Help Adnan Fund His Education

Adnan Hadad is a Syrian national who was admitted to INSEAD MBA 22J, i.e. the class starting Aug 2021. He had to leave Syria in 2018 having worked for 6 years building some of Syria’s most impactful independent media and civil society initiatives. He co-founded, among others, Aleppo Media Centre which won the Academy Award in 2017 for Best Documentary “The White Helmets”. His work with Amnesty International on “360 Syria”, a fundraising campaign for human rights projects, won the “Third Sector - Innovation of the year” in 2016.

Despite having witnessed first-hand the systematic destruction of his country and the livelihood of its people, he never stopped dreaming about the day he could play a role in rebuilding a Syria for all of its citizens. He believes that an MBA at INSEAD can provide him with the tool necessary to continue pursuing this dream. However, due to his visa status in France, he was not allowed to work to support his quest for education. This professional gap, lack of family members in France, and his Syrian nationality made it difficult to obtain the funding needed to join the program. Despite reaching out to more than 10 financial institutions for a loan, he was turned down by each due to his status and background.

Thanks to Said Foundation and INSEAD, he received a generous scholarship of EUR 79,000 to partially pay for his studies. He is now seeking unconventional ways to fund the gap of EUR 10,000 in program fees and EUR 25,000 in living expenses for 10 months. He needs your help to reach this goal (PS: 1,860 Euros were donated through another channel and Adnan managed to borrow 10,000 Euros from a friend, bringing the total requested down from 35,000 to 23,140 Euros)

Helping Adnan obtain a world-class education will not only make a significant impact on his life and professional career but will also improve the lives of many underserved populations to who he is determined to dedicate his career. He has also pledged to equally meet your total donations to help fund the studies of a future INSEAD admit with similar refugee status in Europe within 3 years of his graduation.