It can be dreadfully boring to quote stats. Of Israel’s 7.5million people, around 11% live in Jerusalem. And of that number, around a third are Arabs.

Now let me tell you some really wow things about the cityJerusalem, a city which I love and am proud to be associated with. And to help me, I will quote from a lecture given by Mr Gideon Ben-Zvi, which I heard this evening.

Now when it comes to Jerusalem, Gideon knows what he’s talking about. He was born and educated in the Holy City. He has set up at least 5 high tech firms in Jerusalem. He is a friend of the current mayor, Nir Barkat.

Gideon observed that many local entrepreneurs have started out with an idea, originating from the heart of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Surprise? Well this educational establishment has possibly the highest number of patents in the world for a university – around 70% are in the life sciences.

And Gideon mentioned that teams from Hitachi, Siemens and other multinationals are regularly vetting the books of Yissum, the university’s biz dev commercial arm.

Now consider that Jerusalem hosts around 22% of the high tech companies in the country. This includes about a third of the biotech firms. And of the 760,000 Jerusalemites, large sections belong to the growing ultra orthodox Jewish communities and the Arab sector, many of whom exist outside the main workforce.

Jerusalem’s immediate commercial future looks bright, as the mayor looks set to continue with his plans. Jerusalem, at the turn of the decade, has a hopeful future to consider.