“It's hard to be a woman entrepreneur in Israel, but it's even harder for a woman to lead a startup during wartime,” said Hila Obilbrenner, partner at investment firm Arieli Capital and founder of Yazamiyot, a platform for women entrepreneurs. speaks. She founded the company in 2010 and leads it as CEO.
“It hasn't been talked about much since October 7, but times of war make it even more difficult for women in the local tech ecosystem because they have to shoulder all the burden,” she continued. . “In many cases, their partners have been called up for military service and have to lead startups while managing the home front during extremely difficult times. Not surprisingly, women in the South have been hardest hit. This is a start-up company that we are leading.”
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Hila Oville Brenner speaks at a Yazami Yacht event.
(Credit: Herzel Yosef)
Recognizing this challenge and the need to boost women-led startups in the South, Arieli Capital, Ovil-Brenner, Yazamiyot, and MasterCard’s innovation lab FinSec have created a special program to support women-led startups at Microsoft’s offices in Beersheba. We planned an event. 120 female entrepreneurs participated. The event included a competition between five women-led startups from the South. “Some initiatives are facing challenges as significant numbers of their employees are called up for military service, and others are struggling to raise funds due to the uncertainty created by war,” Obillbrenner said. he explained.
The winning startup Anydish, which provides AI-based nutritional solutions, will have the opportunity to attend Calcalist's Mind The Tech conference in New York in March.
“Continuing to invent, adopt, and profit.”
“This meeting in Beersheba will have a huge impact. The Beersheba ecosystem train has not left the station yet. It will leave now,” said Sharon Zarfati, Director of Operations and Community. I did. Commenting on FinSecurity Macetel Card's operations in Israel, Zarfati said, “Mastercard is not just a credit card company, it's also a technology company that supports billions of transactions. It contributes to our commitment to innovation in the field of fintech.” ”
Zarfati said they are providing financial support to female entrepreneurs in the cybersecurity and fintech fields, including “a six-month grant from the Israel Innovation Authority and assistance in making connections with female entrepreneurs.” It includes,” he said. What makes us unique is the infrastructure that allows startups in these sectors to demonstrate the feasibility of their ventures. ”
“Even in an ideal world, the path of female entrepreneurship would be difficult, especially in a country experiencing one of the greatest crises in history and in the midst of the worst war ever known. And in recent years, women have been disappearing from all decision-making positions,” said Noah Tamir, CEO of Calcalist.
“But keep going. Keep inventing, innovating, creating,” Tamir continued. “Keep up the great work, because it sets an example for all of us: our managers, our employees, and our daughters. Keep spreading optimism and your great abilities. We're here to encourage you. I’m here.”
Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk, CVP of Microsoft, Managing Director of Microsoft Israel R&D Center, and CTO of Microsoft Security, who hosted the event, spoke at the conference via recorded video. “We established a branch in Beersheba for the development of the southern region, and from October 7th onwards we will truly focus on it and expand the branch.”
Another speaker at the conference was Rotem Viner Shapira, senior advisor at the Agency for the Advancement of Women, who asked, “How can we in government connect with the ground, collaborate and share these amazing achievements? I participated in this event to learn more.” ”
In addition to Calcalist, partners for this event include Talma Travel Solutions, which provided winners with tickets to Calcalist's Mind The Tech conference in New York, ESOP, Option Management Company of Phoenix, City of Beersheba, and Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub was included. , Amit, Pollak, Matalon & Co. law firm, Frontier Innovation Center, and the company Resilion.
