Meet the Founders

Saleh Abou Mansour started his professional journey as a charcoal artist in 2001 in Beirut. He turned to education after acquiring his teaching qualification from Cambridge University in 2004. He taught and trained in seven educational institutions in Lebanon and abroad and was promoted to a head of department in 2008 and then school director in 2010. He was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for the American State of Arkansas in 2014 and continued to serve in interfaith and intercultural dialogue till 2016 when he was elected president of Jabal El Sheikh Municipalities Federation. As Federation President, he built several international partnerships and ran many  projects for the area. In 2018, he won together with project partner, Andalib Al Halabi, a regional entrepreneurship prize for their Green Pyramids enterprise and that was his first step as an entrepreneur. In 2019, he was elected Mayor of Rachaya El Wadi. 

Together with regional and local partners, Saleh established a youth council through a unique electoral law and voting method and the initiative was classified as the most pioneering youth democratic practice in the MENA region. He has also worked on peacebuilding through activities that brought different people together and helped resolve conflict and turn enemies into friends.

Saleh has certificates and diplomas from many universities and institutions in USA,  The Netherlands, England and Lebanon including University of Arkansas, University of Saint Joseph, The Hague Academy for Local Governance, University of Maryland, Cambridge University and University of East London.

Currently, he manages GreenLeb paulownia production, designs new products, manages the marketing team, trains new staff, communicates with investors and is responsible for the company's  strategic planning.

In his spare time, Saleh goes hiking and camping, takes landscape photographs, plants trees, bikes, travels  and reads books.

 Raja Abdallah is a mechanical engineering, computer science and MBA graduate from McGill University, Canada, where he started his career in systems design in the nuclear power industry acquiring major experience in the management of complex, international mega-projects . Back to his native Lebanon in 1994, Raja co-managed the financing, procurement and construction of a full clinker production line for the country’s top cement manufacturer  acquiring invaluable experience both locally and internationally, dealing with the IFC in addition to syndicated bank loans. In 1999, Raja moved to Switzerland, where he  switched to a banking career with one of Lebanon’s top banking groups. In 2010, he returned to serve his native Lebanon as an independent business consultant and financial advisor, taking on more than 30 mandates across multiple jurisdictions, sectors and company stages in areas of strategy and organization,  policies and procedures, corporate finance (M&A), financial management, fundraising, business development and IT/MIS. He also does a lot of work for start-ups and early-stage ventures, and is very familiar with the entrepreneurship, angel investing and VC ecosystems in Lebanon, Switzerland and abroad, and is an active investor himself. 

Raja also co-founded and manages a microcredit institution in Lebanon since 2010.

Raja is a member of several professional, cultural and philanthropic associations, of which is the Swiss Business Council of Lebanon (SBCL), where he is head of Technology and Innovation pole, as well as Rotary Cedars Beirut. He is also very actively involved in social, economic, environmental and sustainable development projects with his home town, Kfarmishki (West-Beqaa) and the surrounding area of Rachaya and Jabal el Sheikh (Mt Hermon).

On a personal level, Raja is father to two grown boys both living and working abroad. He particularly enjoys outdoor hobbies such as hiking, skiing and sailing. Raja has command over 5 languages including German and Spanish, and is a seasoned traveler, with a deep passion for history and geo-politics.