Gazan startups get 6 hours of electricity per day. Raise money to change that | Hacker News Reader

Gazan startups get 6 hours of electricity per day. Raise money to change that

powerupgazageeks.com

68 pointsdopeboy26 comments

Hey all - I went to Gaza's first hackathon and it was put on by this organization, Gaza Sky Geeks. I wrote about it to some fanfare on HN [0].

Even with uneven amounts of electricity, I saw Gazan entrepreneurs come in and work hard. They're an amazing group of people and would love any kind of help we can send.

[0] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11858963

Hey all - My name is Mohammad Halimy I have a startup that is incubated in Gaza Sky Geeks and they really helped us take our business to the next level. They are great ! help them and hit donate

Can US entrepreneurs go live in Gaza for a year to help mentor people in the local scene? Is that possible, and helpful?

Gaza Sky Geeks is the haven of gaza's most creative, resilient entrepreneurs and what it gives and offers slams the door in the face of adversities that life in Gaza brings in these promising people's way on a daily basis and opens instead many other doors for opportunities and abilities. Your support serves a noble cause!

I was fortunate enough to get a chance and visit Gaza Sky Geeks as a mentor last year and it is an amazing program. The staff and entrepreneurs work very hard and are very loving people.

This is a great cause that has a direct impact on those living in a place where it is difficult to get what most of us give for granted.

Why don't they use renewable energy? Especially given that solar panels are now dirt cheap, they can do most of the installation work themselves (i bet regulatory red tape in Gaza isn't hard LOL!), and they are in the very sunny climate.

$13000 worth of fuel is probably 20K liters in their prices. That is about 700GJ - something you can produce in that climate, given 20% genset efficiency, with about 21KWp of solar panels which will not cost a lot and will fit on their roof. At least it will provide reliable power for laptops throught the day, and for air conditioning except morning and evening times. Maybe worth moving panel orientation so that face more westward so to increase production during evenings when you need more air conditioning than mornings.

This would be a great approach but restrictions on Gaza make it very difficult to import even basic materials/tools.

If you are familiar with low cost setups and want to give some guidance I am pretty sure the team at GSG would look into it.

"I bet regulatory red tape in Gaza isn't hard" >> You realize that the borders are entirely closed and that hardware can only be brought in with the Israeli army's approval, right? I know a startup founder in Gaza who had to wait 8 months for an Arduino. Nowadays Gaza Sky Geeks brings small equipment to Gaza for founders, but solar panels are a whole other story.

Here's the FAQ from the campaign page:

Why aren't you fundraising for solar panels?

We care deeply about the environment and wish we could use solar panels! We hope solar energy is in Gaza Sky Geeks’ future. In the short term, a generator and fuel are the best option for us because:

Import restrictions make solar an unreliable option: Items brought in and out of Gaza are subject to restrictions. As a result, panels and maintenance parts may not always be available. Also, solar panels only recently became available in Gaza, which means that maintenance/expertise in solar technology is still nascent.

The building we rent cannot accommodate solar: We rent our space and do not have rights to the roof of our building. Even if we did, our building’s roof is covered in water heaters and does not have enough space for the number of solar panels we would need to power a space of our size. Power consistency and ability to meet peak demand is critical when we are running a professional space and charging other companies rent. Due to import restrictions and lack of roof space, we cannot yet guarantee uptime with solar the way we can with a generator.

Solar would cost much more: Through an agreement we have with the United Nations, we receive fuel at a 65% discount to market prices, making it significantly cheaper than solar. In addition, solar is a high up-front investment ($20-30k at a minimum).

NOTE: I'm the co-founder of Gaza Sky Geeks and lived there for 2 years.

I went to Gaza as a mentor in the first hackathon hosted there. I was impressed with the talent and drive by the participants despite the challenges Gazans face with regards to water and power to name a few.

I recently met with the founder of Baskalet game studio in SF and was super impressed by their creativity and growth. If an entrepreneur can succeed in Gaza, they can win anywhere.

It's remarkable to see them push through against so many odds. I can't count how many times I've felt the news traduce and vilify these people, and shamefully I'm guilty of harboring prejudiced.

Seeing similar stories like this makes me want to change all that and I hope I can help somehow.

Providing power is literally enabling hustle in one of the most difficult entrepreneurial climates in the world.

Met some founders from Gaza earlier this year in SF. Super inspiring work they're doing.

Supporting Gaza's geeks from UAE. Great work!

Their resilience is amazing!!

great cause!

This submission has the most egregious abuse of HN vote manipulation I've seen in awhile: http://i.imgur.com/93nnYXh.png

Yeah, that's bad. On the other hand, well-intentioned voting rings due to lack of familiarity with how HN operates (which seems to be the case here) are forgivable if people email us at hn@ycombinator.com and promise not to do it again. It's the more insidious types of vote manipulation that are most worrisome, and I don't see that here, just overenthusiasm and a case of noobness.

Great job!

Good luck, guys!

Support Gazan entrepreneurs

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