In the months since the war began, amidst the continuing grief and hardship, we have seen incredible glimpses of Israel’s new society: its strength, its unity, its impact. And above all, we have seen the word “entrepreneurship” take on new dimensions and meaning, and a new model of resilience has emerged: entrepreneurial recovery.
In times of uncertainty and personal and national instability, entrepreneurship, as an approach and set of tools, allows us to move from passivity to proactivity, from cycles of despair to cycles of positive impact, take personal responsibility, transform challenges into opportunities to impact, create new realities, and instill hope.
Israeli society demonstrated its ability to rise to the challenge, showcasing its resilience and capabilities. Tens of thousands of volunteers across the country created programs and solutions to the never-ending needs and hardships that arose from the events of October 7 and the war that followed. These efforts demonstrate the enormous potential for positive change that can be harnessed in both peacetime and times of crisis. These efforts have enabled us, as a society and as a nation, to address the tragedies and new realities we face.
Unistream has been promoting this resilience among young people in Israel’s socially disadvantaged and geographically remote areas for over 20 years, and with the outbreak of war we realized that our role as a catalyst for positive change is more important than ever, especially for displaced youth from the north and south.
As part of our social and national recovery, and to rebuild and build resilience in the South and North, it is crucial that we invest in our young people, who are the future of our country. Governments can strengthen affected and marginalized regions by developing their economies and encouraging the growth of new businesses and ventures in these regions. Furthermore, one of our main goals is not necessarily to relocate high-tech companies to the South or North, but to establish strong infrastructure and raise a generation rooted in entrepreneurship – a generation we must empower.
Entrepreneurship is the foundation and engine of local and national growth and recovery, providing mind-shifting and practical tools for resilience and entrepreneurship in all its forms. It also develops the human capital needed to start and scale entrepreneurial businesses in affected areas. Providing tools and fostering connections to entrepreneurship can be transformative, life-changing and empowering.
We see this happening every day on the ground and recognise the importance of instilling a sense of personal agency and empowerment in the young people we work with, to help them navigate these events and their profound and frightening impacts.
Moreover, the development of a thriving business technology sector fosters economic and social resilience at a national level. Israel’s innovation ecosystem remains a vital source of economic growth, providing an economic safety net that strengthens the nation’s resilience in times like these. This will become even more important in the coming years.
Nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders
At Unistream, we work with young people throughout the year from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds and geographically remote parts of the country to leverage entrepreneurship as a powerful tool for success, breaking real or imagined limits to what individuals and communities can achieve. We regularly witness the profound impact entrepreneurship has on young people.
For example, there is something special when teenage girls from Kiryat Shmona and Eastern Galilee visit the Amdocs office in Ra’anana and present the startup they have been conceiving, thinking about and dreaming about day and night in front of prominent Israeli businessmen and women from world-leading industries.
These young people confidently present their startup businesses in non-native English, receive positive feedback, answer questions, and engage in fruitful dialogue with business leaders. This is where change begins. Similarly, hundreds of young men and women across Israel are experiencing how entrepreneurship can distract them from the extraordinary challenges of their daily lives, inspire them to dream big, build their confidence, and change their mindset.
As a multicultural organization working with young people and businesses from all sectors of Israeli society, we encourage young people to be curious about people from different backgrounds, to always seek the truth, and to verify information, especially in an age of fake news, so that we can not only develop great individuals, but also stronger societies and networks.
This new model will be on display at Unistream’s 2024 “Entrepreneur of the Year” competition on July 16th, sponsored by Ted and Hedi z”l Olden of Los Angeles and their family. The competition will see hundreds of teenagers from all over Israel present the startups they have been working on nonstop for a year. It has been an unprecedented year, one in which we have lived in a time war that has affected every aspect of our lives.
How do we nurture the next generation of talent from Israel’s remote areas?
We engage with young people, invest in them, stimulate their curiosity and deepen their knowledge. We provide them with the tools from the entrepreneurial world to strengthen, empower and increase their self-confidence, so they know they can achieve anything they set their mind to. And above all, we give young people the opportunity to dream big, realise their potential and be the change they want to see, both business- and society-oriented. If young people can dream again, we can all renew our faith in a better future.
The author is CEO of Unistream.
