Palestine
Palestine
“Global interest in the Palestinian innovation ecosystem has piqued, as more regional and global players take notice of the massive potential contained within its borders.”
Highlights
Despite a challenging regional and global context, Palestine continues to develop its startup ecosystem, with tech representing a bright spot for economic development and sustainability. Regional business leaders have committed to supporting Palestinian economic resilience as an important building block to opening new pathways to a two-state solution.
Peleset Angels, an angel investor network supporting early-stage Palestinian startups with a focus on empowering founders, launched in August 2023 to address critical funding gaps and test external markets. In August 2023, Google launched the Palestine Launchpad program, a capacity building program aimed at helping Palestinian graduates, app developers, and tech entrepreneurs advance their digital skills and find employment. In January 2024, the program committed $4 million to safeguard jobs, provide loans and grants to 1,000 small businesses, and provide seed grants to 50 tech startups.
Startups Without Borders, together with Meta, created Boost Without Borders, a program aimed at supporting 500 entrepreneurs, building the capacity of support organizations, and providing $100,000 in grants for startups. The Palestinian Mentorship Program matches Palestinian entrepreneurs with global experts to build bridges between Palestine’s ecosystem and markets abroad. The Factory 4.0 Accelerator provides matchmaking with corporate partners, mentoring, a state-of-the-art fabrication lab, and seed money. Founder Institute Palestine 2023 kicked off in August. The IGNITE Investment Readiness Program prepares ambitious Palestinian startups to raise equity investment.
Ecosystem by the Numbers
Sub-Sector Strengths
Fintech
The Palestine Monetary Authority’s Fintech Regulatory Sandbox aims to support SMEs and startups to design innovative, alternative financial services. In August 2023, MENA-based payments solution provider PayTabs Group entered into an agreement with Middle East Payment Services, Palestine to enable and empower small and medium merchants, e-commerce entrepreneurs, webpreneurs, and creators in Palestine with digital payments. The Palestine Capital Market Authority partnered with open innovation firm Fintech Galaxy to create the Insurtech Wizard Hackathon aimed at advancing financial inclusion in Palestine.
Edtech
Palestine’s numerous Edtech startups include Jeel Code, which teaches kids to code in Arabic; coaching platform Coachwhizz; and Hessa, which connects students and tutors. EdTech Hub provides workshops and programs. The World Bank approved an eight-year program to address key education challenges in Palestine. With $20 million in funding already approved, the program aims to improve education outcomes and increase pathways leading to tertiary education.
Life Sciences
Palestine’s Life Sciences startups include telemedicine companies Tebfact and Tanaffas, appointment-booking system Doctor On Time, and startups focused on the prevention of chronic diseases like Wikaya and Dawsat. Jerusalem-based SynergyMed is developing non-surgical cancer treatments. In September 2023, healthtech startup AlRazi won the Startups Without Borders pitch competition, held in partnership with Meta.
Reasons to Move Your Startup to Palestine
Local Connectedness
The startup ecosystem of Palestine shares a strong sense of community, with resilience at the core of founders’ success. Its tech sector comprises international, diverse companies that share agility and resilience. The Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Empowerment (MoEE) helps catalyze the growth of the ecosystem, and its Palestinian Entrepreneurship Cluster brings together Palestine’s support organizations.
Skilled Talent
Palestinians are renowned for being well-educated with a high proficiency in the English language. Universities in Palestine produce more than 4,000 STEM graduates annually, about 1,000 of whom go on to work for outsourced international companies. SPARK provides young people with coaching, internships, and support to succeed in regions affected by conflict, climate crisis, and displacement, creating a pool of skilled talent.
Dedicated Support
In 2023, SPARK and MoEE drafted the Startup Act, a key piece of legislation tailored to startups’ needs and challenges, with the goal of nurturing a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. Google sponsors a $10 million Arabic-language training program in mobile and cloud/AI app development that provides mentorship, organizes job fairs, and provides grants for access to incubators, among other benefits.
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