Company History

Company History

Almanar Consultancy is widely acknowledged for its expertise and capacity in defining key characteristics of the Arab countries in matters of greatest relevance to Australian commercial and community sectors.

First working in Archaeology (Syria), Fiona Hill became Tutor in Islamic Studies, qualified and taught in TESOL, then gained her PhD in Anthropology. She lectured in Australian Universities while serving voluntarily with Australian Arab and Australian Muslim advocacy groups. With extensive experience in several Arab countries, Fiona often provided Australians with market intelligence about the region and about Australia’s Arab-Muslim demographic.

Fiona soon realized that Australian interest was significant yet information about the Arab region was grossly inadequate to Australia’s commercial and cultural best interests.

In response, in 1996 Fiona Hill established Almanar Consultancy to present public lecture programs, publish information booklets, and chaperone Australian entrepreneurs on their market visits both within Australia and offshore.

As Australians’ interest in the region becomes more sophisticated, Almanar Consultancy services become more specialized, acutely strategic, and ahead of the trend – while remaining ever pragmatic and practice-based.

Expanding and enriching its networks in the Arab countries, Almanar Consultancy consults to clients with ventures in North Africa, the Near East, the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf Arab countries.

Almanar Consultancy’s greatest focus is on the Syrian Arab Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In 2006, Almanar Consultancy established the Islamic World Discovery Project (IWDP) as a school curriculum voyage of discovery about the histories, ideas, cultures and economies of the Arab-Islamic world. (www.iwdp.org. Investigating Saudi Arabia – A Modern Nation 1/2007 is a 12-page study unit in the STUDIES series produced by Ryebuck Media, commissioned by IWDP and distributed free of charge to schools throughout Australia www.ryebuck.com.au.

Almanar Consultancy founded Euphrates Publishing to create more avenues for discovery of the Arab world and Islamic Sciences, launching its first title Sojourn in Syria (ISBN 978-0-646-49777-8) in 2010.