Mercy Corps\Growing the Palestinian Technology Ecosystem

This reporting period represents the 4th year of the "Growing the Palestinian Technology Ecosystem" programme. Additional funds from Sweden were allocated to the programme during this period to help Gaza Sky Geeks (GSG) embark on a new strategy and launch GSGs Market Systems Development (MSD) pilot. The vision of the new strategy is to: - Increase the volumes of individuals who are trained through increasing the volume of short trainings offered while expanding geographically (i.e. get wider). - Focus on specialist skills (e.g. Amazon Web Services) combined with experiential learning (e.g. internships) that improve competitiveness of the trainees and secure them higher paid jobs. - Support Palestinian tech-services companies to increase their access to both local and international clients. During the reporting period, the programme continued progress in its three programmatic themes: 1) coding education, technical and employability training, 2) freelancing education and enabling freelancing opportunities, and 3) start-up incubation and acceleration. These programmatic pillars are underpinned by community-building events and activities, as well as the provision of co-working spaces in Gaza City and South Gaza (Khan Younis). In addition, this reporting period witnessed the starting of the new initiative; GSGs Market Systems Development (MSD) pilot to support the growth of Palestinian tech-services companies. Two interventions were delivered to alleviate the two core challenges obstructing the growth of Palestinian services companies: - Tech talent: GSG placed interns into tech companies and trained them to cover the tech talent gaps that companies have, with the agreement that the company is capable of selecting the top participants and hire them. GSG called this intervention Train-to-Hire. - Market access: GSG assisted tech companies in securing high-value projects through embedding experienced freelancers within these companies to enhance their online presence and drive client engagements. GSG called this intervention Project Hunters. Thus, the programme during the reporting period managed to further expand its activities across multiple cities in Palestine especially in Hebron, Nablus, Jenin, Bethlehem, Tulkarem, East Jerusalem, Ramallah, Gaza and the southern Gaza Strip using a hybrid model (online and in-person trainings and events). Significant results have emerged in all locations of the programme during the reporting period (April 2022 June 2023), and the programme has in fact doubled its reach with its new strategy. Some of the results during the reporting period include: - Engaged 13,195 participants (non-unique; i.e individuals attending multiple events) in community activities, trainings, and events across Gaza (84%) and West Bank and East Jerusalem (16%). Thus, the programme has engaged over 34,722 (non-unique) participants (58% females) since inception in 2019 until June 2023. - Engaged 8,548 unique individuals (i.e. who engage at least once in activities) during the reporting period (57% females). Thus, the programme has engaged over 20,717 (unique) participants (56% females) since inception. - Graduated 8 start-ups (3 female-led) comprising 43 individuals. The 8 start-ups generated a total revenue of over USD $250,000 and reported creating additional 76 jobs in the period 6-12 months post graduation. 86% of the GeeXelerator graduates reported that GSG enhanced their opportunities to have a sustainable business. Of the start-ups from the latest and previous cohorts, 9 have raised funds from different investors especially via the IGNITE programme funded by the World Bank. On a cumulative level, the programme has supported 25 start-ups to launch their businesses. 22 start-ups remained active as of 30 September 2023 creating 738 jobs and cumulative revenue of USD 1.9 million since inception. - Graduated 688 freelancers across Palestine (60% females) from the Freelancing Academy (200 under Sida funding), who were able to obtain over 12,600 freelance jobs and generate a total income of USD2.1M during and up to 12 months post-programme, providing an indicative average monthly income of USD 600 per month, which is expected to rise with further experience and time. Cumulatively, the programme has graduated 2,491 freelancers of which 892 freelancers are funded by Sweden since programme inception until June 2023. The vast majority of participants are from Gaza and South Gaza due to the high demand of freelancing opportunities in these locations, and where the youth unemployment rate is one of the highest in the world. 88% of participants reported reduced barriers to employment and income generation as a result of GSG programming and 68% of freelancing academy graduates continue to earn an average income of $300 USD or more. These percentages reflect an increased employment outcome in comparison to last year which were 78% and 60% consecutively. Results from the graduate surveys also showed that the programme led to a noticeable impact on womens access to tech-enabled employment. 87% for Sida-funded cohorts from the Freelance Academy cohorts reported obtaining at least one job post-programme. - Targeted 32 academics from a variety of technical specialisation with the Training of Trainers cohorts in freelancing to promote the freelancing culture among Palestinian universities. - Graduated 74 participants across Palestine (38% females) from the Coding Academy (37 under Sida funding). Cumulatively, the programme has graduated over 164 coders of which 88 coders are funded by Sweden. 81% of participants reported reduced barriers to employment and income generation as a result of GSG programming and 64% of coding academy graduates and technical trainings graduates continue to earn an average income of $300 USD or more.In fact, MC/GSG managed to hire several of its best Coding Academy graduates as technical instructors in the programme to transfer the knowledge and experience they gained to other participants. - Increased the volume of specialist training programmes from 10 in 2021 to 20 in 2022. As a result, 19 technical training programmes across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were delivered reaching 546 participants (300 under Sida funding) of which 45% are females. In fact, GSG did market assessments to identify the most pertinent areas where a local and/or international skill shortage may exist, or where participants could upskill to be more competitive for job opportunities. Based on that, it piloted and introduced new technical training courses (short courses and specialised courses). These newly introduced courses helped accommodate varying skill levels and as such attracted a diverse set of participants. Consequently, the average overall satisfaction rate about the delivery of training programmes was 95%. - GSG partnered with AWS (Amazon Web Services), making GSG the first and only certified AWS training partner in Palestine. It graduated 130 participants (43% females) from the AWS training across Gaza, Khan Younis and Nablus (30 Sida-funded). 81% of participants reported reduced barriers to employment and employability and 95% passed the AWS official exam and became certified, far exceeding the global average pass rate of 72%. - During the reporting period, the Gaza and Khan Younis co-working spaces hosted a daily average of 89 users. In addition, through GSGs Market Systems Development (MSD) pilot programme, that was solely funded by Sweden, 15 Palestinian tech-services companies participated in the 2 pilots to increase their overseas revenue with specialist tech talent and market access, whereby: - 9 companies participated in the Train-to-Hire pilot hosting 173 Palestinian tech interns (60% females). Eventually, 77 interns (45%) were hired by their hosting companies with an average monthly salary of USD 600. 60% of Train-to-Hire graduates reported an increase in their monthly income following the training programme. - 28 freelancers were trained on how to become successful Project Hunters, and consequently, 8 project hunters were placed in 8 Palestinian tech companies, who secured 24 projects for their hosting companies worth a total amount of USD 50,000 within six months of placement. Four of the project hunters were employed at their host companies. All in all, across all funders, including Sidas contribution, more than 37,000 individuals were trained since programme inception by GSG as coders, freelancers and under other specialist/technical training programmes. Follow-up surveys with graduates have indicated evident employment and income generation. An overview of the income generation of the reporting period indicates that: - Average monthly earnings of a freelancing graduate is USD 550-750 depending on field of work and degree of specialisation. For example, the earning potential can be as high as $1,437 for male accountants and $1,103 for female digital marketers. The earnings increase with additional work experience and the build-up of client base. - Average monthly earnings of full-time developers/coders is USD 1,561. - USD 36 million in international revenue is estimated to be earned by GSG graduates of 2022 and 2023 cohorts. - 79% of GSG community members attribute an improvement in their economic future to the programme. Follow up surveys with ecosystem actors have also shown the great added value of GSG programming. 100% of the ecosystem actors believe the programme has helped to improve the state of the overall technology ecosystem during the reporting period, far beyond the target of 80%. GSG also conducted a community survey in August 2022 to collect feedback on community satisfaction and to improve its services. 98% reported that GSG was positively contributing to the development of the Palestinian tech ecosystem.

"Growing the Palestinian Technology Ecosystem" programme aims to foster sustainable and inclusive tech-enabled economic development and digital job market in Palestine, particularly for youth and women, by delivering an integrated approach of training individuals, in specialist tech skills and in freelancing skills alongside developing the capacity of tech-services companies and increasing their access to international markets.