The Playing Cards:
Palestinian Startup Founders
By Nadeen Abu Ghazaleh
Published 29.11.2025
An Ode to Palestinian Resilience and Entrepreneurial Spirit
The Palestinian founder playing card project emerged from a powerful vision: to celebrate the resilience and entrepreneurial spirit that defines Palestine’s tech ecosystem. Today, as we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, this initiative shines a spotlight on founders building companies, creating jobs, and demonstrating that innovation knows no boundaries.
Although there are hundreds of Palestinian startups, we’ve limited our selection to the founders we’ve had the pleasure of working with. Each of these cards represents more than just a startup; it’s a story of perseverance, innovation, and the belief that technology transforms communities. We’re celebrating achievement while honouring the Palestinian spirit of creating despite adversity.
During the 90’s - the infancy of the internet - Palestinians were not slow to realise the infinite potential of the internet and its impact in a business context. Embracing the powers of the internet, software companies and IT-enabled business popped up all over Palestine, and during the noughts startup bootcamps and IT skills development courses quickly followed suit.
A Brief History of Palestinian Entrepreneurship
Diversity and Innovation:
The Palestinian Tech Ecosystem Today
Today the Palestinian tech ecosystem demonstrates the power of diversity and innovation: founders from different backgrounds and regions create solutions addressing both local challenges and global opportunities. The ecosystem thrives on resilience, adaptability, and commitment to deliver excellence.
The Palestinian tech ecosystem has evolved into a significant economic force generating $5.5 trillion in economic activity, supported by 265 companies, 51 investors, and 20 acceleration programs, and distinguished by its sector diversity, with founders applying cutting-edge technologies across healthcare, finance, and education, while demonstrating remarkable founder diversity through gender representation and regional collaboration
Our Journey with the Palestinian Ecosystem
At Olives & Heather, we've had the privilege of working closely with Palestinian founders and ecosystem companies, witnessing their incredible journeys and transformative impact. Our collaboration has been humbling and inspiring, revealing the depth of talent, resilience, and vision within Palestine's tech community.
We've been with them through it all to help create a great ground for growth, helping them shape their marketing and branding strategy from frictional marketing services to comprehensive branding, lead magnets, and social media designs. We've seen founders navigate complex challenges with remarkable grace and determination, witnessing sleepless nights, moments of doubt, and breakthrough celebrations. What stands out is their unwavering commitment to their missions – they're not just building companies; they're building futures for their communities and creating lasting social impact.
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Let's discuss how we can help your business!
Generate Your Own Card
When designing the playing cards, we wanted to create them in a way that would encourage other founders to create their own. Therefore, we created the cards using ChatGPT, and we’re sharing the prompt with you in the hope that you’ll join our celebration.
Template Name: Palestinian Founders Trading Card — Base Style v1
Prompt: Palestinian Founders Trading Card
Goal:
Create a high-resolution, portrait-format collectible trading card (2.5x3.5 ratio) that celebrates Palestinian entrepreneurship.
Concept:
A richly textured tribute to Palestinian entrepreneurship, celebrating Founder/CEO [Name of founder] of [Company Name] (Industry).
The card should embody cultural richness, empowerment, and a deep sense of Palestinian heritage and pride.
Art & Style:
Style: Semi-realistic digital illustration — keep likeness to the founder but with soft painterly or slightly cartoonish rendering (smooth skin tones, simplified details, gentle outlines).
Mood: Empowering and proud
Color Palette: Warm, earthy tones — with Palestinian flag colors (Red: #E4312b – Black #000000 – Green #149954 – White #FFFFFF)
Textures & Patterns: Incorporate Tatreez embroidery motifs for depth and authenticity·
Layout & Text Elements
Main Focal Point:
Use [uploaded headshot image] as the professional portrait
Lighting: Soft and warm
Text Hierarchy:
Title (Card Header): Palestinian Founders
Name (Headline): [Founder Name]
Professional Title: Founder & CEO
Company Name: [Company Name]
Logo: Place [uploaded company logo image] clearly below the company name
Detailed Information Section:
Location: Palestine
Industry: [Industry]
Skills: [Skill 1], [Skill 2], [Skill 3] — display as decorative rating bars for visual interest
Visual Composition
Background:
Maintain strong contrast for clear text and logo visibility
Technical & Quality Details
Maintain consistent margins suitable for print
Ensure excellent text readability despite detailed textures
Keep the company logo crisp and proportional
Design should look like one piece of a unified collectible set
Keep the same composition, typography, and layout as the reference image — only update the founder’s photo, name, company, and details.
Maintain identical proportions, framing, colours, and overall structure as the reference.
Note:
Reference the attached card as the design and layout template for this new card.