How TAP Connects Palestinian Talent to Global Tech Opportunities

When Chris Vezjak first began hiring developers through a small outsourcing operation in Palestine, the maths simply didn’t add up. For every open role, hundreds of applications flooded in - many from candidates with impressive portfolios, prestigious internships, and rigorous technical training. Yet, the bottleneck remained: only one person could be hired, leaving the rest to navigate a local economy with limited opportunities. That imbalance became the starting point for TAP, a platform designed to connect Palestinian and broader MENA talent directly with global employers through a structured support network powered by technology. Today, TAP operates as one of the largest platforms in the region, offering mentorship, career coaching, and AI-assisted matching to help candidates secure remote roles, all while remaining free for the job seekers themselves.

The realisation that talent was being wasted was immediate for Vezjak and his co-founder, Jafar Shunnar. While running their initial software house, Kiitos, they saw the human toll of the "access gap" firsthand. “We saw really closely how many applications there were - hundreds per job. Highly promising individuals, but we could only choose one. Then you ask: what happens to the other couple hundred?” Vezjak tells StartupScene. Contrary to popular belief in the tech sector, the issue wasn't a lack of training. “Everyone assumes they need more upskilling, but that’s not the case. They already have internships. They’re already in the top 10% of their class. What they really need is access.”

For Vezjak, this mission is deeply personal. Despite being half Palestinian, he didn’t have the chance to visit the Middle East until he was 30, prompted by an invitation from a classmate during his MBA in France. It was during this trip that the disconnect between skill and economic opportunity became unavoidable. He had already begun collaborating with Shunnar, who was working in IT outsourcing at the time. “I became his first client. That’s when I realised how strong he was technically. When I visited Palestine, it became clear,” Vezjak recalls. “There were incredibly capable young people, but the local job market couldn’t absorb them. That’s when we started thinking about how to connect this talent to global opportunities.”

Initially, the duo operated under a traditional outsourcing model, but they quickly grew disillusioned with the industry's standard practices. “IT outsourcing didn’t make sense to me. You take as much money as possible from companies and pay as little as possible to individuals,” Vezjak explains. “It creates a horrible dynamic.” The structure also created a paradox for growth: “If you train someone well, they leave. If you don’t, they’re not competitive. So we asked ourselves: why be the middleman at all?” This realisation led to the launch of TAP in 2020, shifting the focus from being a job provider to an opportunity enabler. “We wanted to empower talent directly instead of inserting ourselves between them and the opportunity.”

The platform functions by vetting candidates across software development, digital marketing, and business, then surrounding them with a massive network of international supporters. “We built a network of hundreds of people all over the world who want to support youth in underserved communities,” Vezjak says. These supporters are often founders or hiring managers who provide the social capital many candidates lack. “We call them mentors, but they’re really just people helping, like friends who introduce you to opportunities. Once youth are plugged into these groups, the magic happens. They start gaining confidence, talking to people, learning, and eventually they land jobs.”

Behind this human element sits an "orchestration layer" that uses technology to manage these connections at scale. Vezjak notes that everything is orchestrated technically, with a significant system in the background managing introductions and prioritising relationships most likely to lead to employment. “Mentors don’t just support, they also come from where jobs exist. So we optimise to understand which mentors are closest to opportunities.” With a recent $1 million investment in early 2025, TAP is now aiming to create 500 high-impact remote jobs, proving that the real barrier to success isn't a lack of skills, but a lack of a seat at the global table.