Mission & Objectives

The Palestine Information and Communications Technology Incubator (PICTI), is an independent Palestinian organization based in Al-Bireh with a branch in Gaza. PICTI has been created through the initiative and support of the Palestinian Information Technology Community. PICTI and its partner organization PITA, have as their mission the revitalization and the sustainable growth of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector in Palestine.

The strategic core components of PICTI include the Incubator facility that offers professional business services to Palestinian entrepreneurs who have mature concepts for unique and innovative ICT products assessed to have strong market potential.

These core elements will form the backbone of PICTI’s operations and its support to the ICT sector in Palestine as well as address many of the unique challenges facing its development, growth, and expansion.   PICTI looks forward to continue working with Palestinian ICT firms to jointly identify, develop, and implement new initiatives that will be of significant benefit to the sector and the Palestinian economy in general.

The key competitive advantages of PICTI include its governance structure that provides access to economic clusters, its dedicated staff with incubation know-how, its clients and pipeline of entrepreneurial ideas, and an initiative underway to structure a seed fund for the benefit of pre-revenue start-up companies incubated at PICTI. PICTI aims to develop the Palestinian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) as well as high growth model sector as a mean to generate new jobs, attract foreign investment and improve the economic situation in Palestine.

PICTI is eager to join with the ICT community to ensure that the Palestinian people become a dynamic participant in the global spread, adoption and utilization of information technologies with all the resulting benefits that can be obtained.

PICTI will continue its endeavors to ensure that the Palestinian people become a dynamic participant in the global spread, adoption and utilization of information technologies with all the resulting benefits that can be obtained.

Contact info: Eng. Hasan Omar – PICTI Manager  |  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | www.fb.com/PICTI.BIC | +970 2 240 9290

• Mission Statement:
  
  The Palestine Information Communications Technology Incubator (PICTI) assists technology entrepreneurs to commercialize their ideas by designing, developing, implementing and promoting those initiatives that will support the development of entrepreneurial business ventures by providing them with an integrated package of world-class business development services that will nurture and support the commercialization of ideas and enhance the development and growth of dynamic enterprises including micro, small, medium and high growth model.
   
• Stratigic Objective:
  
  Political uncertainty and severe economic conditions continue to severely impact the ability of Palestine’s ICT sector to efficiently, effectively, or competitively gain access to markets for its goods and services. The specific actions required to overcome these impediments will be a key focus of PICTI in the design, development, and implementation of the ICT sector support infrastructure that will be established. PICTI will craft promotion and marketing strategies that will separately and uniquely focus on the development of, and access to, business opportunities in regional and international markets for Palestinian ICT firms. But most importantly, PICTI will identify and support the technical, intellectual and managerial talent of young entrepreneurs who can become the backbone of a dynamic export market for ICT products and services in Palestine.
   
• Objectives:

PICTI’s objectives will be accomplished through a tightly integrated set of initiatives that will require the active participation and cooperation from a wide cross section of Palestinian public and private organizations.  These proposed initiatives form a linked set of building blocks that will produce significant ICT sector integration and coordination.  This will facilitate and promote the full utilization of intellectual talent, financial resources, and technical expertise. The development of these linkages will produce the greatest opportunity to achieve PICTI goals and objectives.  These core elements include:

• • • Organize an ICT Incubator that will offer professional business services to entrepreneurs who have mature concepts for unique and innovative products assessed to have strong market potential.
    • Assist existing Palestinian ICT firm’s access regional and international markets.
    • Help non-ICT industry sectors integrate ICT into their business operations.
    • Create promotion and marketing strategies focused on regional and international markets.
    • Introduce PICTI’s ICT oriented business creation/development goals and objectives and solicit ideas, comments, and suggestions from local government, community, and academic organizations.
    • Create and nurture relationships with bi/multilateral development organizations in order to cooperate on joint economic development initiatives that have an ICT component.
    • Work with regional/international investors and financial institutions to create a loan fund for new ICT enterprises in Palestine while also providing investment capital for ICT firms and non ICT companies.
    • Facilitate establishment of market driven industry-university linkage initiative focusing on developing a world-class ICT curriculum.
    • Advertise, market, and ‘brand’ the Palestine Information Communications Technology Incubator (PICTI).

 

• Global Market Focus:
  
  PICTI utilizes a diverse network of industry professionals that will help identify and assess future ICT development trends where high-value-added regional and/or international niche markets will emerge. Within these niche technology applications, it will be necessary to identify those that will be applicable to a wide cross section of industry sectors and that will maintain strong, sustainable growth acceleration into the future. The Incubator will work closely with its client firms to channel and focus their entrepreneurial zeal and technical talent into developing those expertise required for successful entrée into these valuable niche markets.
   
• Industry-University Linkages:
  
  One of PICTI’s core objectives is the establishment of a dynamic, market driven industry-university linkage program that will focus on identifying the key technical and managerial curriculum that will be essential for university graduates to be internationally competitive in their respective field.
  
  The establishment of a finely tuned and calibrated market driven, ICT educational and training program will produce the technical talent that is required to create those companies that can compete on a regional and international level. In order to accomplish this, an additional key objective is the creation of a dynamic international network of industry-university professionals and hands-on practitioners that can be utilized to identify and target ICT market trends.
  
  This network will specifically identify and assess current, and most importantly, future ICT development trends where high-value niche markets will emerge and maintain strong, sustainable growth acceleration across multiple global industry sectors. The Incubator would then transfer this intelligence to the University sector so curriculum and training can be customized and adapted to prepare student to dynamically pursue opportunities in these exciting new markets. PICTI then would provide a full suite of professional business services to those students who exhibit the entrepreneurial zeal, creative spirit, technical talent, and managerial capacity to successfully create a viable and innovative enterprise.
  
  
  PICTI has partnered with Intel corporation and the University of California Berkeley to introduce the Theory to Practice Seminar as part of the technology entrepreneurship education in July, 2008, whereby 30 professors have attended the Seminar to localize and develop curriculum related to technology entrepreneurship at their own campuses.
   
• Business Services Network:
  
  PICTI organizes and coordinates a network of business service professionals that have the necessary practical experience, training and technical skill sets to meet the needs of Incubator clients. The Incubator works with select practitioners across a wide array of professional business services to produce highly customized training and education modules. Where necessary, the practitioners is required to update their subject matter knowledge and core skill sets in order to meet the rigorous instructional quality standards that will be required. PICTI use competitive procurement practices to secure high-quality training for its clients while helping build a strong Palestinian business services industry.