Karrar Saad: I did not receive an education in my country and I wanted to change my life and my future

The media wrote about the contribution of businessman Karrar Saad, an active player in society, who started by supporting youth activities, providing free haircuts to health staff during the Corona crisis, and finally providing free services to Ukrainian refugees, in addition to the charitable work he is doing outside Sweden. We wanted to shed light on this character and know more about him. Karrar Saad came to Sweden in 2003, since then he has studied many fields, among others he studied assistant nurse, a bus driver and in the construction field. But in the end he chose to invest. Karrar did not receive his school education in Iraq and stated that this was due to the living conditions of his family.

– I did not go to school because of the living conditions we were living in. Because my brothers and I were helping my father with work. We sold tea with our father in a kiosk on the street. After that, I worked in restaurants and in construction work. But my sisters received their school education. Because working for women is difficult in our country, and women must have a certificate to be able to get a job. In 2003 my father decided to travel to Sweden. I was 17 years old at the time. We joined my father, but we stayed for a while in Iran and I learned the Persian language and worked in translation and tourism there. Karrar Saad says.

Did you feel sad when your sisters went to school while you were deprived of education?

– I did not feel sad because my sisters got their education, on the contrary, I feel proud that I was able to work and contributed to giving them the opportunity to learn. Today, one of them is studying medicine, one of them is studying aircraft pilot, one is studying accounting, and one of them is a teacher.

In Sweden, Karrar Saad was unable to attend school because he was unable to write and read in Arabic. So he received adult education in komvux. Because he was deprived of education in his country, he had a great passion for learning and received education in various fields.

– In the class I was sitting next to my father and mother. I learned Swedish, and then I studied a course for a year in the field of construction. I opened a construction company, but it closed after a while because of my problem in understanding mathematics, because the work needed a lot of calculations. After that I was educated as a nurse assistant and worked as a caregiver. I also received an education in cleaning and after that I worked in a cleaning company and became responsible for all the cleaning workers in Växjö. I continued to receive education and took an education in bus driving, and after that I worked as a bus driver and at the same time I worked in maintenance buses." Karrar says.

Karrar did not continue with any of these jobs because he felt that he had not achieved his dream yet, so he started thinking about investing.

– My first project was to open Kings Frisör's barber shop. The reason for this was that the population of Växjö was few then, and there were not many barbershops and when I went to the barbershops to cut my hair, I waited longer for an appointment, Therefore, I immediately thought of investing in this field, and my sister's husband, who worked as a barber, helped me in that. When I started, the price was fixed between 150-200, and this was suitable for people with limited income. He says.

Karrar was not content with one business, he opened the Nutella crepes house café during the pandemic. And then invest in the auto repair shop Bilverkstad as well as Smart Green City AB for a steam car wash.

– When I was in Dubai, I saw this service there, so I decided to move it to Växjö. So that the percentage of water used is very little. It is a way to reduce the risk of environmental damage during washing cars. The goal was to invest and save the environment at the same time and to introduce a new service to Växjö. Karrar Says.

Karrar Saad is currently studying a project to open a carpet washing company.

– The project is completely new and is not found in Växjö. Where the carpets will be washed with modern technology, I will buy the machines designated for this from Germany and I will provide the service at prices that suit everyone. The company will have several departments, among other things, a section for washing carpets, another section for washing hotel sheets, and a section dedicated to washing sofas, where there will be a dedicated team that will visit the houses and clean the furniture with steam.The project is for the residents of Växjö to save their money. Because they will not need to get rid of the old carpets in case it becomes dirty, we can return it new as it was and at the lowest cost. The project is expected to open during this year. Currently, I am looking for a suitable place for the project because I want a large place. I hope that there will be cooperation from the municipality in providing the necessary facilities. He says.

Karrar points out that he is facing difficulty in obtaining employees and says that he did not receive the necessary support from the Labor Office with regard to staffing. Although he needed support at the beginning of the investment.

– Actually, I need a lot of employees. We don't want professional workers, I just want employees and I will train them on the job. Unfortunately, I don't get the necessary support.

Why did you choose to invest?

– It was a childhood dream. I suffered a lot in childhood, so I wanted to change my destiny and future.

Are you thinking of investing outside Sweden?

– I may expand my investments in other countries, but I do not want to move from Sweden. I love this country a lot and want to contribute to its development and growth. I want to make Växjö a tourist and economic destination, and I want to provide more modern and developed services that contribute to the growth of the city. I don't want to make money as much as I want to contribute to the development of the city I love.

Tell us a little about your charitable work!

– Others think that charitable work exposes them to loss, but it is a gain in any case. The most important reason behind this is that I was poor and lived in difficult circumstances. Today I have the ability to help, even in a small way, and this makes me happy. So I will continue to do charity work. This summer, I will spend my summer vacations in Kenya and Benin in Africa, to work on a water project for the residents of villages that suffer from water scarcity.

What do you say to people coming to Sweden who are having difficulty finding jobs?

– Learn the language, study any other field, even if it is not the field in which you were working in your country. You do not necessarily like the profession in which you work, but it will facilitate your life and understanding of society. I advise everyone to invest and do not be afraid of losing. Plan, study your project well, implement it! Investing is sometimes adventurous. Choose your friends who affect your life positively, do not spend your time with friends who complain all the time, because they will affect you negatively.