Gaza 'geeks' find new future in tech startups
While diplomats pledged billions to Gaza’s reconstruction in Cairo, a Gazan entrepreneur was seeking funds for a tech startup accelerator in the Gaza Strip.
CAIRO — Away from the Gaza reconstruction conference and the donor fatigue that dominated its politics, Nalan al-Sarraj presented the work of Gaza Sky Geeks (GSG) to a community of Cairo startups and entrepreneurs.
The Gaza-based startup accelerator drew support as Sarraj asked for financing pledges ahead of a crowdfunding campaign that has yet to kick off. The $350,000 target was dwarfed by the $5.4 billion pledged to Gaza by governments a day before Sarraj took the stage in central Cairo.
Her phone rang with the first pledge two hours after the presentation. Sitting on the steps of what used to be the Greek Campus of the American University in Cairo, now a hub for young entrepreneurs, the 23-year-old showed me photos she took with her phone of the explosions she saw from her balcony in Gaza City.
Israel’s Operation Protective Edge left over 2,100 dead in Gaza and the infrastructure of the blockaded Gaza Strip in shambles. The Palestinian Authority asked for nearly $4 billion to rebuild Gaza.
