£2 million emergency loan fund is wartime lifeline for Israeli companies
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

£2 million emergency loan fund is wartime lifeline for Israeli companies

Spark IL says individuals across the Jewish world will be able to choose a small business to support for loans starting from as little as $25.

Leading Israeli peer-to-peer lending platform SparkIL has announced a NIS 10 million (£2.15m) loan fund to support small businesses impacted by the war.

Established in partnership with The Jewish Agency for Israel and The Ogen Group, the platform enables users to participate in crowdfunding interest-free loans, which aim to make a real impact on underserved populations across Israel.

Through the initiative, individuals across the Jewish world will be able to choose an Israeli business to support for loans starting from $25 – a way for lenders to “turn business owners’ hurt into hope at Israel’s darkest hour,” said the company.

Users can explore business opportunities based on SparkIL’s categorisation: People, Place, and Purpose, that align with their own values and aspirations.

They can search for prospective opportunities and sort options according to Israel’s demographic communities (Ethiopian Israelis; Haredim; Israeli Arabs; LGBTQ individuals; new immigrants; people with disabilities); cities and regions (Negev/south, the Galilee, Golan Heights; the Jerusalem area and so on) and socioeconomic causes (coexistence, art/culture/leisure, education, employment, environment, health, youth at risk).

The loan fund is offering up to NIS 100,000 (about $27,000) in assistance per business at a time when economic conditions are creating an unprecedented strain on their operations. New estimates from the Israeli central bank forecast the war with Hamas to cost Israel roughly $53 billion between now and 2025, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. predicts Israel’s gross domestic product will shrink 11 per cent this quarter on an annualised basis.

Na’ama Ore, CEO of SparkIL

Na’ama Ore, CEO of SparkIL, said: “Around the world at a time like this, it is common for the typical supporter of Israel to ask, ‘How can I help?’ SparkIL has always offered a unique opportunity in that realm, and today that resonates more powerfully than ever.

“With small business owners hurting, these loans transform Israelis’ hurt and pain into hope. Simultaneously, for as little as $25, we give lenders a purpose and a tangible way to help.”

After repayment of their loan, lenders can choose to reinvest their money into other worthy businesses — ensuring that their initial loan has ripple effects indefinitely — or to withdraw their funds from the platform.

“SparkIL helps put the mutual responsibility the Jewish people have for one another into action,” said Amira Ahronoviz, CEO and Director General at The Jewish Agency. “The loans granted by SparkIL will help small businesses and non-profit organsations in Israel survive this challenging period and allow supporters around the world to connect with Israel in a meaningful and impactful way.”

Sagi Balasha, CEO of The Ogen Group, added, “Our goal is to provide the victims of the war and of the economic crisis with immediate assistance, particularly through a quick and seamless process with minimal bureaucracy.”

sparkil.org

 

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: