More funds for startups
In this week’s investments, code developer raised ; air-cleaning raised ; (facial recognition ) raised , and digital microscope maker raised .
Energy projects to kickstart the economy
Israel’s Energy Ministry has proposed a NIS 25 billion raft of mainly privately funded energy and infrastructure projects to help kickstart the post-coronavirus economy. At least half the projects would involve increasing power from renewable sources.
Israeli funding for coronavirus research
The Israel government has granted NIS 10 million to 84 research projects to combat COVID-19. 18 of these grants (20%) were awarded to projects of the University of Haifa.
Fitch gives Israel an A+
Amazingly, Fitch Ratings has affirmed Israel's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) at 'A+' with a stable outlook. It highlights strong external finances, a diversified high value-added economy and solid institutional strength. It projects a rebound in 2021, with GDP growing by 5%.
Israeli vaccine gains support
Israel’s Migal Galilee Research Institute is now MigVax Corp and has just received $12 million of funds, led by Ourcrowd. MigVax is developing a safe, oral vaccine with 3 levels of protection. It will be easy to scale up and can be adjusted for other coronavirus strains.
Airlines renew Israel flights
Good news for Israeli nationals. British Airways and Wizz are shortly resuming their London to Tel Aviv flights. Air Canada is restarting from Toronto and Montreal and Delta is resuming from New York. United Airlines is upgrading its New York service and restarting from San Francisco.
IKEA re-opens 3 Israeli stores
Multinational retailer IKEA has re-opened its stores in Netanya, Tel Aviv Port and Rishon LeZion as part of Israel’s slow return to normality. IKEA will observe the latest Ministry of Health regulations, including social distancing, wearing of masks, maintaining hygiene and frequent cleaning.
Israeli schools to re-open
Israeli school admin staff are returning to work in advance of schools reopening. They will be subject to Health Ministry guidelines. It is a major step towards allowing parents to return to work. Special education classes have already reopened.
A thousand ventilators for Europe
Israel’s BATM is already busy producing COVID-19 testing kits (reported previously). Now, it has received a $31 million order from an unnamed European country, for 1000 ventilators to be delivered between June and September.
El Al transports medical equipment from China to Italy
El Al's cargo department has signed a deal to operate 150 cargo flights from China to Italy, carrying medical equipment to help battle coronavirus. El Al will operate two flights daily between April and October using converted 777 planes and Dreamliners.