Senior people do the work — the people you meet are the people who deliver. We design for our own absence, so participants and partner staff can run programmes without us. We co-design rather than present: SPARK was in the room for every milestone decision on the Innovation Hub build, which is why it shipped in six weeks. And we report what happened after — sales lift, stores still trading, revenue generated.

Delivery across five countries — Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Türkiye — from two offices, in Amman, Jordan and Luxembourg, Europe.

— About Umbrella500

Built by people who haverun the business.

We are a team of founders, operators and specialists working out of Amman and Luxembourg. We run large-scale programmes for organizations and build digital products for companies — and we have done both from the inside, as owners, before doing them for clients.

5,000+Businesses digitised

6,500+People trained

5Countries

2Offices

— The claim, and the evidence for it

What does it mean to be
run by operators?

COOShopGoNoora Shanak1,000+ MENA businesses online

11yrsfounding startupsSaleem NajjarAcross the region

6yrsat McKinseyTareq MalasPhD, AI and Data Science

140+startups acceleratedMajd ShamsIncubation and acceleration

Most agencies are staffed by people who have only ever worked at agencies. They are good at producing deliverables, because deliverables are what agencies are measured on.

Our team has run the other side. Noora was Co-Founder and COO of ShopGo, where she helped more than a thousand businesses across MENA launch and grow online. Saleem has spent eleven years building and co-founding startups in this region. Tareq spent six years at McKinsey and holds a PhD in AI and Data Science. Majd has taken more than 140 startups through incubation and acceleration.

That background changes what we optimise for. When you have had to make payroll from revenue your own product generated, "the site is live" stops being a finish line. It becomes the moment the actual question starts: is it selling?

It also changes what we build into programmes. Every intervention we design assumes we will leave. The World Bank work in Jordan ended with 1,500 business owners trained to run their own storefronts — because a programme that creates dependency has not worked, however good the closing report looks.

— Working method

How do we work?

Senior people do the work.

The people you meet are the people who deliver.

ProofThere is no team behind the team.

We design for our own absence.

Programmes are built so that participants and partner staff can run them without us.

ProofCapability transfer is part of the scope, not an afterthought.

We co-design rather than present.

Requirements were agreed, not guessed at, which is why it shipped in six weeks.

ProofSPARK was in the room for every milestone decision on the Innovation Hub build.

We report what happened after.

Attendance and delivery dates are inputs.

ProofSales lift, stores still trading, revenue generated — those are results. We measure and publish the second kind.

— The structure

Why Amman and
Luxembourg?

Because the money and the work are usually in different places.

A significant share of development funding for MENA entrepreneurship originates in Europe — from EU institutions, European development banks, and foundations headquartered there. The delivery happens in Amman, Riyadh, Istanbul, Beirut and Baghdad.

Most partners have to choose: an implementer with real regional presence but no European standing, or a European consultancy with institutional credibility and no one on the ground. We are set up to be both. Luxembourg gives us proximity to European institutions and the compliance posture they expect. Amman gives us a delivery team that lives in the markets where the programmes actually run.

For companies, the same structure means European engineering standards applied to regional commercial realities — multi-currency, cross-border logistics, Arabic and English from the first line of code.

— Two ends of one engagement

Where do we work?

01 / OriginLuxembourg, EuropeProximity to EU institutions, European development banks and the foundations that fund this work — with the compliance posture they expect.

02 / DeliveryAmman, JordanA delivery team that lives in the markets where the programmes run — trainers, engineers and programme staff on the ground.

Delivery across five countries

IraqJordanSaudi ArabiaLebanonTürkiye

— The people

Six people. These six.

The five below carry the external credentials the positioning rests on. Ahmad builds the interfaces behind them.

Saleem Najjar, in a dark jacket and glasses, standing outdoors against autumn woodland

Three co-founders on stage at the European Youth Award 2018 gala, each holding an award box, one holding a winner's certificate, with the ceremony backdrop behind them — The European Youth Award, 2018 — one of the three named above.

Saleem NajjarCo-Founder · Serial Entrepreneur & Lead Coach

Eleven years building and co-founding startups across the region. Recipient of the JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons award, the NASA App Prize, and the European Youth Award. Saleem leads client relationships, corporate training and programme development, and personally delivers the entrepreneurship training alongside Noora.

Published co-author

Credited co-author of the World Bank report Jedad: Creating Market Opportunities for Refugee and Host Community Businesses in Jordan, alongside two World Bank economists.

Read the World Bank case study

Noora Shanak, smiling, outdoors in front of a colonnaded building

Noora ShanakCo-Founder · Technology & E-Commerce

More than twenty years as a consultant, technology expert and e-commerce specialist. As Co-Founder and COO of ShopGo, she helped over 1,000 businesses across MENA launch and grow online. Noora leads the technology practice and co-delivers training with Saleem.

Co-founder, exited

Co-Founder and COO of ShopGo, the MENA e-commerce platform, where she helped over 1,000 businesses across the region launch and grow online.

Featured

Profiled on Parachute16 Podcast, episode 6 — Woman of the people, May 2021.

Read the profile

Tareq Malas, in a light blazer and open collar, against a plain bright background

Tareq MalasCo-Founder / COO · AI & Strategy

Six years of senior consulting at McKinsey, and currently Head of People at Shall. Holds a PhD in AI and Data Science. Tareq leads operational and strategic advisory work, and is responsible for making sure engagements are grounded in data rather than opinion.

Majd Shams, in a navy suit and lanyard, smiling at the camera

Majd ShamsInnovation & Startup Development

Twelve years in innovation management, with an MBA and an MSc in the field. Majd has supported more than 140 startups through incubation and acceleration programmes, specialising in design thinking, business model innovation and investment readiness. He is a principal architect of our programme design methodology.

Asmaa Baghdadi, in a cream headscarf, standing on a woodland path

Asmaa BaghdadiProject Manager · Finance & Operations

Specialising in financial reporting and operations management since 2019. Asmaa manages programme finances and coordinates delivery teams — the reason multi-country programmes report accurately and on time.

Ahmad Alawieh, arms folded, in a tan coat against an open sky

Ahmad AlawiehFront-End Developer

Five years building e-commerce and web applications. Ahmad designs and builds the interfaces clients and their customers actually use.

— Track record

Who do we work with?

Umbrella500 has delivered work for multinational institutions, national banks, accelerators and private companies across the public, private and development sectors.