Apricot International exists because of Gaza Sky Geeks. Before founding Apricot, Brandon Pampuch, our Executive Director, had spent over a decade working alongside displaced communities. One of his mentees, Nur, had studied at both Re:Coded—where Brandon served as a board advisor—and Gaza Sky Geeks. She told him plainly: _“You have to check them out.”_ When Brandon visited the Gaza Sky Geeks website, something clicked. The images showed young Palestinians huddled around monitors, teaching one another, sharing knowledge, and building futures. It was raw, real, and powerful. “The hair on the back of my neck stood up,” he recalls. It was clear something extraordinary was happening there. Then came October 7th. Gaza Sky Geeks was disbanded for a time. Many of its employees were either trapped in Gaza or displaced to Cairo and other cities across the region. Brandon flew to Egypt at the behest of Nadia a former community manager for Gaza Sky Geeks who said "if you want to help you have to come meet us". there he listened—really listened—to what the Palestinian tech diaspora needed most. The answer was direct: Secure visas. Education for their children. Jobs. And so, Apricot was born. We began by working closely with the remaining Gaza Sky Geeks team in the West Bank, and with former staff and graduates now displaced across the region. Together, we began collecting names, building networks, and helping place developers in real jobs with real futures. The leadership at Gaza Sky Geeks—especially Alan—was instrumental. They supported outreach, shared candidate pipelines, and even helped fund a job board to make sure no one was left behind. Today, we’re proud to say that former Gaza Sky Geeks engineers are actively employed, building global products, and helping lead teams across the world. But more than that, we’re proud to carry forward their spirit.
By:
Brandon Pampuch
