Google launches million-dollar tech initiative for Palestinians

The initiative, which will help Palestinians hone their digital skills and hunt for employment, was announced by Ruth Porat, chief financial officer of Alphabet and Google, at a roundtable with Palestinian entrepreneurs and business leaders.

“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,” she said.

The new initiative is designed around four pillars: Developing advanced tech skills, mentoring and building expertise in non-technical fields, providing access to job opportunities and connecting Palestinians with sources of financing.

Google, along with its partners, will offer a training program in mobile and cloud/artificial intelligence app development. The training will be offered in Arabic both online and in-person.

Google employees as well as local and global non-profits will mentor Palestinians in non-technical skills, whether they’re needed for self-employment or for a role in a company.

Additionally, Google and its partners will organize job fairs to help with employment and facilitate funding opportunities by providing grants for access to incubators and co-working spaces, and in-kind contributions such as Google Cloud and Google Play credits.

Porat said: “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 programs and provide Palestinians with the tools they need to succeed.”