With government support, industry sponsorship and mentors on board, Swidan is launching what appears to be the first true high-tech venture accelerator for Israel’s Arab community.
Based in Nazareth, the new Naztech Accelerator is currently screening a couple of dozen companies to fill 10 to 15 spots in the five-month accelerator program starting early this year.
Swidan is hoping the chosen Arab startups will help kick-start a revolution in Israel. Thousands of high-tech engineers graduate from institutions such as the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, but there is little framework for helping new Arab-run companies get off the ground.
NetBus [is] an app that shows Israeli commuters when to expect the bus they’re waiting for to arrive at their stop. It was supposed to go global sometime soon – and that time has arrived.
Rebranded as Ototo – a Hebrew expression for “any minute now” – the souped-up app is now available in 5,000 cities in 80 countries.
And it’s no longer just about real-time scheduling info. Ototo’s founders Snir Mac, David Vatine, Shimon Tohami and Liav Sagron have ambitious plans to use their growing crowdsourced data power to offer alternative public-transit routes (a la Waze) and even create “public transportation on demand” in the world’s busiest cities.