Israel's Druze Community Launches $40M Tech Startup Fund

A new tech center in the northern Israeli village of Isfiya is opening doors for military veterans who want to trade their combat boots for startup sneakers.

Koftan Halabi, a Druze entrepreneur, spent years building toward this moment. In 2025, he opened the Druze Technological and Empowerment Center (D-TEC), a state-of-the-art facility designed to help Druze, Circassian, and Jewish veterans launch tech companies.

This June, the center took its biggest leap yet by launching BEYOND-D, an innovation program paired with a new investment fund. The fund is seeking $40 million to invest in early-stage startups founded by combat veterans with promising tech ideas.

"Our young people are our future," Halabi says. "Most of our community serves in the military or security work, but we realized there needs to be more choices."

The journey started in 2009 when Halabi created a program to help Druze veterans study at Haifa's prestigious Technion Institute. Now, those educational pathways have grown into a full ecosystem with mentorship, strategic partners, and real investment capital.

Lawyer Anan Kheir, one of the initiative's founders, explains the fund will back ventures in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital health, and other cutting-edge technologies. The investments will range from pre-seed to Series A funding, depending on each startup's stage and potential.

The recent launch festival drew heavy hitters from Israel's tech scene, including Nechemia Peres, co-founder of Pitango Venture Capital, and Scott Tobin, founding partner of Battery Ventures. Their presence signals serious industry support for this new pipeline of talent.

The Ripple Effect

This initiative creates opportunity far beyond individual success stories. By building tech infrastructure in northern Druze communities, the program keeps talented graduates close to home instead of requiring them to relocate for work.

The fund deliberately welcomes Jewish veterans alongside Druze and Circassian founders, fostering collaboration across communities. It transforms military service into a launchpad for entrepreneurship rather than a path to only more security work.

Halabi envisions tech companies sprouting throughout the North, creating local jobs and economic leadership. "Our investment fund will enable those who wish to develop innovative ideas and build entrepreneurship close to home," he says.

For a community known for resilience and adaptation, this shift from soldiers to entrepreneurs represents the next chapter of contribution to Israel's innovation economy.