Jan. 19, DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The CEO of an Israeli agency told Reuters that the company had a message for the business community when it arrived at Davos: investment in Israeli start-ups is welcome.

In an interview, Dror Bin, the head of the publicly funded Israel Innovation Authority, stated that he felt it was crucial to convey to big corporations and other investors that the nation's technology industry "continues to deliver" in spite of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

After the bombings on October 7 by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, more than 300,000 Israelis were called up to serve in the reserve military. It was anticipated that labor constraints that affected the IT industry would lessen as the conflict, which has resulted in an increasing death toll and a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, changed.

Bin claims that in order for the Israel Innovation Authority to award grants to Israeli start-ups engaged in research and development, the private sector must provide a matching contribution. According to him, prosperous startups reimburse the agency for the value of their grants.

Bin refrained from naming the investments the organization was assisting in obtaining. When asked how the Davos attendees had reacted to his request for assistance, Bin stated that some were considering investment from the perspectives of both "philanthropic activity" and financial reward.

Things to know about Davos

The gathering in January is officially the annual conference of the World Economic Forum (WEF), despite the fact that everyone refers to it as Davos. The name of the Swiss alpine resort hosting the top is Davos.

Due to the town's connection to the glamorous event, numerous competing events have attempted to capitalize on the prestige of the brand, with a proliferation of conferences calling themselves "Davos" versions of various conferences.

WEF, however, ultimately retaliated last year, coining the moniker "Davos in the desert" for a Saudi investment conference that coincided with the contentious killing of renowned government critic Jamal Khashoggi. The statement cautioned that "all means to protect the Davos brand against illicit appropriation" would be employed.