Google announces $10m fund to support Palestinian graduates, tech entrepreneurs

Google is funding a $10m initiative over three years to support Palestinian graduates with tech-related degrees as well as app developers and tech entrepreneurs.

Google will work with partners from the private, public and non-profit sectors to help thousands of Palestinians develop requisite skills to find employment across the tech industry. It will also help facilitate career opportunities locally and across the rest of the Middle East and North Africa region.

The new initiative builds upon the company’s existing work around skilling and career development, including the Arabic digital skills training programme Maharat Min Google, which has supported more than two million people and businesses in the region.

The new initiative will have four pillars:

● Developing advanced tech skills: Google and its partners will offer a programme in mobile and cloud/AI app development with the training offered in Arabic both online and in-person

● Mentoring and building expertise in non-technical fields: Employees of Google, as well as local and global NGOs, will mentor Palestinians in the non-technical skills needed for self-employment or for a job role

● Providing access to job opportunities: Google and partners will organise job fairs where participants can meet potential employers

● Connecting Palestinians with sources of financing: Google will work to match Palestinians participating in the programme with funding opportunities, provide grants for access to incubators and co-working spaces, and in-kind contributions such as Google Cloud and Google Play credits.

Ruth Porat, Alphabet and Google CFO, said: “We are committed to helping Palestinian graduates, app developers and tech entrepreneurs unlock more opportunities by providing skills training, facilitating connections to financing, increasing access to jobs and more. At Google, we know that our efforts will always be most effective when we can work together with others in the private sector, public sector and NGOs. We look forward to partnering with many across the region to expand upon our existing digital skills programmes and provide Palestinians with the tools they need to succeed.”