Palestinian firms face challenges in recruiting and finding new employees with skill sets that match the demands of new client projects. This can lead to long delays in recruiting staff or mismatches between recruited staff and the requirements of the client project. 

The seed grants’ objective will be to de-risk, encourage, and enable the launch of new HR providers for IT sector in response to the lack of professional and commercial HR service providers in the West Bank and Gaza. HR companies for IT sector will be expected to bring the modern recruitment best practices, technology, databases, psychological selection tools, or candidate management practices to the Palestinian market. 

These seed grants will support service providers with resources to test and validate a business model that is financially sustainable as detailed in a credible business model submitted by the applicant. These costs can include working capital, software, market testing, business development, organizational development, and capacity building in accordance with TechStart’s Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF)HR services for the IT market can include the efficient management of employment, starting from recruitment all the way to termination. Companies will need to register a subsidiary/ branch or new company in the West Bank and Gaza (or to partner with a local company) and provide a business model that allows them to monetize their services sustainably in the West Bank and Gaza. HR service providers will need to demonstrate that they have the necessary processes and tools, a track record of recruiting employees for the IT sector internationally, and the ability to rely on a market-based business model without public subsidies. Only companies demonstrating that they have the capabilities to establish new business operation without additional technical assistance from the project will be selected. 

The New HR Service Providers’ funding is expected to be provided in the range of a 50/50 co-funding basis. Women-led businesses will be eligible for a greater share of co-financing of a 70/30 match.

NOTE*: Legal technical assistance will be available to local and foreign companies to support them to register new companies, subsidiaries, branches in West Bank.