"They came to destroy, we will build a better world."

This is what Izhar Shai, (entrepreneur, venture capitalist, former Minister of Science and Technology) said.

He and his family founded Next October: a project of the Israeli high-tech community, following the death of their son, the late Yaron Shai.

By saving the residents of Kibbutz Kerem Shalom.

 

“Next October” is a national initiative designed to commemorate those who fell and were murdered in the October 2023 War.

1,800 Israeli startups will perpetuate the victims of war, soldiers and civilians, they will drive the locomotive of the Israeli economy forward and will constitute an appropriate Zionist and Israeli answer to the Hamas murderers who wanted to destroy and crush the State of Israel. These startups will build innovative products and services that will be distributed around the world and contribute to creating a better world.

Each startup within the project embraces a bereaved family - it adopts a fallen soldier or a civilian who lost their lives and takes on the task of commemorating them over the years together with the family. At the same time, the project provides added value in the form of customized enrichment programs, mentoring, meetings with investors, funds, and additional tools in the Israeli ecosystem,
for the promotion and growth of its startups.
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Startups participating in the Next October project commit to "doing good" as the value that underlies their activities.
They commit to preserving the memory of the war dead in various ways, adapted to their ability at each stage and to the nature of the space and its family. Together, we will make Next October better.
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The Emek Hefer Innovation Center is proud to be a partner, along with respected partners in the startup ecosystem, in the "Next October" initiative and works to connect startup companies with families in Emek Hefer in order to commemorate their loved ones.