Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency announces the winners of the "Al-Quds Hackathon 2026"

Ramallah - The Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency, the executive arm of the Al-Quds Committee chaired by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, announced the names of the winning teams of the "Al-Quds Hackathon 2026", dedicated to Palestinian start-ups, whose activities concluded yesterday, Wednesday, with the participation of more than 120 young men and women representing 8 Palestinian universities, in 35 teams.

The results were announced during a special ceremony held by the Agency at the "Ramallah Expo" exhibition grounds in the city of Ramallah, attended by the Director in charge of managing the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency, Mr. Mohamed Salem Cherkaoui, the Ambassador of Morocco to Palestine, Mr. Abderrahim Meziane, the President of the Higher Council for Innovation and Excellence, Mr. Adnan Samara, as well as representatives of the universities participating in the hackathon and representatives of official and civil society institutions.

The results of the "Al-Quds Hackathon 2026" saw the "Dafater" team win first place in the "FixPal" track, followed by the "Shabab Al-Balad" team from Birzeit University in second place, and the "Ammirha" team from An-Najah University in third place.

In the "QGuide" track, the "Quds Path" team from An-Najah University won first place, "Ataba" second place, and "Qudsly" from Palestine Polytechnic University third place.

In the "Open Track", the "Rafiq" team from Birzeit University won first place, "BlinkVoice" from Al-Quds University, Abu Dis, second place, and "Sahem" from An-Najah University third place.

Mr. Cherkaoui congratulated the participants on the quality of the work presented, which he said reflects the distinctiveness of the Palestinian character, its seriousness and commitment to the causes of the Ummah, as well as the creativity and capacity to devise promising projects that characterize it.

He stressed that the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency's support for such initiatives is part of the genuine and continuous support it provides under the High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, based on confidence in creative Palestinian youth.

He explained that 34 emerging enterprises have, to date, benefited from the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency's project incubator, "BMAQ Innovation Hub", including 8 enterprises of young Palestinians that have reached the acceleration stage, while 3 enterprises have succeeded in establishing their business in Italy and the United Arab Emirates.

Mr. Cherkaoui said that these creations reflect a Palestinian character attached to its land, traditions and national identity, and determined to hold on to life and look to the future with hope.

He affirmed that the Agency will continue to support and accompany the participants, within the limits of available resources, and to draw on their experiences in ways that could inspire their peers in the Arab and Islamic world. In this context, he pointed to the possibility of showcasing these experiences at the "GITEX Africa" events in Marrakech, as well as at the "North Star" events in Dubai.

For his part, Mr. Adnan Samara said that these moments are of particular importance in light of the difficult circumstances experienced by the Palestinian people, expressing his delight at the ideas and projects presented by the young participants and their aspirations for the future.

He explained that the Higher Council for Innovation and Excellence, a presidential institution established to serve creative women and men, accompanies the holders of ideas from the outset and helps develop them from idea to prototype and then into projects and start-ups, and also supports applied scientific research, inviting the innovators and hackathon participants to benefit from the Council's programmes dedicated to supporting innovation and developing ideas and projects.

The Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency had announced, on 15 July, the launch of the "Al-Quds Hackathon 2026", which brought together innovators, developers, designers and entrepreneurs to develop technological solutions responding to real challenges in the city, and to turn ideas into prototypes that can be tested and implemented.

The competition comprised three tracks: "FixPal", for services, maintenance, operations and facilities management, aimed at developing digital solutions to organize the service cycle and support local service providers; "QGuide", for tourism, heritage and cultural storytelling in Al-Quds, through interactive digital solutions and guides based on artificial intelligence technologies, with documentation of sources; and the "Open Track", which enabled the development of innovative technological solutions responding to specific needs in Al-Quds, in fields including health, education, services and the local economy.

The hackathon was preceded by a preparatory programme that included specialized meetings and two rounds of individual mentoring, focusing on identifying problems and beneficiaries, developing and testing prototypes, and setting work priorities. The teams also prepared summaries of their projects, presentations and testable prototypes, documenting their sources, data and the tools used, including artificial intelligence.

On 22 and 23 September, the teams continued developing and testing their projects, before presenting them to the jury in final presentations, concurrently with the public online vote.

The selection of the winners was based on the jury's technical evaluation, weighted at 80%, and the public vote, weighted at 20%, according to criteria including the relevance of the solution to the needs of Al-Quds, the quality of the prototype, its implementation and testing, innovation and added value, feasibility and sustainability, work organization, the contribution of team members, and the quality of the final presentation.

The jury was composed of: Nader Salha, Mohammad Al-Kilani, Samira Al-Qazzaz, Rashed Al-Jayousi, Safaa Nasereddine, Shaher Ighbarieh and Mohannad Zalloum.

Voting was open on the basis of one vote per person in each track, with a mechanism linking the number of votes to the highest number recorded in the track, and rules to prevent vote buying, automated voting and rewards in exchange for votes. After the two scores were calculated, the teams were ranked within each track to determine the top three places.

Mohannad Zalloum, a member of the jury of the "Al-Quds Hackathon 2026", said the experience was important, especially as it made it possible to put forward ideas addressing existing problems in the city of Al-Quds, expressing his hope that these ideas will be completed and turned into implementable projects.

The Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency allocated cash prizes with a total value of 21,000 dollars to the winning teams in the three tracks of the "Al-Quds Hackathon 2026".

The first-place winner in the "QGuide" and "FixPal" tracks received 5,000 dollars, while the second-place prize amounted to 2,000 dollars and the third-place prize to 1,000 dollars in each track. In the "Open Track", the first-place prize amounted to 2,500 dollars, the second to 1,500 dollars and the third to 1,000 dollars.