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More than 120 companies took part in Syria's second Texpo technology fair in Damascus, half as many again as turned up to the first edition a year earlier.
The four-day International Technology and Innovation Exhibition closed at the Damascus Fairgrounds on October 11, the state news agency SANA reported on October 12. Organised by events company Glovent under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy and Industry, it covered 29 sectors, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, telecommunications, industrial technology, energy, e-commerce, financial technology, and smart cities, as well as start-ups and providers of digital services.
The fair is one of a run of signs that Syria is trying to plug an economy cut off by 14 years of war and sanctions back into regional and global technology and finance networks after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
Earlier in August, the central bank adopted an electronic payments regime that gives licensed private payment providers a legal footing, and Washington delisted Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism. In September QNB Syria issued the first internationally accepted payment card carried by a Syrian bank in more than 15 years.
“The exhibition demonstrated how innovation can transcend borders,” said Salah Aziziyeh, Glovent's director of events and projects, adding that investment in technology and young talent would “broaden opportunities for innovation and support the development of a more sustainable digital future”.
Discussions at the fair centred on speeding up digital transformation, automating services, cybersecurity and data protection, artificial intelligence and wider use of electronic payments and online commerce platforms.
Companies from 12 countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Spain, had signed up, Aziziyeh told SANA when the second edition was announced in August. The first edition, in October 2025, drew 80 local, Arab and international brands.
Neither the organisers nor the agency gave any value for commercial agreements signed, investment pledged or partnerships struck at the fair, which leaves its direct economic weight hard to judge.
Bigger commitments were signed away from the stands. On October 11 the Technology and Innovation City Company agreed with the administration of Hassia Industrial City in Homs province to build a technology and innovation hub with a data centre of more than 100 hectares, zones for software and artificial intelligence, start-up incubators and housing for 200,000 people. Officials said it would create 52,000 jobs.
Foreign money has only just begun to reach Syrian tech. In July ride-hailing and delivery app Labby raised $10mn from UAE and Saudi investors, in what officials called the first direct foreign investment in a Syrian technology start-up.