Palestine—Technology for Youth and Jobs Project (TechStart)

The West Bank and Gaza face major threats to their economic growth and the resulting employment opportunities for Palestinians. Political instability and the sluggish economy in 2019 and early 2020 were already hurting job growth and will be hurt even more by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. While more than 3,000 Palestinian university students graduate each year with an IT background, relatively few get employed in the IT sector because they do not have the requisite skills to respond to the demands of the IT firms and those firms’ end-market clients. IT remains a promising and growing sector, though, accounting for 15 percent of service exports in 2017.

The TechStart program is designed to assist the Palestinian IT ecosystem in upgrading firm capabilities and spur employment growth. TechStart builds the capacity of Palestinian firms, strengthens demand from international buyers and investors, and stimulates the absorption of high-tech knowledge in the ecosystem.

Sample Activities

• Strengthen the capabilities of firms and their workforces, addressing capability shortfalls, information asymmetries, and other factors that dissuade firms from investing in capacity-building activities independently.
• Support the entry of new, complementary actors into the IT ecosystem, aiding the private sector to build the technology and business infrastructure that IT service companies rely on to compete, including finance.
• Stimulate demand through international market linkages and will encourage foreign direct investment in the West Bank and Gaza.

Select Results

• $16.2 million in additional private investment generated by beneficiary firms (162 percent of the project target), including $12.16 million from local sources and $4.04 million from international investors.
• 1,305 new IT services jobs created, including 387 jobs from trained individuals, 918 from supported firms, and 245 held by women.
• 815 new commercial contracts signed between buyers and supported IT firms (far exceeding the target of 60), including 309 with international buyers and 507 with local buyers.
• 881 individuals trained through project activities, including 423 women, representing 73 percent of the overall training target.
• 152 local technology firms supported and 21 new firms established through seed grants (exceeding the target of 20), including 6 female-owned startups.

Visit the TechStart website here.