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Google Backs Gazans in Biggest Startup Weekend Yet

  • June 23, 2014
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Photo Credit: Startup Weekend Gaza

It’s hard to believe, but just two months ago, at least 20 of the female participants in this year’s Startup Weekend Gaza had never heard of a startup. Fast-forward to June 19: 36 of the 71 pitches presented were made by women, with many of the top ideas coming from the newest entrepreneurs.

At Saturday’s award ceremony, a team led by 14-year-old Eyas took second place, for Fun Labs, a web-based game that teaches science, and judges awarded a special prize to 16-year-ld Sofiyia for a community that supports young mothers. Best women’s team went to Bizra, a community for home gardeners, while Lilac, an interior design program, took first prize overall.

A testament to their intense commitment—one woman even brought her baby to the pre-event training sessions—participants’ rapid strides mirror the growth of the competition itself. Launched in 2013 by Google, Mercy Corps and several other partners, this year’s edition received nearly double the number of applicants, up to over 650 from 350, and with a whopping 150 chosen to take part.

The main difference, says Iliana Montauk, director of startup accelerator Gaza Sky Geeks, is that after last year’s event, “startups in Gaza received investment for the first time ever, so people now see [a startup] as something they can actually achieve—and regionally, investors see Gazans as representing the top talent.”

Being based in Gaza poses its own difficulties, with lack of access to markets topping the list. But travel restrictions which make it easier for women to travel than men mean female techies are invaluable members of startups looking to network regionally and internationally.

For more information: Startup Weekend Gaza’s website and @SWGaza

 

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Jennifer MacKenzie

Poet, writer and teacher Jennifer MacKenzie grew up on Bloomcrest Dr. in Bloomfield Hills, MI, which inspired her to wonder about places with patterns other than floral. Following her education at Wesleyan University's College of Letters and the University of Iowa's Writers Workshop, she followed a zig-zag course that included a pilgrimage across the top of Spain and a long sojourn in Syria in pursuit of the language of Muhammad al-Maghout and Moudthaffar al-Nawwab. While in Damascus she completed the books of poems "Distant City" and "My Not-My Soldier" (forthcoming from Fence Books) and edited the magazine Syria Today. Her poems and essays can be found in numerous journals including the Kenyon Review online, Guernica, Quarterly West, and Lungfull. She currently lives in New York.

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