This week, the beautiful city of Hurghada hosted the fourth edition of Egypt Can Conference. The conference brought together Egyptian expatriate experts and scientists, with the goal to bridge between them and government entities; using their experiences to tackle a certain sector. The fourth editions concentration was education; thus, the Co-Founders of Marj3 were present and we got to chitchat with them.
Marj3 is the leading digital platform that connects students from the Arab World with scholarship opportunities and internships. We sat down with Syrian native Sami Al Ahmed, CEO and Co-founder, and the Egyptian Abdo Samy, COO and Co-founder; to know more about the platform.
How did the idea of Marj3 come to life?
I came to Egypt from Syria in 2012 and had some challenges completing my education. So I started an initiative called Khotwa to help other Syrians complete their education. After I found out that problem is present for most of Arab Students, so I then decided I wanted to take things to the next level. My co-founder Abdo had a platform called abasat-halak that helped students search for internships. We met in a conference in 2014 and together we created Marj3.
What do you need to take Marj3 to the next level?
A strong link with the public sector would make things easier; as it takes a lot of effort for us to be physically present in universities, through students activities and not through the university itself. Also, although we have users from all over Egypt, our physical presence is mostly in Cairo. We need to be more present in other parts of the country to reach more students.
How can Marj3 help Arab refugees overcome their challenges and continue their education?
Marj3 is launching tons of new features on its platform that enables students to apply to universities abroad, not only but also, to search for scholarships. The new platform will have a place specifically for Arab refugees which compiles scholarships that are made only for them. Coming from Syria, I know exactly what they are going through, and how to help them overcome the challenges they face.
What else do you dream to achieve with Marj3?
Our dream is to make Marj3 a platform that links all Arabs with suitable opportunities; not only educational but even on the career path. We want users to be able to upload their information and apply to their opportunities directly and easily via Marj3.