We’re so excited about the progress we’ve made so far - Microsoft, Talabat, Careem and Outschool are among the  companies that have joined to hire talent from Palestine. 

We can see the campaign is working, we're setting really ambitious goals: 100 more companies with 50 + employees to commit by 30th June, this is where we will see the real impact at scale.

For smaller companies we’re still happy to support you through our TAP & bees. Don’t miss out on their initiatives if unsure, apply!

Our goal is to reach 200 companies making

commitments by June 30th, 2024 

Exceptional Engineers

Strong Talent

• Palestinians have always valued education. University graduation rates are higher than in the USA. Plus, at Manara we train and vet our software community to ensure they meet high global standards.

Diverse

• Palestine is a diverse country in all senses: ethnicity, religion, languages... and gender. It's one of few places in the world where women study technical fields at equal rates to men.

Resilient

• Our founders met in Gaza in 2014 and reconnected in Silicon Valley years later. We could never forget the people we knew in Gaza: their willingness to reach for their dreams despite all odds inspired us. We launched Manara in 2018 to help them... and knew companies hiring them would benefit too.

Flexible

• Whatever your location needs, someone will want to meet them. Most engineers prefer to stay home & work remotely, but they can shift to meet your time zone and we can figure out any other logistical hurdles. Some prefer to relocate... Europe, Middle East, and Canada are easiest for visa sponsorship.

FAQs

How can Gazans safely work right now?  

Most can't yet, but we are hopeful that Gazans will be online and safe enough to work in the coming months. We know they will be desperate for jobs - both to gain income and a sense of normalcy. In the meantime there are some Gazans who have evacuated and are eager to work ASAP.

Why do West Bankers need jobs?

While most people in the West Bank have been able to continue accessing internet from a safe home/office during the current conflict. But even before the current conflict, Palestinians had a high unemployment rate and the West Bank economy has also lost an enormous number of jobs due to cuts in philanthropic funding, restrictions Israel has imposed on mobility, etc. 

Is it legal to hire & pay Palestinians? 

Yes, it's legal to hire people from Gaza and the West Bank as contractors or through an Employer of Record. If you're uncertain about the process of hiring software engineers from Palestine remotely, check out our guidebook or schedule a call with our founder. Our team can guide you on this... and if no other options meet your needs, we can facilitate your payroll for you so that your contract would be with a USA entity.

Can opportunities be for relocation? 

• - Middle East (UAE, Turkey, etc)
• - Europe (UK, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Poland, etc)
• - Canada

I have filled out the commitment form, what is the process after that? 

Amazing! You will hear back from our team within 3 business days to schedule an intake call. If you're not yet ready to hire, we'll align on the best timing to reconnect.

Will there be any hiring fees? 

Yes, we ask that companies pay fees for our services as long as this isn't a barrier to creating impact. Manara is a social impact startup launched to support talent in the Middle East & North Africa, with a focus on Palestine and women throughout the region. The fees we charge hiring partners enable us to offer training to our talent community for free. If our fees are ever a barrier to an engineer reaching their dream job, please let us know so we can waive them. Note: Talent from Palestine will not be charged for our services.

Don't people need urgent humanitarian aid, not jobs?

People need both. We are constantly being contacted by members of our community who are ready to work and lost their jobs. However, humanitarian needs are dire too. We've been supporting our community by connecting them to our mentor network around the world that has been sending financial support directly as needed. Many of our community members are also running crowdfunding campaigns that they are sharing directly online.

But others in Gaza aren't as lucky. We strongly urge you to support them financially by donating to organizations providing food, water, medical supplies, and other humanitarian relief. Here are some recommendations sourced directly from our community:

- United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA): www.unrwa.org

- Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF): www.pcrf.net 

- International Medical Corps (IMC): www.internationalmedicalcorps.org 

About Manara

Manara is a social impact startup whose mission is to connect the top tech talent in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) to the best jobs in the world and thus diversify the global tech sector. We were born out of our work in Gaza, and are especially committed to women throughout the region and Palestine. We are backed by the world’s top investors including Y Combinator, Seedcamp, Precursor Ventures, Neo, Stripe, and angels including Reid Hoffman, Paul Graham and Marc Benioff.

We identify the top talent in this region, run the largest computer science community with 50% women, provide talent development training, and refer the best engineers to the best companies in our hiring partner network. Our alumni work at companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, and more. Learn more here.