Abdulmanem Alou is one of the beneficiaries of the Şirketim Project. He is 50 years old and runs a furniture workshop in Esenyurt, İstanbul.
His story has started in Aleppo, Syria. In 1970, he was born in the Al-Bab district of Aleppo where was an important industrial district and living approximately 70,000 citizens until the Syrian civil war.
Before he obliged to immigrate to Turkey, he had a decent life in Syria. He graduated from elementary school, started his own furniture workshop, and had a good life with his family. However, the war entailed a grievous change in his life, as millions of Syrians.
In 2015, he was no longer able to bear adverse circumstances in Syria; hence, he decided to move to Turkey. Fortunately, he was able to manage to keep his family with him while leaving Syria. He moved to Turkey with his wife and two sons. Now, his older son is married, and he lives with his younger son and wife in Istanbul.
Since he left everything behind and had nothing economically and socially, starting a new life had not been easy in a country where a different language has been talked, and he had never been before. Prior to his attempt to start his own business, he worked for different companies, even the jobs were highly tiring, not decently paying, and he was not feeling comfortable. As he is significantly experienced in the furniture sector, he worked for companies specialized in furniture manufacturing. He was holding significant experience in both furniture manufacturing and running a business. For this reason, he started his own business in 2019 in Esenyurt, Istanbul. Since then, he feels more comfortable working on his own account. However, the responsibilities of the entrepreneur do not end with the establishment; indeed, they start right after the establishment. At this point, Abdulmanem had lacked to fulfill his responsibilities. Since he did not hold necessary registrations and inventories, he faced with the perpetual concern over the sustainability of his business and relatedly his life in Turkey.
He had no prior knowledge about United Work or GIZ until one of the field officers of the project paid a visit to his workshop. When he met with the field officer, he has learned about GIZ, United Work, and the “Şirketim” Project. After that, he thought that the project would be beneficial for him and decided to participate. Until the project, he had no ability to achieve the formalization process; therefore, the project’s support has been excellent for him; he received a work permit and other necessary legal documents to operate within the legal framework. He added a lot to himself, especially on rules and regulations in Turkey. He realized all necessary legal registrations, and the burden on his shoulders had been lifted. Thanks to the project, now, he works without any fear of being closed, he can dream of expanding his business.
On an economic aspect, in the future, he plans to expand his business if he can manage to reach necessary economic resources. He is planning to include necessary machinery and equipment regarding the upholstery because he holds the necessary experience and knowledge in this field, and it would have a significant effect on earning more in his business. In this context, he needs more economic support and investment. On a social aspect, he plans to stay in Turkey in the future. He thinks that he feels welcomed and has excellent and respectful relations with his neighbors in Turkey. Finally, he is grateful to all those involved and supported the project.