Yuan to finance shekel startups

Ten aspiring Israeli tech and medical startups made an extraordinary pitch in Tel Aviv recently. Extraordinary because their audience was 3,000 km away: 50 prospective Chinese investors in Shanghai, Beijing and Nanjing who hooked up online to assess the startups’ virtual pitches in English.

A translator helped both sides make sense of the video conference, part of the TechCode Israel China Innovation Center’s broad plan to connect startups in the Middle Eastern country with cash-rich Chinese investment firms on the prowl for cutting-edge technologies.

“We plan to hold such events twice a month. Eventually, we hope it’ ll be once a week,” said Holo Zheng, general manager of TechCode Israel.

It is one of the first Chinese incubators in Israel. It opened in March to serve firms at different stages of growth. As part of its services, it offers startups office space, business mentors, financial support and guidance on brand promotion.

“Chinese and Israeli economies are highly complementary. The bilateral ties are also getting increasingly closer, which offers a perfect timing to set up a presence here,” Zheng said.

TechCode Israel hosts dozens of startups engaged in the fields of robotics, big data, cyber security and medical care. By the yearend, the aerospace industry will be also covered.