Israeli nonprofits set up portal for all things ‘corona-tech’

Two Israeli tech nonprofit organizations, Start-Up Nation Central and HealthIL, have set up a new website, CoronaTech Israel, that aims to become a one-stop-shop for technological COVID-19 solutions from Israel and elsewhere with essential, up-to-date, accurate, and relevant information that can help combat the coronavirus pandemic that is battering citizens and economies globally.

The new website offers news and updates, information about technological developments from Israel and abroad, a list of the challenges faced by the healthcare system at this time, proposals and opportunities for cross-border collaborations, access to international grants, and insights and analyses by Israeli experts and entrepreneurs.

Concentrating all of this content in a single website aims to “empower Israel’s tech entrepreneurship community with opportunities for collaborations and joining forces in overcoming the human and economic crisis and leveraging it for growing new ventures,” the nonprofit organizations said in a statement.

Start-Up Nation Central (SNC) aims to connect Israeli startup firms to corporations, governments and NGOs around the world. HealthIL is a joint venture of the Israeli Innovation Institute and the Ministries of Economy and Industry and Social Equality that aims to implement a digital transformation in Israel’s healthcare system through the integration of tech solutions.

The global effort to triumph over the coronavirus has led to a “tsunami of information,” part of which is “unstructured and inaccurate,” said Jeremie Kletzkine, VP of Business Development at SNC.

“Efficiency warrants that we concentrate all of the information in one place to prevent inconsistencies and disinformation,” he said. “Israel boasts trailblazing technological and scientific brains, which we hope the website will help to bring together, inspire, and perhaps lead to genuine breakthroughs for a healthier future for humanity and a better economic future for Israel.”

“Effective implementation starts with information-sharing and brainstorming,” said Yael Ofir, executive director at HealthIL. “A professional site, such as the one we have created, will help relevant players obtain a better understanding of what works, what doesn’t work, and what is not worth wasting energy on. We are currently promoting and implementing technologies across multiple medical bodies we work with and the hundreds of startups we have in our community. We believe that this kind of collaboration will contribute to the implementation of innovative technologies for fighting the virus.”

CoronaTech Israel was built by Israeli startup WIX, which donated the website construction service as well as important information and experience on the consolidation and leveraging a range of databases into a single, unified platform, the statement said.