Tech entrepreneur Shimrit Perkol-Finkel killed in scooter accident in Tel Aviv

Entrepreneur and marine ecologist Shimrit Perkol-Finkel, founder of eco-friendly marine infrastructure startup ECOncrete Tech Ltd., was killed in Tel Aviv on Sunday after being hit by a truck while riding an electric scooter.

Perkol-Finkel was 45-years-old and is survived by her partner and three daughters.

The fatal accident occurred shortly after Perkol-Finkel left the offices of ECOncrete.

"With disbelief and grieving hearts, we're announcing the death of Shimrit Perkol-Finkel, our co-founder, CEO, and dear friend," the company said in a statement. "Yesterday afternoon, Shimrit was involved in a car accident and did not survive.Shimrit was a mother of three, wife, sister, talented scientist, and brilliant entrepreneur. She inspired and lifted all of us with her love of the ocean, and her vision for rescuing it.

"Her mission continues. But today, we mourn."

Founded in 2012 by Perkol-Finkel and Ido Sella, ECOncrete, which raised a $5 million series A funding round in June of last year, manufactures concrete structures that accelerate the growth of marine plants and animals, including fish, coral reefs, seaweed, and sea anemone. ECOncrete develops a bio-enhancing material, which it adds to its concrete mix to reduce its carbon footprint and encourage fauna and flora growth. The structures are designed with crevices and textures that mimic natural surfaces such as rocks to encourage living organisms to develop on their surface.

ECOncrete won first prize at the Pitch to Rich event that took place in 2019 as part of Virgin Atlantic and Calcalist's Business Is an Adventure conference in Tel Aviv. At the event, five Israeli startups pitched their technologies to Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire co-founder of multinational conglomerate the Virgin Group.

“Covid-19 is a wakeup call. We can’t keep protecting ourselves while destroying precious marine resources. It's time to make a change and set new environmental standards for coastal and marine construction," Perkol-Finkel said last year. "We don’t want to stop the progress, but we want to progress in a way that allows marine life to thrive, using nature-based solutions and ecological engineering. To achieve this, we must deploy innovation from the emerging Blue tech and Climate tech arena."