Recognised at the highest level.
More than 20 awards and honours over a decade - from governments, universities and global technology leaders - for building things that matter.
World-Leading Exceptional Talent
UK Home Office × Tech Nation · 2018
The UK's highest recognition for global talent - awarded to a select few talents worldwide.
Chevening Scholar
UK Government · 2013
The UK's global scholarship for future leaders.
Announced on GOV.UK ↗UAE Golden Visa
United Arab Emirates · Talent
Long-term residency granted as a globally recognised talent.
ICT Leader
United Nations
Recognised for contribution to the ICT sector.
Technology Enterprise Award
University of Birmingham · 2014
For an outstanding, original venture idea.
Best Technology Business Plan
Intel · 2011
For a bold plan to create digital jobs.
Startup Weekend Winner
Global · 2012
For an expert-sourcing freelance platform.
A track record of excellence.
One thread runs through every chapter: using technology to open doors for people - and building, relentlessly, at ever greater scale.
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Where it started
A mission to fight unemployment with technology
A software engineer and university lecturer in Gaza, Palestine - a place with one of the world's highest unemployment rates - Amir set out to change it with technology, training people in the skills to find and do work online.
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2011
Intel names his plan the best in tech
His plan to create digital, outsourced jobs won Intel's award for Best Technology Business Plan - his first major recognition.
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2011
He mapped his city - the first tourist map of Gaza
As CEO of the software company Midad, Amir led the creation of the first-ever tourist map of Gaza - a project to show the city's brighter side. It was picked up by Reuters and Electronic Intifada.
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2012
Startup Weekend winner
He built an expert-sourcing platform connecting freelancers with business owners worldwide - and won the Startup Weekend award.
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2013
A Chevening Scholar bound for Britain
The UK Government named him a “Leader of Tomorrow” and awarded him the prestigious Chevening Scholarship - and he moved to the UK.
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2014
Top of his class at Birmingham
He earned an MSc in Digital Entrepreneurship with Distinction - the top student in his school - and won the University of Birmingham's Technology Enterprise Award.
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2015
A book that reached tens of thousands
He published Your Way to Online Freelancing - now 79,000+ downloads and the #1 title of its kind on Hsoub Academy for seven years running.
Your Way to Online Freelancing A. Shurrab -
2015 – 2018
Building EdTech for the world
He founded Smartella and the Freelance Online Academy - reaching 17,000 learners across 14 countries - and delivered eLearning for Jaguar Land Rover and the United Nations, building through real adversity along the way: war back home, his scholarship ending and a newborn son, all at once.
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2018
OneAcademy - sold before it was built
Four training providers signed on at the idea stage (£140k, zero marketing spend). The platform now helps deliver training to teams at Apple, Google and the Government of Dubai.
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2018 – 2019
Backed by a London VC
To fuel that growth, he raised two rounds of investment from a London venture-capital firm.
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2018
Recognised as World-Leading Exceptional Talent
The UK Home Office, with Tech Nation, granted him one of the country's most selective distinctions - reserved for a small fraction of talents worldwide.
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2021 – 2023
Fifteen months, travelling the world
Amir spent 15 months travelling the world - not on holiday, but on a deliberate search for where to live and work next. He holds that happiness is engineered, not given - a life is something you design on purpose - and, city by city, he measured the world against that belief until he found where to build it.
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2023
The Gulf says yes: a Dubai Golden Visa
The Government of Dubai granted him a Golden Visa for his talent - the UAE's long-term residency reserved for exceptional individuals - recognising his record and welcoming him to build in the Emirates.
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Today
A deliberate choice: the Gulf, and London Gulf Nexus
That journey led him to the Gulf - where he co-founded London Gulf Nexus, joining UK excellence with Gulf ambition.
Midad · 2011
He put Gaza on the map - literally.
As CEO of the software company Midad, Amir led the creation of the first-ever tourist map of Gaza - hotels, restaurants, mosques, churches and historical places, all charted by hand to show the city's brighter side. The English edition even carried an illustrated guide to the Old Town.
The project drew international attention - covered by global newsrooms as a rare, hopeful story from the city.
He co-authored the method the company is named after.
Amir co-authored the scientific paper behind the NEXUS methodology for AI enablement - with Dr Mohammed Bahja (University of Birmingham, and an LGN co-founder) and Dr Nourelddin Sadawy (University of Oxford). The framework was peer-reviewed by Oxford University and the University of Birmingham and presented at the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Management & Trends (ADSM) in Abu Dhabi. London Gulf Nexus takes its name from it.
A serial founder's arc.
A decade of ventures across education and technology - each one a step towards building at greater scale.
London Gulf Nexus
A complete AI partner - joining academia with industry, and the UK with the Gulf. The venture where every chapter of Amir's journey comes together.
Freelance Online Academy
Free online-freelancing education, watched over a million minutes worldwide.
Smartella
An eLearning studio and consultancy serving enterprise clients.
Featured by University of Birmingham ↗LearnCity
A gamified, design-led eLearning platform for modern teams.
OneAcademy
An all-in-one platform for training providers that cuts technology cost by ~60%.
Featured in BusinessCloud ↗
To be is the only option.
Amir Shurrab · Co-founder & CEO
One book. Tens of thousands of readers.
Your Way to Online Freelancing
A practical guide that has helped tens of thousands of people start earning online. It became the most-downloaded title of its kind on Hsoub Academy - downloaded more than 79,000 times and #1 for seven years running. His second book is on the way.
His work has made headlines.
From press conferences and industry stages to national coverage and the UK Government's own channels - Amir's ventures and ideas have drawn attention across the UK and the Gulf.
Plus TV & radio interviews across the UK and the Gulf.
In over 20 years in the UK technology scene, I have rarely seen a person more talented and driven.
John Cooke · Entrepreneur in Residence, Innovation Birmingham
Bring a builder's mind to your AI ambition.
Whether you're starting your AI journey or scaling it, Amir and the London Gulf Nexus team turn strategy into things that ship - across London, Riyadh, Dubai and Muscat.
“When you pour your heart and soul into your craft, the world takes notice.”