EHF Fellows: Bassma Alshaikh Ali and Rasha Abu-Safiah
Fighting unemployment in Gaza by bolstering the country’s tech workforce
Finding success as a female entrepreneur is a unique challenge and succeeding as a female entrepreneur in Gaza is nearly impossible. Luckily, Bassma Ali and Rasha Abu-Safiah have never been afraid of the impossible.
The pair have worked their way up to becoming international leaders, co-running an enterprise to create jobs, hope, and peace all over the world.
“We were challenged to find the balance between the family and work, to avoid toxic people, negativity and to fight our fears.”
-Bassma Ali and Rasha Abu-Safiah
Despite cultural, political and economic tensions in their home country, Bassma and Rasha say they have been able to find the balance between being mothers, founders, and entrepreneurs.
Bassma is especially successful in designing projects and turning proposals into reality, while Rasha brings to the table her skills in talent management and social responsibility.
“I am passionate about businesses, and business modelling for social enterprises and their social impact. I believe right business models can create opportunities from gaps, and improve community overall.”
-Bassma Ali
Bassma and Rasha first worked together as initiative leaders in the United Nations for Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) where they led high impact projects centring around the diffusion of information and communication (ICT) technology.
The projects included poverty survey automation, which improved data collection and analysis in order to provide better and more efficient service to the poorest neighbourhoods and procedures for urban planning process using ICT tools and better data management to increase downward accountability to the community.
“We have lead both training and related projects that resulted in unifying and computerizing essential shelter data for displaced population after the conflicts. The initiative has made information concerning shelter provisions and replacements more reliable and transparent for displaced families.”
-Bassma Ali and Rasha Abu-Safiah
The success of these initiatives enabled Bassma and Rasha to establish GGateway, a social enterprise that helps youth in Gaza to deliver IT services to the world since Gaza is sieged and Information Technology is borderless industry.
Many IT students in Gaza have trouble finding jobs after graduation. In fact, nearly 50% of the working-age people in Gaza are unemployed. The problem is more chronic among women, 92% of IT Females in Gaza are unemployed. This is a particularly hopeless statistic because of the land, air and sea blockades surrounding the country. Work is scarce for the booming population living within a confined space.
GGateway creates an end to end solution by connecting talented young people with international employers and jobs that can be performed remotely.
“GGateway aims to reduce the high unemployment rate among IT graduates in Gaza by mobilizing donor funds and business revenue to establish a learning workplace. Graduates leave the enterprise after approximately 12 months of training and work experience as qualified Project Associates with employable CV’s.”
-GGateway website
In building this program, Bassma and Rasha are dedicated to helping ambitious women like themselves. In an effort to promote equality, they reserve space so that at least half of GGateway’s participants can be women.
The program has been a huge success — with over 800 graduates trained. In 2018 Bassma and Rasha were featured in Time Magazine’s “Next Generation Leaders”.
As GGateway continues to grow, the women are looking forward to exploring a new terrain for their entrepreneurial spirits: Aotearoa.
“Besides exploring New Zealand culture and settling down. We are planning to better define our business and ensure its visibility based on stakeholder and community groups.”
-Bassma Ali and Rasha Abu-Safiah
They say they are looking forward to being introduced to the ecosystem, making business connections, working on projects as a team, and receiving advice and encouragement from their peers in the Edmund Hillary Fellowship.
Are you a visionary entrepreneur, investor, or changemaker building solutions to global challenges? You can bring your vision to reality from New Zealand by joining the Edmund Hillary Fellowship. Apply here.
