Syrian Youth Empowerment

What Syrian Youth Empowerment does

Syrian Youth Empowerment Initiative (SYE Initiative, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit founded in 2015 by George Batah and Majed Abdulsamad — both Syrian refugees who completed their higher education in the United States after fleeing Syria in 2013. The organization serves Syrian and Palestinian-Syrian students from conflict zones who seek to pursue higher education at competitive universities abroad, addressing barriers of financial cost, application-process complexity, English-language proficiency, and educational interruption due to displacement.

SYE delivers four core programs: the Prep Program (college readiness for grades 10-11), the One Year Program (one-on-one mentoring and full financial coverage for undergraduate applications), the Grad Program (graduate school application support including GRE/GMAT/IELTS/TOEFL prep), and the Rise Partner Program (partner-delivered mentoring and resources). The technical platform is a web-based system with an online application portal and virtual mentoring infrastructure; there are no proprietary AI or ML components. The organization has served 2,628 applicants since inception and 300+ program completions, with students placed at Harvard, MIT, Brown, Stanford, Cambridge, and other universities, securing $40M in scholarships offered by external institutions.

SYE's revenue model is donation-only — contributions from individuals, organizations, and foundations — with all programs delivered free of charge to students. The organization maintains partnerships with Jusoor (its founding affiliate), Duolingo, and The College Board to secure testing fee waivers, and works with universities worldwide for admissions support. It operates with 6-7 core staff plus a volunteer board, from a single New York office, and runs a community-led, application-based go-to-market relying on Facebook, email, and word-of-mouth within Syrian and Palestinian-Syrian diaspora communities.

Name

Syrian Youth Empowerment

Legal name

SYE Initiative, Inc.

Website

https://sye-initiative.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Syrian Youth Empowerment Initiative (SYE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2015 that supports Syrian and Palestinian-Syrian students from conflict zones in accessing higher education abroad through free mentoring, application support, test fee waivers, and scholarship identification.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Education Non-profit Programs

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Online/Hybrid Overseas Pathway & Bridging Programs (EDAIAJAK), University-Affiliated Pathway & Foundation Programs (EDAIAJAA), Refugee & Humanitarian Newcomer Orientation (Resettlement Support) (EDAAADAI), Newcomer & Refugee Student Support Programs (EDAJAGAH)

Keywords

• College access programs
• Higher education mentoring
• Scholarship assistance
• Refugee student support
• College application guidance

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: SYE is funded entirely through donations from individuals, organizations, and foundations. As a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, all contributions are tax-deductible. The organization eliminates costs for students by covering application fees, test fees, and providing comprehensive support at no charge to participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Syrian Youth Empowerment (SYE) Initiative provides free mentorship, college and graduate school application support, standardized test preparation, and financial assistance—including application and test fee waivers and scholarship identification—to Syrian and Palestinian-Syrian students seeking admission to competitive universities worldwide. The organization runs structured programs (Prep, One Year, Grad, and Rise Partner Program) that deliver one-on-one mentoring, curriculum, and comprehensive support across the entire higher education application journey.

Product overview

Syrian Youth Empowerment Initiative operates as an education-focused nonprofit organization offering three core programs: the Prep Program for 10th-11th graders building college readiness, the One Year Program providing one-on-one mentoring for undergraduate applications, and the Grad Program supporting graduate school applications. The Rise Partner Program extends their reach through collaborative partnerships. Together, these programs provide a comprehensive pathway from early preparation through graduate education, covering application support, exam fee waivers, mentorship, and scholarship identification for Syrian and Palestinian-Syrian students seeking higher education abroad.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prep Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 2628 applicants served since 2015
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• JusoorcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Jusoor is a non-profit organization that provides scholarship programs for Syrian students. The co-founders of SYE, George Batah and Majed Abdulsamad, were beneficiaries of a Jusoor-supported scholarship program at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), which enabled them to continue their higher education in the United States. SYE was born out of this collective aspiration to extend similar opportunities to other deserving Syrians.
• DuolingocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSYE works with Duolingo to obtain fee waivers for students, eliminating the financial barrier of English proficiency testing costs that can exceed $1000 USD for college applications.
• The College BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSYE partners with The College Board to secure SAT exam fee waivers for Syrian students, reducing the financial burden of standardized testing requirements for college applications.
• Illinois Institute of TechnologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIllinois Institute of Technology (IIT) was the university where SYE co-founders George Batah and Majed Abdulsamad received scholarships through Jusoor, continuing their higher education after fleeing Syria. This represents the origin point of the SYE initiative.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• QuestBridge: QuestBridge operates a high-profile pathway program that connects high-achieving, low-income students with full scholarships to top US universities through application support and matching. SYE's One Year Program mirrors QuestBridge's pathway and free application support model, though QuestBridge is broader/more established.
• Paper Airplanes: Paper Airplanes is a nonprofit that provides language and professional mentorship to conflict-affected Syrians, including virtual tutoring and training programs. It serves a similar Syrian refugee population through remote mentoring, closely comparable in model to SYE.
• Karam Foundation: Karam Foundation is a Syrian-American nonprofit that funds education and youth development programs for Syrians affected by conflict. Its founder/CEO Lina Sergie Attar sits on SYE's board, and Karam Foundation is a direct parallel in mission and beneficiary population.
• Posse Foundation: Posse Foundation identifies diverse, high-potential students and provides mentoring and full-tuition scholarships at top colleges. Its combination of one-on-one mentoring plus scholarship identification is structurally similar to SYE's One Year Program, though Posse scales across a far broader US population.
• Al-Fanar Foundation: Al-Fanar Foundation supports Arab students pursuing higher education through scholarships and career resources. It targets a related but broader Arab-student population with a similar pathway-to-elite-universities mission.
• Jusoor: Jusoor is a nonprofit that provides scholarship and education programs for Syrian students, including the very program that placed SYE's co-founders at IIT. It is the closest model and historical predecessor to SYE, and SYE explicitly cites Jusoor as a partner and origin inspiration.

Emerging players

• NaTakallam: NaTakallam connects displaced persons (including Syrians) with Arabic-language learners and partners via remote work and teaching. It shares the refugee-economic-empowerment orientation but centers on language/remote work rather than higher-education access.
• InReach (formerly Splash): InReach is a nonprofit that supports displaced and at-risk youth through education, mentorship, and pathways to opportunity. It mirrors SYE's emphasis on mentorship-based pathways but serves a broader displaced-youth population in the US and abroad.

Broad incumbents

• Malala Fund: Malala Fund is a large, established nonprofit that advocates for and funds girls' education in conflict-affected regions. It addresses the same broader problem (education access for conflict-zone youth) but operates at far greater scale and through advocacy/grantmaking rather than direct mentoring.

Others

• The Syria Campaign: The Syria Campaign is an advocacy organization advancing Syrian civil society, where SYE board member Lina Sergie Attar serves as Chair of the Board. It operates in the same Syrian-diaspora ecosystem and shares many of the same allies and supporters but focuses on advocacy rather than direct education delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SyrianYouthEmpowerment
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/syrianyouthempowerment

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Syrian Youth Empowerment