Citi to help Israeli Arabs benefit from startup boom
$400,000 grant will create accelerators for entrepreneurs in Haifa and Jaffa, and beef up an existing one in Baqa al-Gharbiya
Shoshanna Solomon was The Times of Israel's Startups and Business reporter
The Citi Foundation will expand its support of PresenTense Israel, which promotes entrepreneurship in the Arab, ultra-Orthodox and Bedouin societies in Israel’s periphery, by earmarking $400,000 to fund three accelerators for the Arab community.
The grant comes on the heels of an existing collaboration between Citi and PresenTense that created two accelerators for social, business and technological entrepreneurs. The new programs will be set up in Haifa and Jaffa and the funding will help expand the existing activities in Baqa al-Gharbiya, PresenTense said in a statement.
PresenTense hopes the grant, together with other channels of support, will enable it to promote a plan to expand Israel’s technological reach to the Arab population and other sectors that are yet untouched by the high-tech boom.
Since 2012, the Israeli government has set up programs to help Israeli Arabs integrate into the labor market and the hgh-tech industry, in an effort to boost economic growth and reduce inequality. A number of programs have emerged, including incubators targeting the population and programs like that of PresenTense.
In May, MasarUp — The Council for Entrepreneurship in Arab Society was founded with aim to boost entrepreneurship in the Arab society. The program aims to reach 500 Arab-led startups within five years. Its latest Leap Haifa initiative is designed to aid advanced entrepreneurs seeking to raise and additional round of financing or expand the activity of their existing business. PresenTense SUB is a Jaffa-based program that aims to foster closer connections between its young residents and the flourishing startup scene in Tel Aviv.
“Citi’s grant enables us to provide an opportunity for dozens of additional Arab entrepreneurs to launch and advance their initiatives, and also serves as a significant springboard for promoting entrepreneurship on the Arab society in Israel,” said Guy Spigelman, the chief executive officer of PresenTense.
PresenTense, a largely volunteer-run community that encourages entrepreneurs to invest resources and technology in socially oriented causes, with the aim to promote both profitability and a social mission.
The Citi Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Citi, works to improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world by enabling populations to get onto the economic ladder and creating job opportunities for the youth.
Citi aims to “enable economic progress and growth and to promote diversity,” Neil Corney, who heads Citi Israel said. “As such, I believe that Citi’s support for the talented Arab community together with PresenTense will not only invigorate the Arab community in Israel, but also help Israel to further gain a leading position in the global tech market.”
Corney will join the board of directors of PresenTense Israel, the statement said.
Israel’s high-tech sector, for years the growth engine of its economy, suffers from a shortage of skilled workers. Israeli Arabs are 21 percent of Israel’s population but just 5.7% of those are employed in high-tech and just 2% of those are employed in research and development, according to Israel’s Innovation Authority 2016 report. Tapping into the Arab and ultra-Orthodox populations is seen by many industry and government officials as a way to overcome the shortfall of workers and expand the benefits of the high-tech boom to these populations, which have been largely untouched by the technology boom.
