Building a Virtual Economic Global Model for Palestine

11 Apr 2019

On January 3, 2019, Rashida Tlaib became the first ever Palestinian-American woman to be sworn into the House of Representatives. Watching Tlaib proudly walk up to the podium while in a traditional Palestinian Thob was a momentous display of representation celebrated by Palestinians in the US and worldwide.

As the current democratic representative-elect of Michigan, Tlaib has announced her intent to lead an official congressional delegation to Palestine. According to The Intercept, Tlaib hopes to “draw on her roots” and introduce her colleagues to Palestine from a different perspective, one that delves into the most pressing political and socioeconomic issues affecting Palestinians today.

When we learn about Palestinians like Rashida Tlaib, Palestinians that emerge from multicultural backgrounds who although they rise to the top of their professional careers, remain passionate about their heritage and committed to contribute to a thriving Palestine. Tlaib’s story and those similar shed a light on what now constitutes the global Palestinian diaspora.

It is undeniable that the Palestinian diaspora is expansive in scope. From 1948 onwards, political instability, military aggression and all out wars, have forced thousands of Palestinian into exile. To put this in perspective, the Palestinian diaspora now constitutes more than half of the population based in Palestine. Statistically speaking, in 2018 the PCBS reported that the global Palestinian population currently exceeds 13 million. With 4.9 million Palestinians within the West Bank and Gaza, and another 1.57 million residing in 1948 Territory. However, what is most noteworthy is the fact that a staggering 5.85 million Palestinians are currently living in neighboring Arab countries, and an additional 717 thousand in countries worldwide. The largest population outside of the Arab World resides in South America, namely Chile with an estimated 350,000 Palestinians, and over 255,000 in United States.

But what do these numbers actually mean? And how does it translate into development for Palestine? With a collective 6.56 million Palestinians living throughout the world wide diaspora, the potential to translate the collective resources and professional expertise of this community into significant development is indisputable. The first step is reaching out and mobilizing the diaspora community into an organized network that are not only aware of the social and economic needs of Palestinians, but are able to reach out and effect meaningful change.

Economically speaking, the Bank of Palestine estimates that the Palestinian diaspora holds assets at around $120 billion. Despite expulsion from their homeland and the innumerable hardships endured while starting over in foreign countries, the Palestinian diaspora has managed to show the world their incredible resilience and ability to prosper under insurmountable odds.

When speaking about the diaspora, the focus tends to be on the immediate outcomes, in terms of economic support and investments. However, the potential of diaspora networks of support has a direct impact on the youth of Palestinian especially as it translates into employment opportunities. To put this in perspective unemployment amongst Palestinian youth aged 15-29 is exceptionally high and sits at 41.0%. With a dearth of economic opportunities Palestinian youth remain underrepresented and undervalued. In order to address these staggering rates of unemployment, the World Bank has revealed that entrepreneurship is at the basis of tackling youth unemployment.

Whether in the United States, the UAE, Chile, or even Ramallah, Palestinians all over the world are embodying the entrepreneurial spirt. Recognizing that strong startup ecosystems are the key towards strengthening local economies, Palestinians are looking towards promoting innovation and entrepreneurship amongst youth groups, as a long term solution addressing socioeconomic concerns such as unemployment.

Speaking about entrepreneurship it is notable that development within the tech field is currently dominating the Palestinian startup scene. With local startups tapping into global trends to develop apps that range from outsourcing services, health and wellness guides, user retention platforms, digital media marketing tools, regional security systems, and even international based real-estate services.

With the imposition of policies that strike at the heart of Palestinian development, including restrictions that severally limit Palestinian movement, control over borders, and access to resources, the Israeli government has been relentless. Amidst the face of such difficulties, tech based startups are proving to be the future and a pivotal step towards building a resilient virtual based global economy. An economy that transcends physical restrictions and enables Palestinians to virtually reach new markets, outsource their services, and create joint ventures with international partners based out of Palestine.

A strengthened tech based ecosystem will translate into new opportunities that are international in scope. These opportunities will generate countless employment opportunities for Palestinian youth, especially vital for youth within a landlocked Gaza, ultimately paving the way for a new generation of innovation and entrepreneurship.

With such strides in tech based innovation, it is no wonder that the Palestinian startup scene has been able to transcend borders and achieve international recognition and support, especially amongst the Palestinian diaspora. There are great opportunities to connect local startups with a global diaspora community that are committed and eager to invest their time, resources, and expertise to support the viability of high potential startups. Connecting and collaborating with the diaspora to work on joint ventures based out of Palestine can help build successful businesses that not only target international markets but more importantly attract international investments. One such example is Palestinian based real-estate startup Mashvisor, Co-founded by Peter Abuzoloff and Mo Jebrini. What sets Mashvisor apart, aside from their highly efficient platform, is the fact that they are based out of Palestine, specifically Ramallah, but operating for the US real estate market.

At MENACatalyst we understand the value of building networks that span the globe. To enhance our local startup ecosystem, we are always on the lookout for the most promising startups to connect them with our growing diaspora community of industry leaders, impact investors and philanthropists. Our international demo events are organized in cities that boast prominent diaspora communities, such as Dubai, Santiago and most recently London. Our demo events are designed to enhance the international potential of local based startups. Creating international partnerships, working on joint projects, and accessing global markets, is at the basis of building a virtual economic global model that works for Palestine.

Now more than ever do we need to engage with our global diaspora to support Palestinian industry and entrepreneurship. Our demo events are proof that there is a committed diaspora community in the US, Latin America, Europe and especially the Gulf region that are willing to work with our Palestinian talent to create joint businesses, open outsourcing opportunities and invest in promising tech startups. The diaspora is the first step, with the success of this model, and a strong ecosystem, we will be able to reach out to investors all over the world to work with Palestinian startups that have export potential. With the potential to create thousands of sustainable jobs for the youth of Palestine, the opportunity to build an economy like other normal economies in the world, and provide services that are not restricted by boundaries, a Palestinian based virtual economy will transform the economic and social landscape of Palestine to create a more equitable future for all.