Seeds of Change: Rebuilding as a Refugee Business Owner in Türkiye
Seeds of Change: Rebuilding as a Refugee Business Owner in Türkiye
May 20, 2025 | Navar Maarri
When Ghossoun Salah El-Din arrived in Adana, Türkiye, in 2014 with her husband and five children, she had never imagined she would one day run her own business. A homemaker in Aleppo before the war, Ghossoun found herself in an unfamiliar country, faced with the challenge of rebuilding her life while supporting her family—especially after her husband’s health issues, making it difficult for him to work consistently.
Her journey began with a moment of chance: she attended a mushroom cultivation training organized by the Turkish Red Crescent. That workshop sparked an idea. She applied for a small grant to launch her venture, secured support, and rented a space to begin cultivating mushrooms. In 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, her business was born. By 2021, it was officially registered.
Like many refugee entrepreneurs, the early days came with challenges. “We faced difficulties, especially with language,” she says. Her son Hossam played a vital role, helping with communication, and sourcing supplies like compost and fertilizers. Over time, it became a family business, with everyone pitching in when production demands grew.
Mushroom cultivation takes over a month, starting with a 35-day incubation period before the mushrooms are ready to harvest and sell. Ghossoun mastered each step—from preparing compost and sourcing materials to maintaining the right temperature, humidity and hygiene inside her small growing rooms. Today, she operates three separate production sites in Adana and supplies her harvest in bulk to Turkish traders in Adana, Mersin, and even occasionally to Syria.
Ghossoun joined the Building Markets network and began receiving targeted support to grow her business. She participated in several training sessions that strengthened her understanding of entrepreneurship and business operations. She also accessed one-on-one guidance that helped her improve marketing strategies, and build long-term goals for her business.
In 2023, when the devastating earthquakes struck southern Türkiye, Ghossoun’s business was hit She suffered material losses at her production site. A small grant from Building Markets helped her recover and continue operations.
Most recently, she joined a new program run by Building Markets with generous support from Islamic Relief USA, aimed at helping women-owned businesses in the earthquake-affected region. Ghossoun says the support gave her something she hadn’t found elsewhere. “I know people who received financial support for their businesses but couldn’t keep going,” she says. “What really matters is having someone guide you, show you what’s missing, and help you move forward.”
As part of the program, Ghossoun took part in one-on-one mentorship sessions. “Those sessions opened my eyes,” she says. “I discovered mistakes I didn’t even know I was making—like taxes I had no idea I owed.” With better financial tracking and a clearer view of her sales and pricing, she says her business started to change quickly. “After the mentorship, my sales went up more than 60%.
In the past two years, her production scaled up significantly, allowing her to hire part-time seasonal workers—many of them local women. “Now, I don’t just support my family. I can give work to others too,” she says.
Today, Ghossoun is looking to the future with optimism. She hopes to expand into Syria, while continuing to grow her business in Türkiye. “Be patient,” she says—an advice she first heard during a Building Markets training and now lives by. “Profit doesn’t come overnight. You need to believe in yourself and take the first step.”
Ghossoun’s story is proof that with the right support, big changes can begin in small ways—sometimes, it starts with a single mushroom.
