UJIA has launched a £300,000 investment project to support Israeli start-ups dedicated to improving education, employment and community development in the country.
The charity hopes it will attract younger donors who want to see the impact their money has on the ground.
Danny Kessler, chair of the UJIA’s UK investment committee, is one of 12 members who has scrutinised the 70 applications from Israeli start-ups.
Mr Kessler, chief executive of asset management company the Met Group, said UJIA’s Si3 project was looking for bids in Hebrew, Arabic and English.
He said: “This is a cutting-edge area of investment that allows investors to see their money being recycled and generate capital return and social impact.
“We know the way millennials engage with Israel is different, they don’t want money to go into a black hole. We have tried to focus on finding projects a tech-savvy generation can give to.”
Start-ups which have already applied for funding to help develop their businesses include chocolate manufacturing company Gvanim Shel Matok.
The business in Pardes Chana, northern Israel, was started by a community of 50 young families.
It works with 70 vulnerable young people each week, teaching them the art of chocolate making alongside life skills to give them greater independence.
If selected for investment, Gvanim Shel Matok would be able to invest in a bigger factory and apply for licensing from Israel’s Ministry of Health.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “With regards to the social impact, we will be able to train and hire more youth at risk.”
CodeMonkey, an educational tech start-up which teaches primary school children how to code, has also applied to the scheme.
The coding programme is funded by Israel’s Ministry of Education, and recently a small school from an Arab village in the Galilee won a national competition after pupils took part in CodeMonkey training.
Mr Kessler said: “The outcome is that children way out there on Israel’s social, economic and geographic periphery gained access to the opportunity and proved they can achieve.”
Karmisoft, a software enterprise training and employing Charedi men and women in the hi-tech industry in the Galilee, has also applied for investment.
