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October 22, 2004
Jerusalem business starts up
KATHERINE BRODSKY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
When unemployment is soaring, the economy is at a low and conflicts
arise constantly amid the mainly Arab and Jewish population, what
can be done? Nir Barkat's response was to start a business. StartUp
Jerusalem (SUJ) is a nonprofit organization designed to improve
the city's economy by attracting investment and businesses to Jerusalem
by focusing on three industries: health and life sciences, outsourcing
and business services, and culture and tourism.
What's unique about StartUp Jerusalem is that it so closely follows
a business model that even the team that runs it has business-like
titles and experience. The founder, Barkat, is an Israeli high-tech
entrepreneur (and former Jerusalem mayoral candidate), Toronto-born
chair Alan Feld is a venture capitalist and CEO Eli Kazhdan is a
Russian-born, U.S.-raised, Harvard University graduate, who served
as chief of staff to the minister of industry and trade in Israel,
as well as on other ministries and committees.
StartUp Jerusalem functions according to the methodology of Harvard
Business School Prof. Michael Porter, an international expert in
the field of competitive advantage, and honorary chair of StartUp
Jerusalem.
"Even though StartUp Jerusalem is a nonprofit, we are trying
to run this with the discipline of a business," said Feld.
The success of the business, however, will not be measured by profits
but rather by whether the organization can create thousands of jobs
for Israelis.
Jerusalem is the poorest of Israel's largest cities, with one of
the lowest levels of employment in the West, but it also has quite
a bit of potential for attracting business, according to Kazhdan.
"Our top-notch academic and medical facilities, our population
which speaks a variety of languages on a mother-tongue level, and
the essence of our city as the cradle of three religions and cultures
are the competitive advantages," he said.
StartUp Jerusalem aims to brand Israel's capital as a city of business
opportunity, not only a spiritual centre.
"For too long, Jerusalem has been first and foremost thought
of as a city of religion, as a city of ethnic strife and as a city
for donations, not business," said Kazhdan. "This is a
misconception that needs to be overcome – and the best, and
perhaps only, way of doing so is by creating change."
So far, StartUp Jerusalem has been successful in bringing together
industry players who have never co-operated before and are now working
on joint programs. The organization was also able to set up a committee
of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Trade, the
Jerusalem Development Authority and SUJ to create a package of incentives
to foster investment and job creation in Jerusalem. A number of
other initiatives are in place in the hope of bringing more jobs
to the region, easing tensions and creating greater unity between
Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, new immigrants and veterans
alike.
"Developing Jerusalem's economy, and helping create jobs in
Israel's capital, is something that I very much believe in, and
is a project in which I feel privileged to be involved," said
Kazhdan.
Both Feld and Kazhdan look forward to a future where Jerusalem is
an internationally recognized centre of business opportunity in
a variety of fields, with plenty of quality jobs available for the
city's inhabitants. Kazhdan also looks forward to "bringing
back the glory which our eternal capital deserves."
For more information on StartUp Jerusalem, call 972-2-5812132 or
e-mail [email protected].
Katherine Brodsky is a Vancouver-based freelance journalist.
She can be reached at [email protected].
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