Mercy Corps\Growing the Palestinian Technology Ecosystem
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Mercy Corps Europe has applied to Sida for 45 million SEK to carry out the "Growing the Palestinian Technology Ecosystem Programme" in Palestine during the period 2019-2022. The intervention aims at building an internationally competitive technology ecosystem in Palestine that creates sustainable and well-paying jobs, particularly for youth and women, by sup...
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Mercy Corps Europe has applied to Sida for 45 million SEK to carry out the "Growing the Palestinian Technology Ecosystem Programme" in Palestine during the period 2019-2022. The intervention aims at building an internationally competitive technology ecosystem in Palestine that creates sustainable and well-paying jobs, particularly for youth and women, by supporting online freelancing, outsourcing, entrepreneurship and tech start-ups. The programme’s activities, objectives, outcomes, and outputs are all designed to contribute to this vision. The intervention’s total budget is 111 330 206 SEK, to which Sida contributes with 40,4%, and the rest is contributed by Canada and the Netherlands. With the proposed support of 45 million SEK over three years from Sida, complemented by other secured funding, Mercy Corps Europe aims to extend life-changing opportunities to thousands of young Palestinian women and men and help transform the broader Palestinian tech sector to become a much more powerful engine for economic growth and jobs for years to come. With these combined funding streams, the programme aims to reach a total of 12,090 participants in the next three years across Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In 2011, Mercy Corps Europe established Gaza Sky Geeks (GSG) in partnership with Google to help develop the tech ecosystem, supporting online freelancers and entrepreneurs to launch online businesses and to access online global marketplace as one of the few ways to create jobs that provide a reliable income to Palestinians given the challenges of a closed economy in Gaza. Today, GSG is home to a vibrant, inclusive co-working space in downtown Gaza City, in which 42% of regular users are women; it is home to Palestine’s first coding academy; a source of professional support for aspiring online freelancers and entrepreneurs; and it has a strong local and international networking base for anyone interested in earning an income online. Witnessing the exponential growth of GSG programme in just a few years has convinced Mercy Corps Europe that bringing the GSG tested training model, experience and approaches to underserved communities beyond Gaza City could provide similar positive results. However, as support for technology education and entrepreneurship is generally more saturated in the West Bank than in Gaza, Mercy Corps Europe is aiming towards a more unique model and branding to avoid duplication with other stakeholders' efforts (local and international). Initial mapping indicated that places like Hebron, Jenin and Nablus in the West Bank as well as East Jerusalem have been comparatively neglected by IT training programmes and entrepreneurship promotion. Mercy Corps Europe looks into expanding to these potential areas to complement rather then compete with other initiatives. Given the difficult contexts in both Gaza and the West Bank, income-generating programmes that can flourish in spite of the physical, political and social restrictions such as this programme targeting online opportunities, are all the more important. Freelancing and online jobs are considered to be among the best temporary solutions to unemployment problems in Palestine providing access especially for youth to innovative forms of work at the regional and international levels. The technical level of Palestinian graduates is acceptable, and can be enhanced with further specialised training courses and mentorship provided by such a programme. Palestine, especially Gaza, can be a future hub for service outsourcing.
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Total aid 62,600,000 SEK distributed on 0 activities
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Result
This reporting period (July 2023June 2024) for the programme represents the 5th year of the programme. It builds on the strategic shift initiated in the previous year, and was significantly shaped by the crisis following October 7, 2023, which paused Gaza-based programming and triggered a full pivot to the West Bank. Sweden supports the expansion of GSG across three programmatic themes: (i) upskilling individuals by providing technical and employability training as well as enabling freelancing opportunities, (ii) developing and building upon the capacity and competitiveness of tech-service companies and (iii) increasing the market access opportunities for both. Although many anticipated activities, especially in Gaza, were disrupted, the programme achieved substantial results in the West Bank through rapid adaptation, in line with its revised strategy. Some of the results achieved during the reporting period include: Engagement and reach: Across GSGs entire portfolio, a total of 2,086 individuals (59% women) were engaged in programme activities across the West Bank and Gaza. Under Sida funding, 581 individuals (53% women) were engaed in community events and in fundamental and intermediate (specialised) trainings across the West Bank and Gaza. Since inception (2019), GSG has engaged 45,942 participants (31,937 unique). Of these, 7,010 participated in various types of technical education, freelance training, and other income generating capacity building skills. SIDA funding is directly responsible for a total of 2,638 of these participants since 2019. Skills development of individuals: GSG attempted to survey 199 West Bank-based individuals and 146 responded (63% of which were women). 98% of surveyed West Bank participants reported improved technical skills. 83% reported improved employability and professional skills. 60% reported improved access to income-generating opportunities as a result of inclusion in the programme. Employment and income outcomes: 31% of surveyed graduates (51% women) were in full/part-time jobs; 8% were freelancing and an additional 8% were acting as interns. Of these, 65% were applying the technical skills gained directly into their work, 20% had received a promotion or role change since graduating from a GSG program and more than 41% reported an increase to their income level. 82% of income-reporting respondents earned more than $300/month; 32% earned over $500/month, and 21% exceeded $1,000/month. Infact, incomes of GSG graduates grow each subsequent year, as the participants gain more experience. GSG surveys participants for 1224 months after completing GSG training and the data reveals the impact on employment and income generation. GSG team was able to track the following for the 2022 participants: 70% of the 2022 GSG graduates used their new skills to earn income online. The average monthly income was $700 for the 2022 participants that responded to the GSG survey in 2023 (12 months after graduating a GSG training). Those with specialist skills earned significantly more (eg. coders) with an average monthly income of $1,500 per month. Programme expansion: GSG scaled up further its operations in the West Bank, growing the staff from 4 to 17 by December 2024.GSG showed significant resilience and flexibility to the overall context, whereby the programme was rapidly redesigned to focus on the West Bank while still maintaining engagement with Gazan participants (30% of some training cohorts). GSG also began expanding to new digital sectors, such as online accounting, interior design, and digital arts, opening new inclusion pathways, especially for women. Companies support: A new Elevate programme was developed and launched in the West Bank, engaging 70 companies and experts to inform capacity-building and market access programming. Education and partnerships: GSG's collaboration with four universities (e.g., Birzeit, An-Najah) led to the formation of student clubs and integration of DataCamp tools. These clubs will support students towards certification in the various domains and specialities. Moreover, GSG launched new partnerships with DataCamp, Capx AI, and AWS Academy for high-demand technical specialisations.
"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.
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