Manar al-Harakeh, founder and CEO of Adstrum, alongside Sarah Rida, head of strategy at the startup, on July 11, 2025, in Beirut. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
The medical technology and robotics startup Adstrum won the sixth edition of the ESA-HEC entrepreneurship competition Friday.
The competition, organized by L’Orient-Le Jour and the SmartESA incubator, is held in partnership with the French Embassy in Lebanon, HEC Paris Incubator, HEC Paris Alumni Lebanon, Air France and TotalEnergies. It aims to develop the country’s entrepreneurial potential and encourage innovation.
“ESA celebrates the creative energy of Lebanese talent and their determination to build a different future together,” said Maxence Duault, director general of ESA Business School in Beirut, during the competition final held on the ESA campus. “It is a true demonstration of what Lebanese innovation can achieve when it relies on a supportive ecosystem aiming for excellence,” he added.
Seventeen startups selected to participate in a pre-acceleration program — which allows their initiative to take shape — presented their projects Friday.
“This edition was marked by the deep-tech shift [technologies combining scientific research and technology] of many entrepreneurial projects, once again highlighting the ingenuity of Lebanese talents,” said Karl Gedda, director of SmartESA. “Eight women and nine men, including the youngest barely 20 years old, presented solutions reinventing education, the world of work and culture, humanity, and the city of tomorrow,” he added.
“This award is extremely important to motivate young Lebanese entrepreneurs, as the country needs all its talent more than ever,” said Fouad Khoury Helou, executive director of L’Orient-Le Jour. “Our newspaper is very pleased to be one of the partner organizers of this award since its launch in 2020.”
To determine the winning initiative, the 17 finalists presented their projects before a jury composed of Christina Shehadeh, managing director of Endeavor Lebanon; Nivine Hajj Moussa, program manager at HEC Paris Incubator; Michel Nawfal, associate director at Venus Consultancy; Nicolas Rouhana, investor and director at IM FNDNG; and Zein Rashidi, board member at French Tech Beirut.
“Winning this award opens horizons”
Adstrum developed Neurex, a neural interface powered by AI that controls in real time prosthetics, computers, games, or other connected tools by translating muscle signals. The founders aim to redefine the interaction between humans and machines.
“We really needed this support — it’s an incredible opportunity!” said Manar al-Harakeh, founder and CEO of Adstrum. “We had many partnerships pending in France, but with visa issues, it was very difficult for us to carry them out. Now, all of a sudden, everything is resolved,” he said, smiling.
The goal is now clear: to bring Neurex to market as a certified medical device by the end of 2026. “Winning this award opens our horizon,” said Harakeh, who will soon head to France for a six-month, all-expenses-paid incubation period at the HEC Paris Incubator, located at Station F — the world’s largest startup campus. The prize also includes an airline ticket offered by Air France and a stipend for living expenses provided by the French Embassy.
The 16 other participating startups included:
- Agriworm, founded by Sara Slim, designs sustainable insect-based products for agriculture with a low environmental footprint.
- MIRA, founded by Amina Allouch, integrates AI into primary school teaching practices to personalize learning.
- Transbollard, founded by Hadi Abou Hamdan, creates urban furniture by transforming recycled rubber into multifunctional public seating.
- Volunteering Marathon, founded by Georges Mrad, offers 42 volunteer assignments with 42 partners over 42 consecutive days in Lebanon and plans to launch a volunteer-matching app.
- Flavors, founded by Imad Hamdan, is a platform that allows restaurants to track sales and ROI from social media campaigns through QR code offers.
- Lou-Mushrooms, founded by Loubna Ajram, transforms coffee waste into a substrate for growing organic oyster mushrooms.
- GenZ, founded by Zahraa Chamas, offers AI-driven content creation courses and workshops for businesses, creators and individuals.
- Aquaivolt, founded by Doris Shaaya, converts industrial wastewater into renewable energy and recovered water.
- Darrebni, founded by Sarah al-Banna, connects training programs to internships and job opportunities aligned with labor market needs.
- Cleara, founded by Ibrahim Ezzedine, offers a drone that autonomously cleans exterior windows of high-rise buildings.
- Beaver, founded by Jana Barhouche, is an educational wooden construction kit that supports integrated learning in math, history and art.
- Battelife, founded by Rayan Saadeh, uses sand batteries to supply heat.
- Takadam, founded by Hany Anan, is a platform that connects youth with internships, workshops, grants and funding opportunities.
- Toot, founded by Alphonse Abou Shaar, operates in urban transport across the MENA region using ultra-light electric vehicles.
- Patterns, founded by Wael Debian, is an AI-powered educational tool to support more effective student learning.
- Nafas, founded by Michel Doumit, is a creative education platform for Arabic-speaking learners.
To learn more about Adstrum, click here.
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