Israel Active

The number of incoming tourists to Israel has just surpassed last year’s record of 3.6 million, and the Tourism Ministry is projecting the total will exceed four million by end Dec. Significant increases include 90% from Poland, 40% from the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary, and 35% from Italy.

I reported recently on Israel’s Ladingo and its platform to significantly reduce shipping and handling costs. Ladingo has just won top prize at the Retail Disrupt Startup Competition. 1200 delegates from 25 countries attended Israel’s leading conference on retail technology.

Israeli startup Camilyo equips small businesses with the tools to compete with the big on-line companies. One of Deloitte’s 50 fastest growing Israeli companies, Camilyo just won 3 prestigious Excellence awards at the SIINDA Local Search Summit held in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Israeli startup Trendemon analyzes a company’s ad campaigns and can help prevent it wasting money. Trendemon CEO Avishai Sharon explained more on ILTV.

Israel is to invest $60 million in various sectors in Angola, including the construction of a 50 megawatts solar power plant. Israel has already invested $300 million in the agricultural sector in Angola since 2014.

I reported previously when Mississippi Governor Phil Bryan led a business development mission to Israel. Governor Bryan is back again on his 4th visit, with a large delegation of state economic development leaders and private business executives.

Senior UK executives from Mastercard and Citi have come to Israel as part of a delegation organized by the chamber of commerce for UK Israel Business (UKIB). They will meet Israeli technology giants, startups, investors etc. Many UK businesses are seeking Israeli partners post-Brexit.

The UK and Israeli governments have set up a fund of over £2 million to encourage joint UK-Israel business ventures. They have invited entrepreneurs developing new technology to team up and bid for grants up to £250,000 to help pay for cooperative business efforts.

The University of Haifa’s Carmel innovation fund has raised $1 million to attract entrepreneurs to Haifa and northern Israel. It includes $100,000 to support its underwater-vision startup SEAERRA, developing applications for oil and gas, security and fish-breeding.

Israel’s WaterGen has opened a factory in Columbia, South Carolina that will employ 400 people building its “water from the air” machines. WaterGen plans to open 3 more factories in the next 2 years. WaterGen’s Yehuda Kaploun revealed even more on Fox Business News.