Ibrahim AlSafadi grew up in the small northern city of Tabuk, in Saudi Arabia, where his family - eight siblings and their parents - found refuge in 1979 after leaving war-stricken Gaza.

From the age of ten, he held various jobs in family businesses after his school hours, working in different fields such as carpentry, farming and heavy equipment. His early start allowed young Ibrahim to gain experience, develop strong work ethics and understand how a business is run. By the age of thirteen, he also needed to work to help support his family, after his father became seriously ill.

In the challenging environment of Saudi Arabia, the young Ibrahim found solace in listening to music and dancing on his own. He would drive out in the desert, play music in the car and dance in the middle of nowhere.

“For me, it was a great source of balance, a way to exercise and feel happy.” He adds: “It still is; I often dance in the early mornings.”

Later, AlSafadi attended university in Jordan where he studied accounting. He realized there how very little he knew, and discovered many things that were new for him: females allowed to study (his sisters didn’t have access to formal education), wearing t-shirts, writing, listening to music and reading about ideas he never heard of before.

He observed closely how higher education functioned, noting a growing gap between what universities and colleges taught and the skills most employers were really looking for.

During this defining period, AlSafadi decided to drop-out of university, but continued to be involved in the university’s daily life by working on campus in different departments, starting with Building Maintenance then moving towards Registration and Finance. He was keen on learning everything and understanding how each department functioned.

This was the beginning of AlSafadi’s journey in the development of education programs based on quality training and demand-driven skills. He didn’t just work on how to improve the university’s buildings, he also improved the way it functioned and performed its mission, with game-changing results.

Since, Luminus has become a globally recognized educational institution; training over 100,000 learners, raising 90 million USD for funding educational projects and providing 25,000 scholarships to female students, refugees and disabled persons.

Ibrahim AlSafadi’s view of life is simple and unwavering. “I like and respect people, I take the positive and leave the rest aside, accepting individuals the way they are. There are some really good people in life… Together, we can make a difference.”