”My family moved to the States when I was 3 years old. We used to come back to Lebanon every summer, and I developed an unconditional love for the country, it became my passion, my obsession, my identity.

As I grew older, I began to realize that many youth in Lebanon lacked the opportunities to grow because of the economic and social situation, so they turned hopeless.

I realized that I  was lucky to have grown up in an environment which provided me everything I needed: education and opportunities.

So I decided to come back to Lebanon and do something about it.

I founded the Nawaya Network in 2012, which connects underprivileged youth to resources to help them develop their true potential.

Over the years, I realized that there was a huge demand for coders in Lebanon. That’s when I, along with Fadi Bizri, had the idea for SE Factory in 2015: a coding bootcamp for talented youth from all social backgrounds in Lebanon. We train them with technical and soft skills to become more employable.

The idea is to give them the means to stay in Lebanon and build their future.”

Zeina Saab, 34, is the founder of Nawaya Network and the co-founder of SE Factory. Since 2016, SE factory has helped almost 80  young coders get a job in Lebanon.