- A new pathway connecting Palestinian graduates to regional tech opportunities
- Universities, students, and industry brought together under one initiative
Ramallah, Palestine, 14 July 2026 – Expleo, the global engineering, technology, and consulting service provider, announces a strategic partnership with Intersect Innovation Hub, a non-profit business incubator backed by Bank of Palestine, a leading financial institution in Palestine, to build a home-grown, job-ready tech talent pipeline for deployment on Expleo-led projects in Palestine and across the Middle East.
As businesses accelerate AI-driven transformation, project requirements are becoming more specialised. Bridging the gap between academic learning and industry expectations has become one of the biggest barriers to finding suitable talent. Organisations continue to invest significant time in helping new hires build the practical skills, industry exposure, and project experience needed before they can contribute to customer engagements. Career-connected learning is the need of the hour, and the responsibility cannot sit with universities alone. Businesses are recognising the value of engaging much earlier in the talent journey.
This partnership takes a different approach to that familiar industry problem. Rather than relying only on traditional training delivery models, Expleo and Intersect will work directly with Palestinian universities to shape technology coursework around the skills employers actually need, so that graduates are ready to contribute to live projects from day one, not months into onboarding.
Each partner brings its own expertise. Expleo is an established services provider in the Middle East, partnering with companies across projects in banking, engineering, digital assurance, and broader technology consulting. Intersect acts as the connector to the local ecosystem: students, entrepreneurs, and universities. Meanwhile, Bank of Palestine provides the strategic backing for the partnership through its support of Intersect, building on its long-standing commitment to innovation, entrepreneurship, and human capital development. By supporting initiatives that strengthen the link between academia and industry, the Bank is helping create sustainable pathways for Palestinian talent to access regional and global technology opportunities. Together, the partners aim to build opportunities for Palestinian talent, strengthen the link between industry and academia, and help grow a technology ecosystem that can hold its own regionally and globally.
A partnership centred on three priorities
Talent development and deployment: Nurturing Palestinian engineering graduates to make them deployment-ready, whether that’s supporting Expleo’s operations inside Palestine or contributing remotely to Expleo’s Middle East client engagements. The intent is to develop, connect and mobilise quality talent, making this a repeatable, sustainable channel.
Academia support for skill development: Co-creating technology-focused course content with Palestinian universities so that what students learn maps more closely to evolving industry needs, closing the education-to-employment gap.
Innovation and ecosystem enablement: Creating a space where companies, universities, and local institutions can come together to advance AI engineering and assurance capabilities and solve shared industry problems, building a self-sustaining model for lasting economic growth.
The partnership supports a longer-term ambition to strengthen Palestine’s position in the global technology landscape, delivering benefits for enterprises across sectors including banking, financial services, insurance, telecommunications, manufacturing, FMCG, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, as well as government and public-sector organisations.
Phani Tangirala, Managing Director – India of Expleo, said: “At its core, this partnership is about people: creating opportunities, building talent, and connecting it to work that matters. Intersect and Bank of Palestine understand what’s happening on the ground in Palestine’s universities and communities, and we bring the projects and platforms where that talent can grow. It’s a reciprocal model, and together, we’re building the kind of systems that open up real, global-scale work for Palestine’s next generation of engineers.“
For his part, Mr. Mahmoud Shawa, CEO of Bank of Palestine, “affirmed that this partnership represents a strategic milestone in the Group’s journey toward building global partnerships that deliver sustainable impact for Palestinian youth. He added that it reflects the Group’s vision of investing in human capital as the true driver of development and innovation.“
Shawa added, through Intersect Group, we are working to build a platform that connects Palestinian talent with the global economy, opening new horizons for young people, engineers, and entrepreneurs to learn, develop, and work on international projects. This will enhance their competitiveness and create real economic opportunities within Palestine.
For her part, Dr. Mona Al-Dmaidi, speaking on behalf of Intersect Group, “affirmed that this partnership reflects the vision of the Group and its main supporter, Bank of Palestine, in recognizing the importance of investing in Palestinian talent as the foundation of development and innovation.”
Through our collaboration with Expleo, we seek to build an integrated entrepreneurial journey that begins with Palestinian youth at the university level, continues through training and capacity-building, and ultimately leads to the creation of quality job opportunities. This partnership will also empower Palestinian talent to contribute to regional and global projects, strengthening their competitiveness and supporting the Palestinian economy, she said.
Media contact
Bharath Kumar Rangarajan
Head of Marketing & Communications Asia
bharathkumar.rangarajan@expleogroup.com
+91 73054 42377
