"Antifragile" is how Christian Vezjak, co-founder of the Dutch-Palestinian start-up Talent Acceleration Platform (TAP), describes the company's philosophy amid the Israel-Gaza war.
The upskilling and job placement company's mission is to empower youth in the Palestine territories, Jordan and Lebanon by helping tech talent in these fragile markets to secure remote jobs at international companies. The career accelerator offers training, mentorship and job placement services, while promising its hiring partners a diverse and qualified talent pool.
The start-up's "antifragile" approach draws on Lebanese-American thinker Nassim Taleb's titular book referring to a category of things that become stronger from exposure to stress, disorder, volatility and turmoil.
"I like to call TAP an antifragile organisation," Mr Vezjak says. "It's about being part of something which, when you try to break it, it grows bigger, not just gets more strong, but actually grows bigger and gets better."
With offices in Nablus and Gaza, as well as a base in Amsterdam, TAP's antifragile mindset is helping to guide the start-up as its operations have been severely affected by the year-long Israel-Gaza war, but it is still working to assist those it can.
Before the war started on October 7, 2023 "we were booming in a really positive way in September last year, we were telling our story left and right, it was really great, people were hiring TAP-ers, even in Gaza as well", Mr Vezjak says.
"Then all this work we put in went to waste the next month when companies said 'What is going on? I did not know this is so complex. That the situation is so fragile.' And all the work we had done went down the drain."
In its latest report on the Palestinian economy, the International Labour Organisation said last month that Gaza’s unemployment rate has surged to nearly 80 per cent and its economy has contracted by almost 85 per cent during the past 12 months of Israeli bombardment.
The occupied West Bank also suffered, with unemployment levels reaching 34.9 per cent and the economy shrinking by 21.7 per cent between early October last year and the end of September 2024, compared to the previous 12-month period, the report said.
The overall unemployment rate in the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank combined climbed to an average of 51.1 per cent, with real GDP plunging by an average of 32.2 per cent during the period.
The tech industry contributed almost $500 million to the Palestinian economy in 2021, accounting for close to 3 per cent of GDP in the West Bank and Gaza, a report in June by the World Bank found.
As the occupied territories grapple with high unemployment rates, remote work has become a prominent trend and a necessity in a political unstable environment, as it transcends geographical boundaries and allows Palestinians to access a global job market. Before the war, particularly in Gaza, the technology industry was a significant economic driver. This was due to the abundance of tech talent that was capable of working remotely for companies in the West Bank and overseas from the besieged enclave.
About 80 per cent of the Palestinian tech industry is geared towards outsourcing services for companies abroad, according to the United States Agency for International Development.
Regional solutions and opportunities
To counter the war-triggered setback, it took TAP six months to rebuild trust among global companies seeking to hire remotely in the Palestinian territories but the operational and psychological impact on the business and its employees was immense.
"We got even more support than before the war, but it still took a massive toll on operations," Mr Vezjak says.
TAP's employees in the Gaza office "went through hell and they are trying their best right now to keep working ... they're strong. They were born strong, they were raised strong and they are strong today, they are just pushing through."
The war caused "psychological damage" to the start-up's employees across its offices as they watched the unfolding of the unprecedented humanitarian crisis, relentless bombing and catastrophic death toll.
To overcome the hit to its business, TAP quickly changed tack, entering Jordan in the first quarter of 2024 and Lebanon in the second quarter, earlier than planned, to maintain growth momentum by tapping into new markets.
The prolonged war has created reluctance among western countries to hire from the Palestinian territories due to the risk and complexity of the situation. Mr Vezjak believes the unemployment problem in these underserved markets needed to be solved in the Middle East "by the people who actually care about it".
About half of TAP's business now comes from the Middle East, with growing support for talent in these underserved markets.
"We can solve our own problems. I've considered moving to the region. We see an increase in support from people locally and 50 per cent of our business comes from the Middle East right now."
In a visit to Dubai for the Gitex show in October, Mr Vezjak said he met chief executives of tech companies that were keen to help and hire talent from the Palestinian territories.
The co-founder sees an opportunity for placing TAP-ers with companies in the Gulf, particularly in Dubai and Riyadh, where there is already a large Palestinian and Lebanese diaspora, he says.
Empowering local talent
The idea for the company came with Mr Vezjak's first trip to the Palestinian territories in 2018 when he met Jafar Shunnar, now co-founder and chief technology officer. The pair first met during their MBA programme at Insead.
The visit resonated deeply with Mr Vezjak – who was born in Bolivia to refugee parents and who himself has Palestinian roots. For him, solving the problem of a shortage in local job opportunities is a pursuit of social justice and inspiring others to make meaningful change, he says.
Inspired by conversations with Mr Shunnar about finding solutions to unemployment in the territories and with Mr Vezjak's own determination to create jobs for youth and women in Gaza, the duo founded Kiitos in 2019. The start-up was aimed at helping underrepresented Palestinian software engineers find their way in the global tech market.
In 2020, TAP emerged from Kiitos to prepare trainees for positions in international companies. When employers began requesting Kiitos-trained talent for other tech roles, TAP took off as its own company.
In 2022, TAP secured a partnership with the Swiss Development and Co-operation Agency and in 2023 it teamed up with the Dutch Foreign Ministry to create more jobs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Since its inception, the start-up has helped to train and secure job placements for 500 people and it currently has an 80 per cent conversion rate, which refers to the proportion of trainees successfully placed in jobs.
TAP's partners include the World Bank, Google, Udacity, Adwise, among others, according to its website.
Swiss drone manufacturer Wingtra, German MedTech company Floy and Austrian automation technology firm DeepOpinion are among the companies to have hired TAP-ers.
But it was initially difficult pitching the idea to investors, who viewed this as development work that lies in the domain of NGOs, Mr Vezjak says.
"The most underutilised resource in the world is not lithium, it's human brains. There are millions of people out there who want jobs and [the world] is just not paying attention to them," Mr Vezjak says.
The start-up was initially bootstrapped by the two co-founders before securing grants from the Dutch and Swiss governments. In October 2023, it closed a $1 million seed round, led by Wamda Capital with participation from the World Bank, Loyal VC and other angel investors.
While the current funding for TAP is adequate, the company is seeking additional financing to enable its students to become entrepreneurs in their own right, solve local problems and hire local workers, Mr Vezjak says.
To enable its next phase of growth, TAP now needs to "build alliances and partnerships and talk to people about our story".
The co-founder has no plans to exit the business any time soon. "I don't think I would give this company to anybody, I don’t think would sell it, because then you would attach yourself to someone else’s culture," he says. However, there is potential to list the company in the next five to 10 years, he adds.
For now, the start-up is focused on navigating turbulent waters as the wars continue.
"Work is a way to channel your frustrations and channel your purpose – and purpose is what keeps us going," Mr Vezjak says.
"One of the biggest chronic diseases in youth is the lack of work ... and in the end what we're doing is what makes us antifragile as an organisation."
Q&A with Christian Vezjak, co-founder of TAP:
Why is establishing a business with social impact important?
Economic empowerment can be the key to addressing instability in underserved regions. When I launched TAP, the goal was to create jobs for talented individuals in Palestine, where economic opportunities are limited. I quickly realised that creating sustainable employment could have far-reaching impacts – not only lifting individuals out of poverty but also creating a ripple effect across families and communities. I believe that social impact and business profitability don't have to be mutually exclusive and TAP has proven that it's possible to scale a business while making a meaningful difference.
What new skills have you learnt in the process?
Starting and scaling TAP has been a crash course in adaptability, leadership and fund-raising. One of the most valuable skills I’ve developed is navigating the complex world of fund-raising, learning how to pitch both to impact-focused and commercial investors. Finally, building an international team has taught me to be more culturally attuned, leading with empathy and understanding, especially in regions like Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan where we operate.
How does your business differ from market rivals?
We stand out by focusing on job creation, not just education. While other platforms might offer training or education services, we go beyond that by ensuring the participants in our programmes actually secure meaningful employment. We leverage a combination of intensive training, mentorship through an expert network, and partnerships with companies to match our trainees with job opportunities. Additionally, our model emphasises scalability, with a focus on regions like Palestine and Jordan, where talent is abundant but opportunities are scarce. We're not just a training platform; we're a career accelerator in markets where such support is rare.
Did you set up the business at the right time for the market?
Yes, we set up the business at a critical time for the market. The growing global demand for remote talent and lack of local opportunities, coupled with the increasing instability in the Middle East, created a unique need in the region.
Where do you see yourself and your business in five years?
In five years, I see TAP as a leading player in job creation across the Mena region, helping tens of thousands of young people secure remote work. We’ll have expanded into more countries, particularly in North Africa and the Gulf, and will have partnerships with governments and corporations that recognise the importance of investing in local talent. I see myself continuing to push the boundaries of what’s possible for impact-driven businesses, potentially exploring new sectors where we can create jobs and generate value.
What do you wish you had for your start-up to attain Uber-like success?
a. A seamless and fully automated platform that not only trains but also matches and tracks candidates' job placements, reducing our operational burden to zero.
b. Large-scale partnerships with global corporations that commit to hiring thousands of our trainees, providing a steady stream of jobs.
c. Major government contracts that finance job creation programmes in underserved regions, ensuring a sustainable and scalable business model without reliance on grants or philanthropy.
Company Profile:
Company Name: TAP (Talent Accelerator Platform)
Date Started: 2022
Founders: Christian Vezjak and Jafar Shunnar
Based in: West Bank and Amsterdam, with operations across Jordan and Lebanon
Number of Staff: 25
Investment Stage: Seed stage
Investment Amount Raised So Far: €1 million ($1.08 million)
