Israel Active

More than 50 percent of ultra-Orthodox Israeli men are participating in the workforce for the first time in recorded Israeli history, the Central Bureau of Statistics said. In 2003, Haredi male employment was only 36%. The employment rate for Haredi women is now 73%.

Israeli startup Capitalise won one of five Best in Show awards at London’s FinovateEurope 2016. The Capitali.se platform uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to read the text of an investor’s investment strategy and convert it into executable market trading instructions.

Israel’s Elbit has won a $713 million deal to supply the UK Ministry of Defense with an 18-year training program for its air crew.

Here are five hostels in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa which are promoted for groups and lone explorers who want the comforts of a good hotel, but without the hefty bill.

The chairmen of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange have signed a Memorandum of Understanding. They will share experience in SME and technology financing, cooperate in index-based product development and explore market linkup.

FIMI, the leading private equity firm in Israel, has just completed a $1.1 billion financing round for its sixth fund - the largest fund ever raised in Israel. FIMI's strategy is to acquire control of Israeli companies with sales of $75 million or more.

Israel’s Catalyst Private Equity and China Everbright Limited have launched the first dedicated Israel-China private equity fund. The $200 million fund will invest in mid-to-late-stage companies with a special focus on pushing their tech in China and emerging markets.

After a six-year absence, Burger King has re-opened in Tel Aviv. It sold its franchise to Israel’s Burgeranch in 2010 after Muslim groups boycotted it. Now it plans to open 10 branches in 2016 and fifty in the next five years. In response, Burgeranch is partnering with discount coffee chain Cofix.

Co-working space WeWork has opened an R&D center. It already has office space in Tel Aviv, Herzliya and Be’er Sheva.

Israeli cybersecurity startup NorthBit has struck a deal with Hewlett-Packard Enterprise to develop test automation software for mobile application developers. NorthBit’s 20 researchers are graduates of the top technological units in the Israeli army.