Request for Interest (RFI) for Implementing Partnership

Contracting Authority - Anera

Anera provides humanitarian assistance and sustainable development to advance the well-being of refugees and other vulnerable communities in the Middle East. Founded in 1968, Anera works on the ground with partners in the West Bank, Jerusalem, Gaza, Lebanon, and Jordan to mobilize resources for immediate emergency relief and for sustainable, long-term health, education, and economic development. Our staff serves in their own communities, navigating within local communities and municipalities to get help where it is needed most.

Anera has more than a decade of experience and proven expertise in youth-based programming. By adapting to crises, market trends, and youth needs, Anera has reached 50,000+ youth with education programs in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan with intensive courses on a host of subjects necessary for succeeding in school or work. In 2019, Anera launched its first iteration of PLUS Palestine as a technology solution to address the unemployment challenge in Palestine and the demand for more high-skilled tech professionals in the MENA region and across the world.

 Summary

The technology sector offers unique benefits for economic development in Palestine. While opportunities are significant, however, there is a mismatch between the tech skills Palestinian workers possess and the skill demand of tech companies, which limits job prospects for new entrants and career growth opportunities for more experienced professionals.

In order to respond to the significant market opportunities present, and to ensure that Palestinian workers and firms have access to these opportunities, it is important to strategically confront specific local challenges. To that end, Anera is seeking to launch a development impact bond (DIB) to deliver results-based funding for initiatives that provide training for workers so they’re prepared to succeed in the tech sector. The program seeks to make available approximately $8 million to focus on the objective of trained and placed workers, as well as increased career opportunities for more senior staff over the next five years,

Anera will intervene in the tech ecosystem at three different levels, with nuanced services based on the context faced by the respective target audience. The key elements of the program’s design are: skills development and career acceleration, mentoring and knowledge transfer, support for tech MSMEs, and employability.

The program we envision will provide training and placement support to 1,600 individuals, including: fresh graduates and early-career professionals, mid-career professionals, and senior enterprise leaders in the sector. Through a combination of technical training, certification, and tailored placement support, we envision delivering the outcome of job attainment and sustainment for individuals, and the technical support and advice that enterprises need to compete. These interventions will ultimately lead to the development of a qualified workforce that the Palestinian tech ecosystem needs to grow.

This RFI presents an exciting opportunity for service providers to actively contribute to the development of the tech ecosystem and workforce in Palestine. By responding to this RFI, service providers will help shape the final considerations for implementation of this program, and identify to prospective funders the capacity of the development sector and private sector to achieve the aspirations of Anera’s DIB.

For more information and inquiries, please visit: anera.org/plus-rfi or email us at [email protected]