcctiscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026UK's national agency for international qualifications that validated the G12++ certification at UK RQF Level 2 up to Level 3. Essential for international recognition of the certificate.
• SkillsBuilder FrameworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026World-leading education coalition that accredited the G12++ life success skills component at international standards. Partnership validates the soft skills testing portion.
• Cambridge University Press & AssessmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Contributed expertise to the development of G12++ assessment, including assessment design and content development guidance.
• Cambridge Partnership for EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Academic partner providing insight and challenge to strengthen the G12++ development.
• University of LeicestercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026MOU signed to develop the G12++ certification. Elizabeth Jones from University of Leicester sits on G12++ Advisory Board. University will accept students through G12++ partnership.
• Arizona State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Pamela DeLargy from ASU joined G12++ Advisory Board. ASU champions education as a lifeline for refugees through the G12++ initiative.
• Modern University for Business and Science (MUBS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Partner in G12++ development, contributing academic expertise to the certification development.
• University of CambridgecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Bhaskar Vira from Cambridge sits on G12++ Advisory Board. University committed to welcoming G12++ holders.
• Moravian UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Bryon from Moravian University on Advisory Board. University committed to admitting first refugee student using G12++.
• Koun NGOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Lebanese non-profit providing yoga instruction to marginalized communities. Partners with Alsama to train yoga instructors and students.
• International Cricket Council (ICC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlsama is on a journey towards registering with ICC to found the Lebanese National Cricket Team, which would be the first national team represented by Arabs and Syrian refugees.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Refuge: UK-based charity focused on education and employment pathways for refugees and displaced people. Comparable in mission and donor-funded model, but primarily delivers programs inside the UK rather than in source-country or regional refugee-camp contexts like Lebanon.
• CodeBrave: Lebanon-based non-profit developing coding and digital skills among disadvantaged children. Stephen Hall, an Alsama Lebanon trustee, also sits on CodeBrave's board. It is comparable as a Lebanon-based education NGO serving marginalized children with a digital-skills curriculum, though its focus is tech training rather than secondary academic certification.

Broad incumbents

• Malala Fund: Global non-profit championing girls' education in crisis contexts including refugee settings. It operates at a much larger scale and broader geographic remit than Alsama, but shares the mission of removing barriers to secondary education for displaced and marginalized girls and uses similar donor-funded advocacy-plus-program delivery.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC): Large international humanitarian organization operating education in crisis settings globally, including Lebanon. It is comparable in delivering refugee education at scale, but operates a far broader portfolio (health, economic recovery, governance) and is funded by a mix of government, foundation, and individual donations at much larger scale.
• Mercy Corps: Global humanitarian organization delivering education, youth empowerment, and economic recovery programs in fragile and conflict-affected countries, including the Middle East. Comparable as a large-scale donor-funded education operator, but its portfolio is much broader than Alsama's focused refugee-secondary-education niche.
• War Child: International non-profit delivering education and protection for children affected by conflict in the Middle East (including Lebanon) and beyond. It is a direct thematic peer in conflict-zone education but operates at materially larger scale and across more countries, with a longer-established brand and donor base.
• UNICEF Education in Emergencies: UN agency delivering education in emergencies and protracted crises, including the Lebanon refugee response. It is the dominant institutional player in the same problem space (refugee education) and the implicit benchmark against which Alsama benchmarks its ~83% of UN Lebanon cost, but operates at vastly greater scale and with government funding.

Direct peers

• Jusoor: Jusoor is a non-profit providing education programs for Syrian refugee children, including accelerated learning and scholarship support. It is one of the most direct comparables to Alsama in mission (Syrian refugee education), geography (cross-border from Lebanon), and approach (donor-funded, in-person and remote programs).
• Koun NGO: Lebanese non-profit providing yoga and wellness instruction to marginalized communities throughout Lebanon, and a formal partner of Alsama. It is a direct peer in serving refugee-camp communities in Lebanon, with overlapping beneficiary populations and programming philosophy.

Emerging players

• Right To Play: International organization using sport and play to educate and empower children in disadvantaged communities globally. Directly comparable to Alsama's cricket programme in methodology (sport-based leadership and gender-inclusion outcomes for refugee youth), though Right To Play operates at larger scale across more countries.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@alsamaproject
• Facebookfacebook.com/alsamaproject
• Instagraminstagram.com/alsama.project
• Xx.com/AlsamaProject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alsama-project

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Alsama Project