Israel has always been a leader in the field of innovative technology. More and more investment opportunities are on the horizon as Israel continues to lead the world with groundbreaking advancements in various arenas. Last week, The Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey hosted an investment forum, offering guests a chance to learn about Israel’s technology ecosystem and the investment landscape behind it.
Keynote speaker Inbal Arieli has been involved in the thriving Israeli hi-tech sector for the last two decades. In her military career, she served as head of faculty at the 8200 Intelligence Officers’ School where she trained the next generation of intelligence officers. Following her military service, Arieli founded a series of programs for top innovators and entrepreneurs, including Israel’s first start-up accelerator. She is currently the co-CEO of Synthesis, which provides leadership assessment to private equity and venture capital firms. Arieli has been featured as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Israeli hi-tech and as one of the “100 tech businesswomen speakers” in the world. She was also featured by Forbes magazine in its article “Inside the Israeli Secret Start-Up Machine.”
The focus for the evening was to showcase the ever-growing hi-tech ecosystem in Israel and educate the audience about opportunities and ways to invest in such platforms. Many of those who attended the forum are involved in contributing philanthropically to Israel. One goal for this event was to offer a different track for those people to whom supporting Israel is a top priority.
The hi-tech ecosystem is among the highest growing industries globally and represents one of the fastest growing markets in Israel. “Every new innovation has technology embedded into it,” explained Arieli. The Israeli economy is too small a market to support the vast number of startups and therefore they need to open up the market to overseas investors. Most of the R&D in Israel is not government funded; rather, it is funded by the private sector, with 85 percent of the funding originating from abroad. “Israel in 2017 drew more venture [capital] per capita than any other country in the world,” said Arieli. “We need the infusion of capital; it is the oxygen the companies require.”
Investors are investing in Israeli companies either directly or through various investment vehicles. The forum featured a panel of three expert investors representing different stages and different types of investments who educated the audience on ways to join a fund or invest in a start-up corporation.
Shelly Hod Moyal founded iAngels four years ago, a platform that offers investors a gateway into Israel’s early-stage start-up sector. iAngels is a seed-based fund that researches specific industries they are interested in investing in. “The companies we invest in are never just interested in Israel alone as the economy is too small,” said Hod Moyal. “Israelis from the get-go when they start a company are thinking about how they can bring it to the world and this gives iAngels their edge.”
Andy Kaye, president and CIO of OurCrowd, explained two ways one can go about investing in an Israeli start-up. One could go about it independently or enlist the help of a company such as OurCrowd, which provides details, research and analysis of various companies of interest. Investing in a venture capital fund requires millions of dollars. OurCrowd enables potential investors to invest in funds for a minimum of $50,000 and offers access to start-ups at a minimum of $10,000. “OurCrowd provides access to something that wasn’t achievable in the past. We are a service provider that truly makes it easy for clients,” said Kaye. OurCrowd will do all the pre-screening for clients, and because they themselves invest 5 percent in every investment they promote, their interests are in line with the success investors are seeking.
Steven Schoenfeld, founder of BlueStar Indexes, a New York-based financial research and Index firm, wants everyone to have the opportunity to invest in Israel because he believes the demand is high. His mission was to tackle the challenge of making efficient investments in public Israeli companies accessible to patrons and equally accessible to endowments, foundations and institutional investors. BlueStar currently has seven stock indexes for Israel. “We aim to be for Israel what the S&P 500 is for the United States,” said Schoenfeld. “We created BlueStar indexes to make a better vehicle for Americans and Canadians to invest in Israel.”
Among the featured startups were Unispectral, a company that develops miniature, low-cost hyperspectral digital imaging MEMS sensors for disruptive smartphone camera applications and CropX, which focuses on agricultural analytics. Representatives from start-ups that worked with vehicles such as OurCrowd were on hand to discuss their successes as well.
The evening was co-chaired by Josh Weingast, Yale Baron and Lee Lasher. With over 200 attendees, it was clear that Robin Rochlin, endowment foundation managing director, along with fellow Jewish Federation leaders, invested countless hours to ensure the success of this event, which was made possible by corporate sponsors Bank Leumi, Evercore Wealth Management, Wilmington Trust and Colonial Consulting. The event culminated with a dessert reception and a question-and answer-session allowing guests to interact with the panelists.
As event co-chair Lee Lasher offered closing remarks, he urged guests to consider donating generously to the Jewish Federation. “Jewish Federation is the only Jewish organization that takes responsibility for the entire community. They bring about positive change and significant impact,” articulated Lasher. He noted that Jewish Federation strives to preserve Jewish life here and abroad. They care for school-aged children, aging seniors and everyone in between. They ensure Jewish education, food, safety and so much more. Partnering with the Jewish Federation is an ideal way to be part of the greater Jewish community and partake in tikun olam. “Jewish Federation raises and distributes over 10 million dollars annually to invest back into the community and make our world a better place,” added Lasher. “We may be called Jewish Federation, but what we are is our Jewish community.” To learn more please visit www.jfnnj.org.
By Andrea Nissel
