Israeli Investment Firm to Invest $50 Million in Startups Impacted by Gaza War
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by Algemeiner Staff
A general view shows part of Tel Aviv, Israel June 12, 2022. Picture taken with a drone on June 12, 2022. REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg
OurCrowd, an Israeli investment firm, announced on Wednesday that in just over a month it has secured $13 million in capital commitments for its $50 million Israel Resilience Fund, which was opened shortly after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
The company plans to raise the additional $37 million in the coming months for Israeli companies involved in environmental impact, emergency medicine, food security, and cybersecurity, among other areas, it said in a press statement.
The $13 million has already been disbursed to a group of companies including BlueTree, which is based in Kiryat Shmona near the Lebanon border and works to reduce sugar in natural beverages; Carrar, an electric vehicle battery company that was forced to relocate from its headquarters in Sderot near the Gaza border; and EdgyBees, a satellite and motion imagery company.
“We’re thrilled to get this investment, especially as our technology has been so crucial for the Israel Defense Forces’ operation,” said Shay Har-Noy, CEO of EdgyBees.
“Resilience Fund investments are catalyzing a ‘snowball effect’ whereby the money being deployed is attracting and enabling up to 5X or 10X in additional funding, which will have a real impact on the targeted companies,” added Cali Chill, head of funds at OurCrowd.
Israel is facing major economic headwinds as a result of the months-long war with the Hamas terror group. The economy is expected to slow 2 percent in 2023, according to a Finance Ministry projection released in November.
“Many venture-backed companies in Israel are already struggling due to the global venture slowdown and now face even more serious obstacles due to the war in Gaza, requiring immediate, focused investment,” said Jon Medved, founder and CEO of OurCrowd. “The Israel Resilience Fund will seek to create outsized returns for investors by taking advantage of discounted valuations in the current market, while supporting numerous Israeli companies to survive the crisis and flourish in the long run.”
