Same functions,TechStart and GSGdifferent target audience.

TechStart and Gaza Sky Geeks use similar functions to build Palestine's tech economy. They serve different target audiences, at different stages, and measure different results. Supporting both funds one complete journey.

Gaza Sky Geeks, Mercy Corps
September 2026

Who each program is built for

The functions look alike. The target audience is different.

TechStart

Implemented by DAI for the Ministry of Telecom and Digital Economy

Established IT firms and mature startups

  • Firms with a product, a sales team and a target market
  • Support through grant windows the firm applies to
  • Results measured at the firm level: investment, exports, jobs

Gaza Sky Geeks

A Mercy Corps program

MSMEs and human capital

  • Micro, small and medium tech businesses, including in Gaza
  • Individuals at the core: founders, job seekers, freelancers, teams
  • Results measured in people skilled, placed and earning

Where GSG goes further

Beyond the shared functions, GSG works in areas TechStart does not cover.

  • Human capital firstTrain-to-hire placements, upskilling courses and embedded sales representatives that turn individuals into employed, earning professionals inside local companies.
  • Legal supportA legal assessment for each company, then contracts, NDAs and documentation, and registration in target markets. TechStart has no equivalent.
  • Coaching for foundersInternational advisors matched to a company's needs, with agreed KPIs and weekly one-to-one sessions, before the company could employ such expertise.
  • Gaza continuityGaza companies and Gaza-based individuals stay in the program and earn remotely, keeping the tech economy connected across Palestine.

One pathway, two programs

A company does not choose between the two. It moves along the pathway. GSG builds readiness in MSMEs and human capital. TechStart helps ready firms grow into foreign markets and attract investment.

GSG

Human capital

Trainees, upskilled staff, sales representatives, freelancers

GSG

MSMEs

Readiness: coaching, legal, branding, first pipeline

Transition

Growing firms

Ready firms move on to TechStart support

TechStart

Established firms

Senior BDEs abroad, certifications, FDI

GSGSharedTechStart

Two programs, one complete journey

Together the two programs cover the whole journey, from an individual's first skills to an established firm's first foreign investor. Supporting both is not an overlap.

  • Different beneficiariesTechStart works with operating firms that already have a product, a target market and a sales team. GSG works with MSMEs and the human capital inside them.
  • Different stageGSG is where a company and its human capital become ready. TechStart is where a ready firm scales into export markets and investment.
  • Different resultsTechStart reports private investment, export contracts and firm-level jobs. GSG reports skilled and placed human capital, first international clients, foreign registrations and Gaza continuity.