Gaza Sky Geeks (GSG), previously known as the Arab Developer Network Initiative, is the first and only tech hub and startup accelerator in Gaza in Palestine.[5] It was founded in 2011 with the backing of the global humanitarian organization Mercy Corps and Google, after Google executives, led by then Google.org and Google[X] head Megan Smith, visited Gaza.[6] GSG has since then been supported by other Silicon Valley companies, such as Microsoft, and by international donors such as the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.[7]
The stated purpose of GSG is to create a stage for young talents to grow while improving their skills through receiving professional mentoring and performing hands-on work. It encourages female startup members within the IT community to engage in business and software engineering activities.[8] It provides start-up grants for young IT entrepreneurs to begin their businesses. GSG hosts up to 140 people a day, with almost half of those being women. A second location opened in Hebron in 2018.[9] Representatives from large tech companies like Uber, Google, SoundCloud, Microsoft, 500 Startups, Endeavor Global, Udacity, Hitachi, and more have visited the tech hub.[8][10]
History
In 2008 and 2009 employees of Google tried to enter Gaza as part of their developer outreach program but were unable to do so because of the blockade of the Gaza Strip.[11] In 2011 they gained access thanks to Mercy Corps which carried out humanitarian work in Gaza.[11] Google contributed a one-time seed grant of $900,000 which Mercy Corps used to launch the Arab Developer Network Initiative to stimulate tech and entrepreneurship in the isolated enclave.[5][12] In 2013, the tech hub was developed into an accelerator.[5] In 2014, GSG ran a crowdfunding campaign bringing in $279,000.[13][8] In 2017, GSG launched two new programs: the Gaza Code Academy and the Freelancing Academy.[14][15]
A major obstacle for Palestinian freelancers is handling online payments as PayPal is unavailable to Palestinians. In March 2018, MasterCard began researching e-payment solutions for Palestinians.[16]
The Code Academy is a six-month long web development bootcamp with 16 students in each cohort (half female),[18] hosted on campuses in Gaza City and Hebron, launched in partnership with a UK-based bootcamp, Founders & Coders International in 2017.[19][20] The curriculum covers test-driven development, JavaScript, relational databases, UX design, and project management.[21]
GeeXelerator
GeeXelerator is GSG's 16-week pre-seed startup accelerator program. It helps teams build minimum viable products and to validate them with users.[22][23] In 2018, 34 teams participated in the program.[9] Access to co-working space, fiber internet, and other amenities in the GSG's facilities are provided along with $2,000 in grant money per team that is accepted into the program. Participants are expected to already have a strong business case and are selected through interviews.[24]
GSG runs a related, six-weeks long program, called Idea Labs.[24]
SkyLancer Academy
The Skylancer Academy (previously known as the Freelance Academy) is GSG's program for teaching freelancing. It offers two full-time tracks providing mentoring to beginning freelancers. The first track is a ten-week program teaching young people already familiar web development, graphical design, mobile development and social media how to succeed as freelancers.[25]
Impact
According to Damian Radcliffe, GSG has helped create over 100 jobs and $91,000 in revenue.[13] GSG has, according to Yolande Knell, helped nearly 30 startups acquire seed money and investment and its freelancing graduates have earned more than $400,000.[26]
The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. Inhabited by mostly Palestinian refugees and their descendants, Gaza is one of the most densely populated territories in the world. An end of 2024 estimate puts the population of the Strip at 2.1 million. Gaza is bordered by Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in the southern Levant region of West Asia recognized by 146 out of 193 UN member states. It encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, collectively known as the occupied Palestinian territories, within the broader geographic and historical Palestine region. Palestine shares most of its borders with Israel, and it borders Jordan to the east and Egypt to the southwest. It has a total land area of 6,020 square kilometres (2,320 sq mi) while its population exceeds five million people. Its proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, while Ramallah serves as its administrative center. Gaza City was its largest city prior to evacuations in 2023.
Mercy Corps is a global non-governmental, humanitarian aid organization operating in transitional contexts that have undergone, or have been undergoing, various forms of economic, environmental, social and political instabilities. The organization claims to have assisted more than 220 million people survive humanitarian conflicts, seek improvements in livelihoods, and deliver durable development to their communities.
The economy of the State of Palestine refers to the economic activity of the State of Palestine. Palestine receives substantial financial aid from various international donors, including governments and international organizations. In 2020, the inflation rate of -0.7% and unemployment rate was 25.9%. While exports were recorded at US$1 billion, with an import value of US$6 billion. Contributors to the national economy is service sector (47%), wholesale and repair (19%), manufacturing (12%), agriculture (7%), finance and banking (3%), construction (5%), information technology (5%) and transportation sector (2%).
Y Combinator, LLC (YC) is an American technology startup accelerator and venture capital firm launched in March 2005 which has been used to launch more than 4,000 companies. The accelerator program started in Boston and Mountain View, expanded to San Francisco in 2019, and was entirely online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies started via Y Combinator include Airbnb, Coinbase, Cruise, DoorDash, Dropbox, Instacart, Reddit, Stripe, and Twitch.
CodeBase is a tech ecosystem support organisation that has supported over 500 startups and scaleups, who have collectively raised over £4 billion. CodeBase is promotes collaboration in tech innovation, by working with startups, scaleups, corporates, governments, academia and the third sector.
Homosexuality in the Palestinian territories is considered a taboo subject; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people experience persecution and violence. There is a significant legal divide between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with the former having more progressive laws and the latter having more conservative laws. Shortly after the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank in 1950, same-sex acts were decriminalized across the territory with the adoption of the Jordanian Penal Code of 1951. In the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip and under Hamas' rule, however, no such initiative was implemented.
Techstars is a global startup accelerator and venture capital firm founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York City. The accelerator provides capital, mentorship, and other support for early-stage entrepreneurs.
The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) is an Africa-wide technology entrepreneur training program, seed fund, and incubator headquartered in Accra, Ghana. The three-phased institution was founded in 2008 to provide training, investment, and mentoring for aspiring technology entrepreneurs with the goal of creating globally successful companies that create wealth and jobs locally in Africa.
500 Global is an early-stage venture fund and seed accelerator founded in 2010 by Dave McClure and Christine Tsai. The fund admitted a first "class" of twelve startups to its incubator office in Mountain View, California in February 2011. They expanded to a second class of 21 in June 2011 and a third class of 34 in October 2011. 500 Global has $2.3 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of March 2024.
Entrepreneur First is an international talent investor, which supports individuals in building technology companies. Founded in 2011 by Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck, the company has offices in Toronto, London, Berlin, Paris, Singapore, Bangalore and San Francisco.
Fast Forward is the first startup accelerator to focus solely on nonprofit-based technology enterprises, it was founded by Shannon Farley and Kevin Barenblat in 2014. The accelerator provides support, mentorship, and access to financial capital for emerging companies that aim to improve the world, by focusing on poverty, education access, improving health, and environmental degradation.
M12, formerly Microsoft Ventures, is a corporate venture capital subsidiary of Microsoft. Founded in March 2016, its mission is to be an active, strategic partner during a startup's growth, typically investing between Series A and D. The fund is managed by Michelle Gonzalez, formerly of Google.
Codementor is an online platform that connects coders with mentors and clients for projects on a freelance basis. The company is based in Taipei, Taiwan, and San Francisco, California.
Google for Startups is a startup program launched by Google in 2011. It consists of over 50 co-working spaces and accelerators in 125 countries, and provides hands-on lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Yadin B. Kaufmann is an Israeli-American technology investor, social entrepreneur and writer.
AppSheet is a no-code development platform for application software, which allows users to create mobile, tablet, and web applications. It allows using data sources like Google Drive, DropBox, Office 365, and other cloud-based spreadsheet and database platforms. AppSheet can be utilized for a broad set of business use cases including project management, customer relationship management, field inspections, and personalized reporting. AppSheet was acquired by Google in January 2020.
Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator is an American seed accelerator launched in January 2011.
Berkeley SkyDeck (SkyDeck) is an entrepreneurship startup accelerator and incubator program which serves as a joint venture between the Haas School of Business and Berkeley College of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Founded in 2012, SkyDeck promotes research and entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley. It has become a top university incubator in both the United States and also worldwide.
Caroline Winnett is the executive director of the Berkeley SkyDeck startup accelerator at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a serial entrepreneur, civic activist, angel investor, advisor and board member of several startups, and a frequent speaker on startups, accelerators, women in business and consumer neuroscience.
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