Mercy Corps\Growing the Palestinian Technology Ecosystem - Growing the Palestinian Technology Ecosystem Mercy Corps\Growing the Palestinian Technology Ecosystem 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. Insatsen syftar till att bygga ett internationellt konkurrenskraftigt digitalt kommunikationssystem i Palestina som skapar hållbara arbetstillfällen, särskilt för ungdomar och kvinnor. Detta sker genom att stödja frilansare online, outsourcing, entreprenörskap och start-ups. Programmets aktiviteter, mål och resultat är alla utformade för att bidra till insatsens syfte.

Insatsen har fyra övergripande utfall på medellång sikt:
1.Teknisk utbildning: Palestinier utbildas inom viktiga tekniska områden som förbättrar deras möjligheter att få en inkomst via globala marknadsplatser på internet.
2.Utbildning för frilansare: Palestinier utvecklar de yrkeskunskaper som krävs för att upprätthålla online-möjligheter som frilansare eller outsourcers.
3.Utveckling av start-up företag: Palestinska företagare med solida, realistiska affärsidéer får resurser för att starta och utveckla sina företag.
4.Gemenskap och samarbete: Medvetenhetshöjande och samhällsbyggande aktiviteter som hjälper till att bygga en inkluderande, stödjande teknisk gemenskap som uppmuntrar inkomstgenererande möjligheter online för kvinnor och män.

Insatsens totala budget är 111 330 206 SEK, varav Sida föreslås bidra med motsvarande 45 000 000 SEK (40,4%) och resterande del finansieras av Kanada och Nederländerna. Insatsen kommer att genomföras av Mercy Corps Europe i samarbete med tre lokala genomförandepartner via serviceavtal.

Med det föreslagna stödet på 45 miljoner kronor över tre år från Sverige, kompletterat med finansieringen från Kanada och Nederländerna och tillsammans med finansiering från andra företag och privata stiftelser ska förbättrade försörjningsmöjligheter ges till främst unga palestinier och kvinnor. Insatsen ska också hjälpa till att förvandla den  palestinska tekniksektorn till att ytterligare bidra till ekonomisk tillväxt och jobb under många år framöver. Med dessa kombinerade finansieringsströmmar syftar programmet till att nå totalt 12 090 deltagare under de kommande tre åren i Gaza och Västbanken, inklusive östra Jerusalem. "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.