Three months of various stages of lockdown and Jerusalem’s tech scene has not stopped buzzing.

To quote an item from Forbes magazine last month:

There are currently 405 active tech companies in the Jerusalem ecosystem, a 102% increase over 2012. In 2019 alone, $233.5 million were invested in Jerusalem-based companies and startups, a 21% increase from the prior year. Over the years, Jerusalem-based companies have seen 22 exits and total investments of $1.6 billion, according to Start-Up Nation Central’s Finder.

Only yesterday, I was on a zoom call linking a serial investor group from the holy city with a team in Hong Kong.  The previous week featured a bunch of us talking with an Israeli scale up and a partnership from the heart of the Muslim block.

Yes, finally if belatedly, the Arab side of the sector will receive its share of the glory.

The Silicon Wadi project entails the construction of approximately 200,000 square meters (2.1 million square feet) of commercial area, with an emphasis on the high tech, trade, and hotel sectors. Among the goals of the initiative are to create 10,000 jobs in east Jerusalem, increasing the participation of east Jerusalem women in the job market, and to bolster support for the Israeli school curriculum in east Jerusalem schools.

And come Jun 22nd, OurCrowd, arguably Israel’s largest investor fund and located in Jerusalem, will host its “covid summit”.

It is interesting to note that part of the international impact of corona has seen more Jews seeking to move to Israel, particularly Jerusalem. Keep watching folks!