The pioneering Gaza Sky Geeks (GSG) community, for years the heart of the Gaza Strip’s startup and freelancing scene, is focused on rebuilding its infrastructure and supporting its scattered talent pool following the devastating impact of war on the enclave. Founded in 2011 with support from Google and operated by Mercy Corps, Gaza Sky Geeks became a critical gateway to remote work and global markets for thousands of young Palestinians, offering training in coding, digital marketing, and entrepreneurship within a blockaded territory. The organization’s primary office in Gaza City’s Al Rimal neighborhood was destroyed by Israeli strikes in the days following the October 7, 2023, attack, symbolizing the widespread destruction that decimated Gaza’s nascent tech ecosystem. Despite this immense loss and the trauma experienced by its community, GSG remains operational, pivoting to emergency support and remote training to sustain its mission.
The Rise of Gaza’s Tech Lifeline
For over a decade, GSG offered a rare glimpse of international opportunity for Gazan youth. Its light-filled, graffiti-adorned office in Gaza City was a “second home” where alumni, trainees, and mentors gathered, creating a vibrant hub that fostered both technical skill and community. GSG’s programs not only trained thousands but also facilitated the first-ever seed-level investments in Gaza, hosted Startup Weekends with international mentors, and enabled individuals to tap into the global freelance economy. The organization’s focus shifted over time to include coding academies, recognizing the potential for remote work to bypass the severe movement restrictions imposed by the blockade.
Total Displacement and Operational Pivot
The start of the war in October 2023 forced GSG to immediately suspend all on-the-ground operations in Gaza. The subsequent bombing of the primary office and the total collapse of essential services—including electricity, water, and reliable internet—severed connections between freelancers and clients, causing many contracts to vanish and businesses to fail.
GSG’s team members and alumni were subjected to multiple displacements, personal loss, and immense trauma, with some tragically killed, including founder Abdulhameid Alfayoumi. The operations have now largely inverted: what was a Gaza-based operation is now primarily run from Ramallah, where 18 staff members are based, while a smaller group of seven remains in Gaza to provide on-the-ground support in ad hoc setups.
Resilience Amid Unimaginable Loss
Despite the logistical nightmare, the spirit of the GSG community, as current director Alan El-Kadhi states, is one of “remarkable resilience.” During the war, thousands of participants completed remote GSG training, with approximately 30% of them managing to join from within Gaza. Alumni abroad are actively creating remote work opportunities for Gazan talent, embodying the community’s refusal to let the vision for a thriving Palestinian tech sector die.
The organization supported roughly 30 Palestinian tech companies in 2024 and launched a pilot program in August 2025 to provide financial support for internet and electricity at five remaining coworking sites in Gaza, a crucial effort to re-establish pockets of connectivity and productivity within the enclave.
A Call for Global Support
GSG’s enduring objective is to help Palestine build an economy with a global-facing tech sector. El-Kadhi emphasizes that this is a time for active support, not just sympathy. The priority is securing more overseas assistance, with a direct appeal to companies to offer remote work and internships to Palestinian individuals and to professionals in all sectors to mentor GSG students and alumni. The community’s ongoing efforts, from coders insulating their recordings with egg cartons to keep working to staff supporting one another globally, underscore their deep commitment to rebuilding and sustaining Gaza’s tech potential.
About Gaza Sky Geeks
Gaza Sky Geeks (GSG) is a leading tech hub and startup accelerator in Palestine, operated by the global non-profit Mercy Corps. Founded in 2011, it has focused on cultivating a robust tech ecosystem in the Gaza Strip by providing high-quality training in digital skills, coding, and entrepreneurship to young people, connecting them with global markets through remote work and startup development. Its mission is to leverage the internet to create economic opportunities for highly-skilled Palestinian youth, challenging the limitations imposed by the political and physical blockade.
Source: Rest of World
