Rebooting Syria's tech sector

After years of conflict and isolation, a new era may be dawning for the country’s digital economy — though significant uncertainty still surrounds its tech ecosystem.

Samuel Wendel
Samuel Wendel
Jun 3, 2025
A vendor waits for customers at his mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital on January 12, 2025. Before President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024, security forces would raid the central Damascus district that is home to dozens of mobile stores in search of phones without the logo of an Assad-linked company which enjoyed a monopoly in the business. (Photo by Louai BESHARA / AFP) / To go with 'Syria-War-Telecom-Sanction', REPOR

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Welcome back to Al-Monitor FutureVerse.

This week we’re putting a spotlight on Syria’s tech sector. After years of conflict and isolation, a new era may be dawning for the country’s digital economy as sanctions relief opens the door for technology to potentially play a larger role in Syria — though significant uncertainty still surrounds its tech ecosystem. 

Plus, we look at Gulf ties to Elon Musk’s brain chip company Neuralink, AI’s role in the Hajj season, new MENA startup data and much more.

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