Meet the Founder: Basil Mohamed Zaki Allawi

In the past few weeks, we have been introducing you to the top graduates of our first-ever Online Incubator program in Erbil!

And this time we are introducing Basel Mohamed Zaki Allawi, founder of Greenshov and winner of first place in our incubator.

Can you give a brief introduction about yourself?

I am Basel Mohamed Zaki Allawi am 25 years old, I come from Syria. After graduating from high school I decided study mechanical engineering at the University of Homs. I couldn't continue studying and because of the war I left my Country, as there was no longer any perspective for my Life.

I wanted to find a new future in Kurdistan, so I flew to Iraq, I got a scholarship and studied software engineering specializing in artificial intelligence at Bayan University in Erbil.

I had a great desire to have my own creative business and I strived for it. Fortunately, at the beginning of 2020 I had the opportunity to join Five One Labs English Online Incubator.

What is your business idea?

My Business Idea is to use artificial intelligence and the Technology to serve the Farmers and agricultural field to save Time, Effort and get the best agricultural crops for Self-sufficiency. Also, we produce smart systems for greenhouses by ourselves to provide suitable weather for growing crops with high accuracy, production of smart devices capable of determining the quality of the soil accurately, and providing the best methods for improving the soil to become suitable for the type of crop, and also providing agricultural advice to farmers with the expertise of agricultural engineers.

What challenges did your business face?

In fact, we have faced many challenges during the development of our business. In the beginning we had difficulty reaching our customers because many farmers were not interested in purchasing products and ordering services online, so our specialized team was visiting the farmers in their places and providing them with our products. And also lack of all the required electronic devices in the local market.

Farmers are afraid to use artificial intelligence in agriculture because they think it is very complex to use and control the devices.

Farmers do not receive full support from the state to develop their agricultural tools and use more efficient and accurate devices and systems.

What advice do you have for someone trying to start their own project/business?

I would like to advice to those who want to start a project: do not give up, keep going, organize the time well.

My Life Motto is "if you have a will you have a way."

Can you tell us about your experience starting your business?

About my experience I can start when I thought I would put my IT studies into a project serving the public interest.

Due to climate change and the problems that farmers face in the agricultural field, for example the lack of water and changes in the soil comes the idea of helping farmers obtain agricultural crops with the least amount of money and effort and improving health products.

The aim of my project was also to provide job opportunities for the largest possible number of young people and support the agricultural sector. And I had a great passion for it. After joining the Five One Labs Incubator, things changed and I received a lot of advice and training from the very expert Five One Labs Incubator team, and we developed a strong business plan. We created prototypes of our products and tested them with our customers and achieved satisfactory results.

Why did you join the Five One Labs startup incubator?

I had an idea and did not know how to start and where to start, and I was always looking for someone to provide advice to organize my ideas and support to start my project. I applied to Five One Labs, and fortunately, I was accepted to join the Five One Labs’ incubator 2020 in Erbil and this was a major turning point in my project.

Many thanks and gratitude to the Five One Labs team for their continuous support and finding radical solutions to all problems that stand in the way of the progress and expansion of our project.

What progress have you made on your business since joining the incubator?

1. I got a lot of information and support that helped me develop my project, I was always advised by the expert team of Five One Labs

2. I founded my team

3- Created a strong future business plan.

4- Obtaining financial support to provide the necessary materials for work.