Mind The Tech London 2023The BizLabs Startup Showcase 2023 reveals new cohort of 21 new ultra-Orthodox-founded companies
Mind The Tech London 2023
The BizLabs Startup Showcase 2023 reveals new cohort of 21 new ultra-Orthodox-founded companies
To date, the six-month program has seen 45 startups from a variety of industries gain access to investors and networking opportunities.
The BizLabs Startup Showcase revealed a cohort of 21 startups founded by members of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community who pitched and exhibited their companies in front of potential British partners and investors. The showcase was followed by opportunities to connect directly through one-on-one meetings as well as an exclusive dinner in the presence of Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion with partners and friends later that night.
The event's purpose was to provide the tools and help startups founded by the ultra-Orthodox community network, grow, and scale. BizLabs is a six-month ‘scalerator’ program designed for advanced-staged companies from the ultra-Orthodox community where participants receive a workspace in Jerusalem/Bnei Brak, access to an investor forum, mentorship from executives in the field, access and guidance from multinationals, and various networking opportunities.
Companies that pitched included leema.ai, a digital healthcare company for cannabis treatment founded by CEO Dany Reiss, speech teletherapy platform Novotalk led by Avraham Scheinfeld and Zohar Beeri, and MikvaTech Pool Purity, a cleantech company led by CEO Jonathan Heller that helps maintain clean and healthy water in the ‘Mikvah’ (Jewish Ritual Bath).
“We started Kemach for two reasons,” said Leo Noé, British investor and Founder of The Kemach Foundation during the event’s opening remarks. Kemach co-founded the scalerator alongside The Achim Global Foundation. “The first was that it was clear that those in the Haredi sector were not performing as well as they should in Israeli society. The second thing was, whether left or right, there was a lack of tolerance between the different parts of society… One would hope in the same spirit we started Kemach, everyone can be tolerant and do what is right for the sake of their people and the country.”
To date, the BizLabs scalerator has seen 45 startups from a variety of industries take part in its program, with the plurality (24%) of them operating in the Medtech space. Eighty-nine percent of companies remain active one year after the completion of the cohort and companies have received more than $44 million in funding employing more than 200 people.
The ultra-Orthodox community in Israel makes up roughly 13% of the total population, yet represents only 3% of Startup Nation. While there are government and private initiatives to try to increase this participation rate, the gap remains large for a community that is expected to represent a quarter of the entire population by 2050.
“The businesses here today are here for that reason,” Noé added. “This is an investment opportunity with a social conscience where we support the economy of Israel but where we free up Israel’s welfare budget. Rarely will people have an opportunity to make such a substantial contribution and make a change in Israeli society.”
BizLabs was founded five years ago by The Kemach Foundation and The Achim Global Foundation. Its industry partners include AWS, JVP, Fiverr, KPMG, Google, Yigal Arnon & Co. law firm, and others.
The event took place in the same week as Mind The Tech, Calcalist’s flagship conference which will bring together senior executives from Lego, Tesco, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Nvidia, Warner Bros. Discovery, and The Economist, as well as leading entrepreneurs and investors from Israel and the UK. Its conferences have taken place in London, Tel Aviv, New York, Berlin, and Dubai, and will arrive in Tokyo for the first time later this year.
