• Admin
• Jan 26, 2026
• Local Business Success Stories

Businesswomen Launch Ventures in Northwest Syria

Safaa Al-Mousa with her company “Thymol” in Rural Idlib

Idlib – In northwest Syria, under opposition control, some women overcome the challenges of displacement and life in camps to launch their own projects.

One of these women is Safaa Al-Mousa, a pharmacist and businesswoman from Taybat al-Imam, north of Hama. She fled her hometown to Turkey after being pursued by regime security forces due to her participation in medical and relief efforts, as well as her involvement in peaceful demonstrations, she stated.

After spending a year in Turkey, she returned to Idlib Governorate, where earlier this year she established “Thymol”, a “leading company specialized in producing safe, scientifically proven medical skincare products.” Al-Mousa told Syria Direct that her company, headquartered in Binnish city east of Idlib, “is the first of its kind in the region.”

The idea for her company began to take shape in 2015. To realize it, she conducted a series of experiments and scientific research and completed a training course on good manufacturing practices in collaboration with Al-Hashemite University in Jordan and the Idlib Pharmacists’ Syndicate, she explained.

In May 2023, after two years of work and reviews by the Drug Control and Licensing Directorate of the Ministry of Health in the Syrian Salvation Government supported by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, Al-Mousa officially launched her company.

Thymol produces seven types of creams, all manufactured “according to the quality standards set by the laboratories of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Al-Shamal and the Ministry of Health in the Syrian Salvation Government,” she clarified. Her products are sold in approximately 70 pharmacies across northwest Syria.

Safaa Al-Mousa carries two of her medical skincare products in Idlib.

Her company not only provided her with economic stability but also employs five displaced people from Idlib—three women and two men. She stated that all her employees “received training on safe handling of chemical and medical materials, safety and security protocols, as well as packaging and supply procedures.”