OurCrowd to hold Global Investor Summit in February
Israel’s Magen David Adom to hold New York gala fundraiser; Impact First gets Best for the World Fund recognition
Shoshanna Solomon was The Times of Israel's Startups and Business reporter
OurCrowd, the Jerusalem-based crowdfunding venture capital platform, will hold its 2017 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit on February 16 in Jerusalem, claiming it will be the world’s largest equity crowdfunding event and the biggest investor event in Israel.
Registration to the conference has already doubled from this time last year, the fund said, with up to 5,000 people from the global tech investment community expected to attend. Attendees will come from an expected 60 countries, and will include investors, venture and corporate partners, entrepreneurs, 30 global delegations, industry leaders and members of the press.
The 2017 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit theme, “The Future Is Here,” will show how 2016’s technologies are being implemented in businesses and remaking industries.
More than 100 startups are slated to participate, including: mPrest, which has Iron Dome technology already operational in the New York State Power Authority and more civilian market opportunities in the pipeline; BioCatch, whose biometrics technology was chosen by UK bank NatWest to help combat fraud, and Syqe Medical, which has created a metered-dose medical cannabis inhaler that will be marketed by Teva next year.
Magen David Adom Gala in New York

World-renowned experts in disaster response and emergency medical innovation from Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical response organization and official Red Cross affiliate, will be in New York next week to share their experiences as part of an effort to raise funds for the organization.
The annual Magen David Adom New York Gala, on Monday, December 12, at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers, will feature special guest Michael Bloomberg and highlight the cutting-edge technology MDA’s paramedics use every day to save lives in Israel and around the world.
MDA depends on the generosity of individuals around the world — particularly in the United States — to provide lifesaving services, ambulances, and disaster relief for Israel’s population of 8.5 million people. A global leader in emergency medical response, MDA responds to international disasters, and, in recent years, conducted lifesaving missions to Nepal, Haiti, Indonesia, Japan, and Turkey. MDA also shares its innovations, experiences, and knowledge with EMS agencies around the world, including in the United States, where it recently worked with EMS and other public safety agencies in Westchester County, NY.
Impact First Investments gets Best for the World Fund nod
Impact First Investments was named this week a Best for the World Fund by B the Change Media, for setting the measurement and management bar in impact investing, based on its GIIRS Rating, the gold standard for impact measurement in impact investment. All the honorees are featured in the winter issue of B Magazine and on B the Change Media’s digital platform. Both platforms have a special editorial section dedicated to impact investing.
“This recognition strengthens our resolve in our quest to achieve credibility for impact investing across asset classes,” Impact First, which is a partner with the community venture arm of Israel’s Pitango Venture Capital, said in a statement. “Being named a Best for the World Fund is a validation of our mission and the achievements we have made with our portfolio.”
Spotlighting immigrants’ impact on ‘startup nation’
Nefesh B’Nefesh (NBN) the non-profit organization that promotes Jewish immigration to Israel, will host a conference in Tel Aviv to underline the contribution new immigrants have made to Israel’s high tech scene and to guide aspiring entrepreneurs.
The organization’s first-ever “Tech Talks: Innovation in the Startup Nation” will be held on December 12 at the Rise co-working facility in Tel Aviv. Speakers will include leaders from the Israeli tech scene, including Michael Eisenberg, equal partner at Aleph VC; Sivan Ya’ari, founder and CEO of Innovation: Africa; and Ilan Regenbaum, a VC investor at Elevator Fund as well as the head of Business Development in the Israeli Air Force’s Innovation Department
The event will also provide immigrants with networking opportunities, NBN said. “The event is an example of recent, significant expansion in Nefesh B’Nefesh post-Aliyah programming, geared to help new immigrants acclimate, integrate and thrive in Israel,” the organization said in a statement