B.F.A. Qandeel (Basel) MBA

I am an External PhD Candidate in Business Administration at the Nijmegen School of Management. I hold a Master’s degree in Business Administration and have an academic background in Industrial Engineering. I bring more than 17 years of professional and academic experience in youth economic empowerment, entrepreneurship, innovation, and project management, with a particular focus on fragile and conflict‑affected contexts.
My PhD research interests focus on Entrepreneurship in Conflict Zones, examining how entrepreneurs operate, innovate, and build resilience under conditions of political instability, economic constraints, and institutional fragility. My research aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of entrepreneurial ecosystems in conflict‑affected regions, with particular attention to the Palestinian and broader Middle Eastern contexts.
I currently serve as Director of the Business & Technology Incubator (BTI) at the Islamic University of Gaza, where I lead the design and implementation of youth economic empowerment initiatives. My work focuses on supporting youth‑led entrepreneurial and freelance ventures through incubation, capacity building, seed funding, mentorship, and technical assistance. Through this role and my participation in national incubator committees, I have supported hundreds of startups and young entrepreneurs by facilitating access to funding and business development services.
Previously, I worked as Manager of the Industrial Modernization Center of the Palestinian Federation of Industries, gaining in‑depth insight into the private sector. In parallel, I have taught Entrepreneurship, Supply Chain Management, and Operations Research at several universities and delivered more than 50 training programs in entrepreneurship, project management, and managerial skills.