Everything around you
Some business stories begin with major capital and a complete plan. Mohamad Fadi Sbat’s story began very differently: with a small local network-gaming shop in El Mina, Tripoli. That shop became the first step in a journey spanning more than 23 years—from networks and internet distribution to travelling to China, importing, and building Sbat Computers into a broader business with two branches, a showroom, a dedicated repair space and a full team.
The beginning: a small shop that built deep experience
Mohamad Fadi Sbat began his journey in the computer field in El Mina, Tripoli more than 23 years ago. His first venture was a shop for local network computer gaming, at a time when that experience felt new and exciting to many young people and computers were rapidly becoming more important in everyday life and business.
For Mohamad, the shop was more than a place to run games and welcome customers. It was a practical school: computers needed setup, technical problems needed solutions, networks needed attention and customers constantly asked about what was new. Day by day, he was building something more valuable than a sales record—real hands-on experience and a clear understanding of what people needed from technology.
As the years passed, it became clear that his interest would not stay within the limits of a gaming shop. Technology was changing, the market was changing with it, and Mohamad kept moving with those changes instead of remaining in the same place.
From network gaming to internet distribution
As internet access expanded in Tripoli, another opportunity appeared. Mohamad moved into distributing internet services, extending his experience from managing computers inside one shop to supporting a wider network and the daily needs of more users.
This chapter mattered because it brought technical and commercial experience together. Knowing computers was no longer enough; the work also required an understanding of service, continuity, customer relationships and decisions in a fast-changing market.
That stage could have become the final destination, but for Mohamad it became another point on the road. Each experience raised a new question: what comes next, and how can the business grow rather than simply remain where it is?
2015: the journey that opened the door to importing
A major turning point came in 2015, when Mohamad Fadi Sbat travelled to China for the first time. The trip changed his perspective on the market. Instead of dealing only with products that had already reached Lebanon, he was now closer to the source and to the world of sourcing and importing directly.
It was more than a buying trip. It meant moving from a local market he knew well into a larger commercial environment that required a new set of lessons: selecting products, understanding what fit the Lebanese market, dealing with suppliers, shipping goods to Lebanon and building a wider business cycle.
From there, a new chapter began. The business expanded further into computers and accessories, connecting Tripoli with markets abroad. What had started years earlier as a small gaming shop was becoming a trading operation with greater control over sourcing and the ability to serve different types of customers.
Sbat Computers: from a store to an integrated business
As experience accumulated and importing expanded, Sbat Computers became more than a place to sell computers. The business grew to serve both retail and wholesale customers, from someone looking for a personal computer or a specific component to traders sourcing products for their own businesses.
Today Sbat Computers operates two branches, a sign that growth has meant more than simply carrying additional products. It represents a real expansion in the business’s presence and its ability to welcome and serve more customers.
The business also includes a showroom where customers can see computers and products more clearly and make decisions with a closer look at what they are buying, rather than treating the purchase as a quick transaction across a counter.
Repair is not an extra service—it is part of the experience
Selling a computer may be the beginning of a customer relationship, but it is not always the end. Sbat Computers therefore includes a dedicated repair space, separate from the idea of display and sales, for computers that need inspection, repair or technical follow-up.
A dedicated maintenance area reflects another stage in the company’s development. The business does not simply offer products; it preserves the technical side that has been part of Mohamad’s journey since his earliest days with networks and computers.
That creates a clear link between the beginning of the story and the business today. The hands-on experience built through years of dealing with devices and technical problems did not disappear when the company expanded into trade and importing—it became an organised part of the customer service experience.
A full team behind the Sbat Computers name
As a business grows, its success can no longer depend on one person alone, regardless of experience. Today a full team stands behind Sbat Computers, working across different parts of the operation, from customer service and sales to products and maintenance.
The move from a small individual beginning to a complete working team is one of the most important parts of the story. The experience Mohamad Fadi Sbat built over the years has developed into an operation that can keep growing through people who share responsibilities and serve customers as one team.
Growth is therefore no longer measured only by the number of computers or the size of shipments. It is also visible in the ability to build a team, organise responsibilities and offer a more structured experience whether a customer visits to buy, ask for advice or request a repair.
More than 23 years later, the story is still being written
Mohamad Fadi Sbat’s story is not about one sudden leap that changed everything. It is a story of accumulation. A gaming shop built technical experience; that experience led to internet services; the trip to China opened the door to importing; and Sbat Computers later expanded to two branches, a showroom, a dedicated repair space and a full team.
Perhaps that is the most interesting part of the journey: each chapter may once have looked like a complete business on its own, but over time it became one piece of a much larger picture. The constant throughout every stage has been a connection to computers and technology, together with a willingness to change how the business works as the market changes.
Through Mahallak’s Merchant Stories, we look for the journey behind the storefront. In the case of Sbat Computers, that journey represents more than 23 years of experience and development—a story that began in El Mina, Tripoli and continues today under the name of Mohamad Fadi Sbat and his team.
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