Israel Active

The Israel-India Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) has just awarded its first grants. Israeli startups benefiting are Bacsoft, Ubiqam, Agrosolar and Samoculis. The projects are water/energy, cellular network quality, irrigation and glaucoma surgical devices.

I reported previously on the technology of Israel’s DouxMatok that makes sugar sweeter and reduces the amount required to be added to products. Now Germany’s Südzuckee is to set up production, joint marketing and sales of DouxMatok sugar to Europe.

The Israel Hotel Investment Summit (19-20 Nov) in Tel Aviv provides an in-depth analysis of the business opportunities within the Israel hospitality sector. With only 55,000 rooms for 3.6 million visitors, the market looks interesting for investors, developers, operators and advisors.

Takeaway.com from the Netherlands has just acquired Israeli startup 10bis for $158 million. 10bis software and lunch card enables corporations to replace their canteens with a delivery service from local restaurants.

Facebook’s fifth Israeli multi-million dollar acquisition is messaging developer Redkix, which has developed a platform to streamline an organization’s email chat. It is centralized instant messaging for the workplace to help employees collaborate by connecting to each other.

International rating agency Moody's Investors Service has joined Standard & Poor's (S&P) in raising its rating outlook for the government of Israel from "stable" to "positive". Israel's current rating is A1. Moody’s reasons were Israel’s fiscal discipline and strong economic growth.

I reported previously on the plan for US Army veterans to receive revolutionary wheelchairs from Israeli startup SoftWheel. The US Department of Veterans Affairs has since approved 361 of the wheelchairs and a new deal makes that into a total of 2,000.

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded a $30 million contract to Israel-based Orbit Communications. Orbit will provide repairs and upgrades to communication technology aboard the U.S. military's aging KC-135 refueling jets over a 5-year period.

John Farenhorst, a member of Netherlands’ Christian Friends of Israel, sells Israeli products at the Israel Product Center in Nijkerk, near Utrecht. IPC’s store has a mail order department with a network of over 200 volunteer salespeople who sell the products from their homes.

In its first five years, Israel’s leading global investing crowdfunding platform OurCrowd, has helped 160 startups raise $750 million. It supports 25,000 small investors from 120 countries.