Funded by European Union, The business and technology incubator at the Islamic University of Gaza signed an agreement to support entrepreneurial companies with the Belgian Agency for Development, in partnership with (6) institutions and business incubators from all Palestinian cities.
The programme will support entrepreneurs to transform their ideas into commercial successful pilot projects, in addition to training and equipping them with counselors and mentors in the field of entrepreneurship.
The project is expected to offer specialized training for more than 30 specialist in small businesses to enable them to provide services to entrepreneurs on a global level, in addition to a network of more than 20 mentors to provide guidance and counseling services for pilot projects.
The project has a budget estimated by 3.5 million euros. The programme’s activities will continue for two years, and will lasted till July 2018.
In attendance of Ms. Abeer Audh- Palestinian economy Minister, and representatives of the Belgian development Agency and local partners; the program started.
The programme includes a range of activities, such as awareness about entrepreneurship, incubators building skill, and training and orientation campaigns on leadership, and building an electronic platform to facilitate communication with various sources of funding.
Mr. Ricardo Rosa- director of the Representation of the European Union trade and economic development program in Palestine stated, “Supporting the establishment of new companies is an essential part of the development and support of the private sector, which leads to real development and reducing unemployment.”
Dr. Wassim Alhabiyl -Deputy Dean of Community Service and Continuing Education at the university considered the project a unique opportunity for entrepreneurship, as it is not limited to supporting entrepreneurs but also contributes directly and significantly to creating a supportive environment through the support of the incubator activities, and training activities for mentors and trainers. Dr. Alhabiyl explained that this is the first time of implementing such training in the Gaza Strip. Dr. Alhabiyl praised the Belgian development Association’s efforts to support the different parts of the national strategic plan for education, through infrastructure support and providing a safe and healthy learning environment.
For the purpose of signing the agreement, a delegation arrived to that included Mr. Raed Rajab – from the Belgian Development Agency, executing the project, and Mr. Zaher Bassiouni – Leadership Foundation, a partner in the implementation. The delegation met with Dr. Saeed Alghorah- Dean of Community Service and Continuing Education, Engineer Basil Kandil – Head of projects and training department, the staff of the business incubator and information technology. The delegation was briefed on the facilities and resources of the incubator, and visited some emerging companies that benefited from the Entrepreneurship projects of the incubator.
The Business and Technology Incubator is the largest incubator in terms of the number of projects hosted over the past years in the Gaza Strip, through several projects such as Spark, Mobaderoon, seed and other programs.
