Rostam Nazari grew up without electricity in Afghanistan and could not read or write when he arrived in Germany as a teenager.
Ten years later he has written two books in German and runs a solar panel company with 32 employees.
Nazari, now 25, fled with his family to Iran when he was seven and then became part of the massive wave of refugees who arrived in Germany in 2015.
His interest in solar power was sparked because 鈥業 wanted to understand why everyone in Germany had electricity and no one (in Afghanistan) did,鈥� he told AFP.
鈥業 lived without electricity for seven years鈥� growing up, he added.
Nazari was 15 when he arrived in Germany after crossing the Aegean Sea in a small boat and the Balkans on foot, leaving his parents behind in Turkey, where they still live.
鈥榃hat I went through is indescribable,鈥� he said.
Nazari and his brother Sohrab, then 17, were taken into a home for young refugees in the town of Marburg, near Frankfurt.
They were quickly given intensive German classes 鈥� an opportunity Nazari describes as a life-changing 鈥榤iracle鈥�.
Three years later he published an autobiographical novel called 鈥楻ostam鈥檚 Journey鈥�, followed in 2021 by a book of Afghan recipes.
Nazari is now the technical director of SolarBau24, which installs solar panels, which he founded in 2023 with his friend David Szielenski.
Szielenski, 33, described Nazari as 鈥榚xtremely adaptable鈥�.
鈥楬e can process, absorb, implement, and develop many things very quickly,鈥� he said.
Asked how he managed to learn German so quickly, Nazari replied: 鈥業 was motivated and disciplined. I thought, I only have this one chance. I have to take it.鈥�
In Marburg, he and his brother found 鈥榤any supporters who helped us along the way.
鈥榃ithout these helpers, we would have been lost鈥� when faced with the 鈥榰nbelievable鈥� challenges of navigating German bureaucracy, he said.
Nazari met Szielenski through his mother, who worked at the refugee home in Marburg.
Szielenski was working at the Frankfurt Book Fair at the time, and his mother thought he might be able to help Nazari to get his book published.
Nazari later trained to become an electrician and decided to go into photovoltaics.
SolarBau24鈥檚 workforce comes from 12 countries including Iran, Russia, Turkey and Somalia, many of whom were in a similar situation to Nazari when they arrived in Germany.
The company offers benefits such as leave for Muslim holidays, flexible working hours, shared meals and on the job training.
Written applications, CVs and cover letters are less important than 鈥榤otivation and attitude鈥�, according to Szielenski.
Hadi Gazerani, 40, from Iran, who has been with the firm for a year, said 鈥榦ther companies don鈥檛 give this opportunity, which is a shame鈥�.
Germany鈥檚 new chancellor Friedrich Merz has promised to crack down on migration in a bid to halt the rise of the far right.
But Nazari believes 鈥榳e need migrants鈥� and that Berlin should make it 鈥榚asier for people to come to Germany and feel comfortable here鈥�.
When businesses offer opportunities for newcomers, 鈥榠t鈥檚 good for our taxpayers, for society, for the economy, and for the people who come to Germany鈥�, he said.
