Israel Active

Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water, discusses the current situation of the country’s energy mix and the transformation which is set to occur following the natural gas discoveries in the Leviathan and Tamar gas fields.

Some Israeli startups have become successful without seeking external funding. Using their own funds (known as “Bootstrapping”) the entrepreneurs that founded Optimove and Fitness22 have retained control of their businesses and are now enjoying the rewards.

Israel startup Taykey has developed a trend-tracking system that has earned it over $10 million in revenue this year. One of its main investors is Innovation Endeavors, owned by Google’s Eric Schmidt. (See for Schmidt’s other Israeli investments)

Exports of Israeli products and services to the UK increased by 3.7% during Jan and July 2015. Bilateral trade during the same period reached a record £2.4 billion.

The average Israeli wage rose by a massive 7.9% in June to NIS 10,078 ($2562). 82,000 people joined the workforce in the first quarter, making a total of 3.41 million.

Bank of Israel Governor Karnit Flug has made the Global Finance's list of best central bank governers for the second year in a row. Flug was one of eight to receive an A ranking.

I reported in a previous newsletter that China’s largest private airline Hainan was to commence direct flights between Tel Aviv and Beijing. A 3-flights-a-week service commences on 28th April. By Aug, 2015 tourist numbers exceeded the 33,000 for the whole of 2014.

Delta Air Lines is picking up traffic American Airlines will lose when it halts its Philadelphia-Tel Aviv route in January. In May, Delta is adding four flights a week to its JFK-Tel Aviv route in addition to the current daily round-trip service, making it one of Delta’s largest trans-Atlantic services.

Tel Aviv-based TV Format Fund has about $50 million to invest in companies developing new TV shows over the next five to seven years. It has spent $3 million so far and will eventually sell shares in the fund.

Israel’s Ben-Gurion University has officially opened Inno-Negev - the first technology accelerator in the Negev region. Inno-Negev provides a free program for early-stage startups matching one of its 6-month cycles (Cyber, Homeland Security, ICT, Medical Devices, and more).