It was an icy day when we drove to Germany to meet with the business pioneer Abduljalil Saymoa at his lab in Illingen, 200 km northwest of Stuttgart, the famous city of the automotive industry. During our trip the European cities were very quiet, yet they were shimmering with lights and bright colors celebrating the New Year. It was interesting to find out the creative and fun ways the locals invented in order to protect the ornamental flowers from the bitter cold using brightly colored suits and red caps at times, or at other times covering them with cloth and putting golden belts on them. Despite the low temperature at this time of the year and the cloudy sky, we were excited to visit the first plant in Germany that produces a kind of cheese, which is well received by German citizens, and even won an award.
From the moment we arrived at the factory, it was clear that there was great interest in the project, especially among the Arab community traders who wanted to buy different varieties of Arabic cheese.
After visiting the factory, we took the car with our cheese pioneer to tour the cowshed which was behind the idea of establishing the factory. There are about 90 head of cattle. It was divided into several barns (pregnant cows, milking cows, and small calves). We have also talked to cattle breeders about how they manage to take care of the cows and the differences in cattle breeding between Switzerland and Germany, where Switzerland follows a more stringent system. The following is the text of our interview with the entrepreneur Abdul Saymoa.
For starters, tell us about your journey from Syria to Germany.
I left Syria at the end of 2011 to Egypt where I stayed until 2014 searching for a better life. We were about 400 people traveling on boats and it took us 14 days before we reached Italy. I saw people drowning in the boats of death in front of my eyes. After arriving to Italy, I continued my journey to Germany to finally settle in the city of Illingen, where I founded my current business….
There it was amazing to meet one of the people who got on the “refugees boats”, the boats that soon turn into floating tombs that are then swollen by the waves of the Mediterranean. We told him that those observations deserve to be documented in a book to recount the horrors of this journey.
The question that comes to mind is why choose a cheese production project? Is it related to your work in Syria?
Yes, I worked in this field in Syria, and it was also a result of the difficulty of obtaining a job. I have experience in the cheese industry, and I did not find factories for Arab cheese in Germany. It was only imported. This was enough to start producing Arab cheese in Germany. The Arab community is also a big community in Germany, and there is even a street in Berlin called ‘Arabische Strasse’. This large community desires this kind of cheese.
In the beginning I was not allowed to start working without a professional certificate. According to a rule that was laid down 10 years ago, I was required to apply for the profession certificate. This was the most challenging problem. I had to study to gain German knowledge and experience. Usually, it takes 4 years, but since there are German citizens who have been practicing this profession for a long time, the authorities had to find a solution by bringing experienced professionals to a training course for a few days and then passing an exam whereupon the trainee will be able to practice the profession.
It was not easy, I had to study German terminology. I had to study hard during the five days in the university. I was the only Arab who took this course. I had the support of my German partner, especially in understanding the chemical terminology used in German. The test committee was composed of university professors. The questions were very precise and in the end I got the certificate.
I learned German language through practice and daily life with natives. I started the project after a year and a half after arriving in Germany.
Tell us about the difficulties you faced to establish your project, as a foreign man or as a refugee.
The first and biggest challenge was the professional certificate. Then there are administrative and organizational tasks that you need to complete in order to start the project, and that is not generally easy because there are many requirements to be completed before starting. The difficulties I faced were not mainly related to being a foreigner, and there were aspects related specifically to the need to obtain a certificate to practice the profession. However, it was remarkable that other technical and logistical obstacles were not taken into consideration regarding the way German companies worked. It took a long time to obtain the equipment and extensions necessary to run the project. For example, we waited a year and a half to install the device to pump hot water to the machines.
I also had to work on the project plan. Fortunately, there are many organizations and associations that have helped me such as Chamber of Commerce "Industrie- und Handelskammer - IHK www.ihk.de" and "Business Angels: www.business-angels.de" we also joined "one two-three competition: https://123g-networking.de" I have received assistance in processing the necessary papers to obtain a loan from the bank. In addition to that I also received tips on how to make the project successful from other business pioneers with experience in managing projects.
Can we say that the bank was the main source of funding for the project? Is capital required for the project owner?
Not only the bank, there were several sources of funding. The capital is necessary for the owner, but the amount needed is not necessarily large, as you can start with about 25 thousand euros. Though, I was able to get financing of about half a million euros. The multiple funding sources were personal capital, a bank loan, and the Business Angels organization. Recently, a private investor joined us, in addition to many other offers from private investors who wish to invest in the project.
The project has competed for the financing of "Business Angels" with approximately 1,500 projects. It was selected in the first phase to be among 50 other projects, and was selected in the second phase as one of the three most innovative projects. The project eventually received financing, as funding without collateral requirements, to be returned later.
Have you founded the company on your own?
The project is a limited liability company, which made it easier for me to get a loan from the bank. Because as a refugee I have a residence permit, therefore, I cannot get a loan from the bank if I do not have a company.
I had a German partner from the beginning, Riehm's family, the owner of the cattle farm. Sure, I would not buy cheese while I know how to make it. I bought big quantities, which surprised the family. You cannot drink that much milk. I was buying milk to make it to feed the family, and also to store it.
Riehm’s family plays an important role in the project, as it is responsible for the administrative matters and communication with the government. I was focusing on manufacturing, marketing and managing the plant. It plays the role of the local partner of a foreign investor.
So how did things evolve?
At first I asked them about the possibility of preparing the cheese at their farm for reasons related to logistics aspects such as the place and tools. Consequently, came the idea of manufacturing cheese in trading quantities. I did not think it was so difficult. I thought it was possible to get a place at their farm to prepare the cheese. It gradually evolved from preparing the cheese in the family farm to marketing it in the local market. We were meeting and asking Arab and Turkish shops owners about the possibility of buying Arab cheese. The responses were very positive, as many expressed that they were importing that cheese from France and there were no local suppliers in Germany. This was a great motivation for the Germans to buy too. Then we asked government agencies about the requirements for establishing this project, we learned about the need to obtain a certificate of practicing a profession. That was when I had to attend the intensive course and already passed the special exam. Note that this session is organized once a year and available in only three universities. It was a surprise for my German partner that I passed considering the difficulty of the tests, which were very specific, in German, and lasted for about an hour, but luckily they were oral.
We started production with about 300 liters. We then raised the quantity to 500 liters and after that to 1,000. The production capacity is expected to be raised to 2,000 during the next week (during the second half of January). We also hope to reach the level of 4000 liters in the next two or three months.
The permanent number of employees in the factory are about four workers and we hope to increase the number to six, while we need to hire about ten people to reach the plant's maximum capacity, and we hope to do so in the next few months.
Marketing remains a big challenge for any project. Does this apply to yours?
For me, marketing was the easiest part. As we asked the shops before starting, and while the product was mainly available in the market, it was also necessary to provide a high quality product. I also had my experience in marketing and trading since I was in Egypt, where I had my business in selling clothes.
There are many customers, mainly Arabs and Turks, while the Germans are gradually buying our products. There are several large shops that buy from us, such as the famous REWE Markt, which buys our products in large quantities. We are also exporting, but we are currently limited to EU countries such as Sweden (mainly), France, Austria and England. This is given the presence of Arab communities of course.
We knew you received an award, could you tell us about it?
In the context of the competition organized by the Association for Artisanal Dairy Products in Organic Farming "Verband für handwerkliche Milchverarbeitung im ökologischen Landbau = VHM", which is held in Munich, we received the "Publikumspreis de VHM" Prize for one of our products "Surki cheese", a mixture of Arabic and German cheese.
Where we competed with thousands of cheeses and I did not expect to get the award . The evaluation depends on the taste as well as the benefits of the product.
What types of cheeses are being produced in the plant?
Mainly all kinds of Arabic cheese. Starting with Baladia cheese, Akkawi, Almznrh, Chalali, Haloum, Arabian ghee, Quraishah and sourki…To give further clarification, the Chalali cheese for example is a cheese that is cooked then shaped like strands. As for how to prepare the cheese, he said that it is a mixture of Arabic and German recipe, where Arabic cheese is made with German specifications. The process is distinctive by sterilization or pasteurization, which is more stringent, because the machines used provide high standards and work automatically.
Your project gets from different institutions? How did you get that support?
Land Auf Schwung, an agricultural enterprise support organization, provides funding without re-payment, where we received about 50,000 euros, which indicates the quality of the project.
He also mentioned the role of "econets", an association of the European Union to support young entrepreneurs, and provides advisory services for the success of projects.
Our business leader also told us his experience with the "Business Angels" Foundation, which provides funding for outstanding projects and how he felt about the project evaluation committee. This is where the owner of the project is subjected to difficult tests and a large number of questions that require specific and clear answers. He said that he answered hundreds of questions to prove the project is commercially viable.
What advice would you give someone who wants to follow your steps to become a business entrepreneur?
In general, the entrepreneur must be patient and persistent. I have seen many of those who tried to carry out projects, but they gave up when faced with the first challenge. The entrepreneur must be ready to face an endless number of obstacles, considering that he still faces difficulties despite the success of the project. He also stressed that the fact that he's a foreigner who lives in Germany gives him extra motivation to reach success. He desires to change the stereotype of foreigners in Europe. He mentioned his big commitment from the very beginning to seriously find and obtain work of any nature. He admitted that German language was the main obstacle to get a job in the beginning, saying that maybe that inspired him to start his own project.
What are the prices for the final consumer and the volume of your sales if possible?
Prices vary depending on the type of cheese. They range from € 9 per kilogram for Baladia cheese to between € 15 and € 16 for Chalali and Samn cheese. Sales volumes can not be given specific figures, but sales can be said to cover costs whether fixed costs of around 13,000 euros and the cost of milk purchases of about 16,000 euros per month.
What are the main challenges of the project and what is the future outlook?
Given the success of the project and the expansion of production, the limited milk we receive is one of the obstacles we face at the moment. When asked about the possibility of buying milk from another farm, he said it was not easy, because cattle farms are committed to distribution agreements with other companies for several years.
With regard to the future outlook, we look forward to building another factory with a higher production capacity in the near future, God willing.
Finally, Abdul expressed disappointment with the Arab press, whose coverage did not adequately cover the project. While by comparison it received wide coverage from the German print, audio and visual media. Especially by being a successful example of the integration of Syrian refugees into German society.
In conclusion, this story of success tells us a lot about the challenges faced by refugees and how they have been a reason for experimenting and moving forward with the project and achieving great successes.
The address of the factory and the website of Sham Sar "Sham is the Levant, and Saar is the German region"
CHAM SAAR GmbH, Lebacher Str. 46, 66557 Illingen-Wustweiler https://www.chamsaar.de
Institutions which give support to entrepreneurs
- Industrie- und Handelskammer - IHK ihk.de
- icunet: icunet.ag
- Business Angels: www.business-angels.de
