St. Ephrem Patriarchal Development Committee (EPDC)

What St. Ephrem Patriarchal Development Committee (EPDC) does

St. Ephrem Patriarchal Development Committee (EPDC) is a non-governmental, non-profit, non-political humanitarian and development organization registered in Syria under the auspices of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. The organization is led by Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II as Chairman, Bishop Mar Botros Qassis as General Manager, and Hisham Saad as Executive Director, and has been operating since 2003, with official non-profit licensing obtained in 2014. EPDC employs approximately 69 staff and maintains six regional offices across Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia, Homs, Daraa, and Hasakah.

The organization delivers services through nine program areas: Emergency Humanitarian Response, Early Recovery and Livelihoods, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Syrian Heritage Preservation, GBV awareness (Shams Centers), Health Care, Education Support, Child Protection, and Community Peacebuilding. There is no proprietary software or technology product; operations run on humanitarian aid delivery and project management systems, with field teams executing distributions and projects directly to beneficiaries. Notable 2023-2026 outputs include reaching 300,000 earthquake-affected individuals across Aleppo, Latakia, and Hama; serving 113,000 people through well rehabilitation in Al-Hasakah; supporting 1,100 displaced families in Al-Suwayda; assisting 1,023+ farmers in Hama and Rural Damascus with agricultural recovery; and running community peacebuilding workshops with religious leaders from five governorates in partnership with Tearfund.

EPDC's business model is grant-funded humanitarian service delivery: revenue arrives as restricted project grants from institutional donors including NCA, ZOA, the Syria Humanitarian Fund, WeWorld-GVC, Tearfund, WFP, UNHCR, ACTED, ALIPH, Hungary Helps Agency, and UNESCO, with no fees charged to beneficiaries. Pricing is not commercially disclosed. The go-to-market is institutional partnership-based, with EPDC acting as an implementing partner for international NGOs and UN agencies across Syrian governorates, growing in 2025 to add five new sub-regional areas and a cultural-heritage preservation vertical through Palmyra and Crac des Chevaliers restoration partnerships.

Name

St. Ephrem Patriarchal Development Committee (EPDC)

Legal name

St. Ephrem Patriarchal Development Committee (EPDC)

Website

https://epdc-syria.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

St. Ephrem Patriarchal Development Committee (EPDC) is a Syria-based non-profit humanitarian organization operating under the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate, delivering emergency relief, livelihoods, WASH, heritage preservation, education, and protection programs to vulnerable populations across Syrian governorates.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Aid Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Religious Organizations (8131), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Protection, Child Protection & Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Response (BPAGAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG), Emergency Education / Education in Emergencies (EiE) (BPADADAN), NGO/Nonprofit Education Programs & Service Delivery (EDADALAC)

Keywords

• Humanitarian aid delivery
• Emergency relief services
• Community development programs
• Heritage preservation services
• Disaster response operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Damascus

HQ country

Syria

HQ region

Middle East

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Grants and Funding: EPDC operates as a grant-funded humanitarian organization, receiving funding from international donors including NCA (Norwegian Church Aid), ZOA, SHF (Syria Humanitarian Fund), WeWorld-GVC, UNHCR, WFP, and institutional donors like ALIPH for heritage projects. Revenue is project-based and restricted to humanitarian/development activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

EPDC is a faith-based humanitarian and development non-governmental organization that delivers program-area services — emergency humanitarian response, livelihoods support, WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene), health care, education support, child protection, gender-based violence awareness (Shams Centers), community peacebuilding, and cultural heritage preservation (Crac des Chevaliers, Palmyra) — directly to vulnerable Syrian populations across multiple governorates. All services are funded by international institutional donors and UN agencies and delivered free of charge to beneficiaries.

Product overview

EPDC is a faith-based humanitarian and developmental non-governmental organization operating under the auspices of the Antiochian Patriarchate for the Syriac Orthodox Church. The organization does not offer a technology product or platform; instead, it delivers humanitarian and development services through distinct program areas including Emergency Humanitarian Response, Early Recovery and Livelihoods, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Syrian Heritage Preservation, Gender-Based Violence Awareness (Shams Centers), Health Care, Education Support, Child Protection, and Community Peacebuilding. These programs are implemented across multiple Syrian governorates through partnerships with international donors and UN agencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Shams Centers: Safe spaces for women and girls providing awareness services about gender-based violence, medical and psychological case management, psychological and social support sessions, and vocational training for women's empowerment.

Products and services

• Emergency Humanitarian Response
• Early Recovery and Livelihoods
• Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
• Syrian Heritage Preservation
• Gender-Based Violence Awareness (Shams Centers)
• Health Care
• Education Support
• Child Protection
• Community Peacebuilding

Quantifiable outcome

• 300,000 individuals received urgent relief during 2023 earthquake response
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ALIPH (International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2026Major heritage protection partner funding Syrian Heritage 2026-2027 program. Tripartite partnership with DGAM for 'Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Guesthouse, the Arab Castle Bridge, and Afqa Spring in Palmyra'. Also supports Crac des Chevaliers restoration.
• ACTEDminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 30 October 2025International NGO conducted field visit to observe developmental projects in Daraa. Reviewed borehole rehabilitation and small business support implementations.
• WeWorld-GVCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2025Implementing partner for humanitarian projects in Daraa. Joint field visits conducted to monitor progress of humanitarian and development projects, including schools rehabilitation and borehole solar systems.
• NCA (Norwegian Church Aid)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey donor and strategic partner supporting humanitarian programs in Syria. EPDC strengthened partnership with NCA in first half of 2025. Joint projects include support to displaced families in Al-Suwayda (1,100 families benefited).
• ZOAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational NGO partner supporting agricultural livelihoods. EPDC partnered with ZOA on an agricultural project benefiting 1,023+ farmers in Hama and Rural Damascus through training, equipment distribution, and solar irrigation systems.
• TearfundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Community Peacebuilding Support Project. Launched 'Peace Begins with Me' workshop bringing together religious leaders from five governorates (Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia, Daraa, Rural Damascus).
• WFP (World Food Programme)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN agency partner for food security. EPDC implemented emergency food distributions to displaced children in Al-Hasakeh Governorate through WFP partnership.
• UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN refugee agency partner. Distributed non-food items (NFIs) including insulation materials, blankets, mattresses, winter clothing, kitchen kits to displaced families in Al-Hasakeh and Ar-Raqqa.
• UNESCOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN heritage body conducting missions to Crac des Chevaliers and Qal'at Salah El-Din World Heritage sites. EPDC collaborated with DGAM on corrective measures for removing sites from World Heritage in Danger list.
• DGAM (Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSyrian government partner for heritage preservation. Tripartite collaboration with ALIPH for Palmyra restoration and with Hungary Helps Agency for Crac des Chevaliers rehabilitation.
• Antioch Syrian Private University (ASU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner providing scientific support for heritage preservation projects.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tearfund: UK-based Christian relief and development agency working through local partners on emergency response, peacebuilding, and livelihoods — also a current donor/partner to EPDC, with comparable community-peacebuilding programming.
• Syrian Arab Red Crescent: Syria's primary humanitarian aid society, delivering emergency response, WASH, healthcare, and relief distributions across all governorates — the most direct operational peer to EPDC inside Syria.
• ZOA: Dutch faith-based humanitarian NGO running livelihoods, WASH, and emergency recovery programs in Syria and the region — also a current donor/partner to EPDC, with directly overlapping program areas.
• Caritas Syria: Faith-based Catholic humanitarian organization operating across Syria delivering emergency relief, livelihoods, healthcare, and social services — closely comparable program portfolio, donor mix, and operating geography to EPDC.
• Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS): Catholic faith-based humanitarian organization serving refugees and displaced populations with education, psychosocial support, and protection services — comparable faith-based identity and protection-oriented programming.
• Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC): Major international humanitarian NGO operating extensively in Syria across shelter, WASH, education, protection, and livelihoods — overlapping donor ecosystem and program portfolio with EPDC.
• ACTED: International implementing NGO active across Syrian governorates in WASH, livelihoods, shelter, and early recovery — directly comparable as an implementing partner in Daraa and other EPDC operating areas.

Broad incumbents

• World Vision International: Major Christian humanitarian organization operating globally in emergency response, child protection, WASH, and livelihoods — comparable faith-based mandate and multi-sectoral program structure.
• Catholic Relief Services (CRS): Large US Catholic humanitarian agency running multi-sector humanitarian and development programs globally, including in Syria — comparable faith-based identity and broad program portfolio at much greater scale.
• Islamic Relief Worldwide: Faith-based international humanitarian NGO delivering emergency relief, WASH, livelihoods, and orphan support globally including in Syria — comparable faith-anchored, multi-sectoral humanitarian model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/epdc.syria
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-ephrem-patriarchal-development-committee
• Instagraminstagram.com/epdcsyria

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about St. Ephrem Patriarchal Development Committee (EPDC)