Nine years ago, my family and I fled the war in Syria and came to Sweden. I am incredibly grateful that we ended up in Sweden, but the integration journey has not been without challenges. It is a completely different culture, a new language, and a tough labor market.
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These challenges caused major difficulties for me, but they also sparked my entrepreneurial drive. One of the first challenges I faced was when, as a teenager, I tried to find a summer job. All my friends seemed to get their jobs through their parents’ connections—something we, as an immigrant family, did not have. That was when the idea of an app for young people was born: an app that would help youths find their first jobs, regardless of background or network.
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Together with three other driven friends, we decided to pursue this idea as a UF company, which became SOBB UF. We were different as individuals, with different skills, personalities, and backgrounds, but we shared one common purpose: to help every young person in Sweden find their first job.
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Within just a few months, we had a finished app launched on the App Store. At last, the dream of a platform that truly helps young people became reality. We tried to sell the service to municipalities on the west coast. In just a few months, we managed to launch an app on the App Store, achieve over 3,000 downloads, and match 200 jobs to young people.
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This strong teamwork resulted in us being named Sweden’s best and Europe’s second-best UF company in 2023 out of 360,000 UF companies. We see these wins as confirmation of how important it is to bridge the gap between young people and employers for a more sustainable and successful Sweden.
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We are very happy that the end of the SOBB UF chapter does not mean the end of our journey to help more young people enter the workforce. At Emploify, we are today stronger than ever and look forward to continuing to fight for the same goal. With new features, thousands of users, and hundreds of jobs across Sweden, we welcome you to Emploify.
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If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me at taufeeq@emploify.se.
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Kind regards,
Taufeeq Saleh
Founder and CEO, Emploify