But – and this is a big But – something’s not right just below the surface, certainly when examined through a social impact lens. These headlines from “Haaretz” speak for themselves:

• “Israel Admits: The Richer You Are, the More Likely You’ll Open a Startup”, a report based on a study released in January by the Finance Ministry’s chief economist’s department.
  
  
• “Israel’s High-tech Industry Has a Diversity Problem. Here’s Why”, a piece reflecting a well-known but rarely mentioned fact that no more than 10% of Israeli employees are actually benefiting financially from the “Startup Nation” phenomenon. Much work remains to advance the integration of women, Haredi Jews and Arabs; the latter group – particularly – continues to draw regular attention, from critical studies such as this by the NGO PresenTense to the recent Science and Technology Ministry decision to invest in a five-year, half-billion shekel program to promote high-tech and science in the Arab community. The private sector is also very much in the mix, of course; the VC fund Takwin Labs, which invests only in startups with at least one Arab founder – and where our changemaker Fadi Swidan holds a senior position – is just one example.
  
  

• “Israel’s Schools are Flunking English, and Startup Nation is Paying the Price”, a report dealing with an ongoing challenge highlighted, in a much broader sense, by a new study from the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research.