ICT

The existence of educated labor pool, in addition to Palestine's geographic proximity to high technology centers are two factors that have greatly contributed to the sector's fast growth. Palestinian universities are capitalizing on the worldwide shortage of IT specialists by providing a strong emphasis on IT training in their curriculums. Sun Microsystems, for example, has donated laboratories to three Palestinian universities in order to train IT students.

A number of universities in Palestine have established Information Technology Units. The objective is to provide a specialized curriculum emphasizing areas that will be critical to the emerging Palestinian State. These units seek to graduate students already well versed in the special needs of ministries, municipalities, telecommunications companies, as well as banking and finance entities.

A commitment to international quality standards, such as CMM and ISO, and supportive international trade agreements, are key reasons for why leading names such as IDS, Oracle, 3Com and Timex have chosen to establish offices, R&D operations, or links in Palestine.

Types of IT Companies represented:

Application Software Companies.
Professional IT Consulting Service Providers.
Professional Network Service Suppliers.
Software and Solution Development Companies.
Internet Service Providers.
Professional and Technical Training Providers.
Suppliers of Computing & Telecommunications equipment.

Palestinian Information Technology Association (PITA)
The Palestinian Information Technology Association (PITA) was founded in Ramallah, Palestine in early 1999. It is a not-for-profit, membership-based organization for locally registered companies working in the IT sector. The association represents more than 163 companies from various sub-sectors.

Characteristics and indicators for the ICT sector:

The privatization of this sector can be realized as one of the successful experiences in Palestine. This experience has proven the ability of the Palestinian private sector to succeed, grow, and develop. A careful look at the activities, and achievements of the telecom, and information technology sectors reveal the following characteristics and indicators:

Palestine has all the basic elements for the advancement of the IT sector.

100% digital telecommunication infrastructure that is entirely developed by the Palestinian private sector.
Palestine hosts more than 698 companies specialized in the field of information and communication technology.
The IT sector contribution is around 4% of the total Palestinian GDP.
651 million dollars is the net contribution of the ICT sector in the Palestinian market.
The market has over 4.3 million mobile phone subscribers, over 470 thousand fixed-line subscribers, in addition to 67 radio stations , 345 operating in the field of Telecommunications activates .

Inspiring Business

Value Proposition Presentation

Investment in the Information & Communication Technology Sector