By Abigail Klein Leichman - April 17, 2016
Originally appeared here in Israel21c
There’s something very unusual about Hybrid, the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry’s new accelerator for startups in the Arab sector, recently launched at the Nazareth Business Incubator Center (NBIC).
The unusual aspect is that it leverages the expertise and connections of Israeli military veterans. Specifically, Hybrid teams up early-stage Arab-Israeli entrepreneurs with members of the 8200 Alumni Association.
This elite group of veterans of the IDF Intelligence Corps’ Unit 8200, which specializes in signal intelligence and code decryption, has spawned some of Israel’s most successful high-tech executives.
“We know that 70 percent of successful Israeli startups are led by 8200 graduates,” says NBIC Director Fadi Swidan, who co-directs Hybrid with Eitan Sella, a former entrepreneur and 8200 alumnus. Read More