Peres Center:
encouraging diversity in tech start-ups
Launched in 2018 to boost daring entrepreneurs
Designed by the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation in cooperation with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation in Caesarea, the Starting Up Together program provides aspiring tech entrepreneurs with an entry point into the Israeli start-up ecosystem.
It cultivates the technical and leadership skills of young talents, including those from underrepresented communities, while promoting collaboration between diverse participants.
Great business ideas can come from anywhere. But all too often, it’s the same few people who have access to the funds, networks and training necessary to turn those ideas into reality. So while, for instance, Israel is known as the “start-up nation”, only a fraction of the local population directly benefits from or is part of the country’s innovation ecosystem.
What’s more, as a very divided society, there are additional hurdles to overcome in providing opportunities to all.
The challenges of starting up
Israel’s start-up industry, often hailed as a global innovation hub, continues to grapple with significant challenges in demographic diversity. Despite its reputation for fostering cutting-edge technology, the sector remains overwhelmingly dominated by non-Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, who comprise 65% of the 254,400-strong high-tech workforce. This marks a significant increase in their representation over the past decade, with nearly 20% of non-Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men in Israel now employed in high-tech roles, compared to just 13.7% in 2014.
Meanwhile, non-Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women, the second-largest group in the sector, make up 31% of its employees. However, their overall participation remains limited, with only 3.9% of non-Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women in Israel working in high-tech. The underrepresentation is even more stark among Israel’s Arabs. Arab men and women account for just 1.5% and 0.5% of the high-tech workforce, respectively.
These statistics underscore the persistent disparities in an industry that is central to Israel’s economic future. However, a new initiative is seeking to bridge this gap by actively promoting diversity and inclusion within the high-tech sector. By fostering talent and providing opportunities for underrepresented communities, this project aims to reshape the face of Israeli innovation, ensuring that the benefits of its booming tech industry are more equitably shared.
Acting together
Starting Up Together was created to address this lack of diversity in Israel’s start-up landscape. Its goals are to enable inclusion and provide access to tools and methodologies for building start-ups in the high-tech arena, and create joint teams for early-career entrepreneurs with significant potential, both Jewish and Arab.
Unlike traditional innovation programs that prioritize developed business ideas, this initiative focuses on nurturing potential entrepreneurs, regardless of their educational background or previous exposure to STEM studies. Participants enjoy team-building activities and teaching related to the world of entrepreneurship, plus boot camps and professional workshops in key areas such as business models, design thinking, and market research.
The first editions focused on innovation in smart cities, offering four months of in-depth methodological and practical training, immersive workshops and multi-day seminars, and project-oriented mentorship from Israeli technology, business, and innovation leaders. Participants developed hard and soft skills while working together to design and implement viable solutions to real-world challenges from their unique communities.
“Before participating in the program, I felt that my world was small. Now I feel that the world around me is vast and full of opportunities that I can be part of – and that I can lead the change that I want to see in my community and in my country.”
Aya Abu Saleh (Cohort #3)
Talk is good
The initial phase of Starting Up Together also included dialogue sessions between Arab and Jewish participants, followed by a one-day smart city hackathon where they worked together to address real-world challenges facing local communities.
Such interaction can still feel like a novelty in Israel, but by putting such face-to-face activities front and center, the program goes beyond being just another incubator for entrepreneurs.
In partnership with Ben-Gurion University and ‘Microsoft for Startups’, the program’s latest cohort focused on challenges such as climate, social mobility, higher education, skills development, and employment.
Of the participants in Israel, 59% are Jewish (including religious and ultra-Orthodox), 31% are Arab (Christian, Muslim, and Bedouin), and 10% are from other religious minorities. Across all program cycles, female participation has consistently reached 50%.
Thinking even further outside the box
Starting Up Together has reached its fifth cohort in Israel, and expanded its model into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where two cohorts have taken part.
This is not just another initiative to churn out tech businesses. Starting Up Together is a scalable platform for dialogue and action, enabling ambitious, talented young people to tackle innovation challenges as a tool to strengthen their communities, drive inclusive growth, and bring about positive change in a region where it is urgently needed.