Israel Active

Financial giant Citi has hailed the success of its Israel Innovation Lab - an accelerator program which since 2013 has helped 43 Israeli startups. The lab was responsible for developing the mobile version of Citi Velocity – the bank’s trading platform for institutional clients.

Israeli startup Trendit grabs data from mobile phone signals to build real-time information about pedestrian traffic. The information will become increasingly useful to service developers in “Smart” cities. Trendit wants to raise £3m from listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Low cost airline Ryanair has begun its new service from Israel’s Ovda Airport, near Eilat, to Budapest, Krakow and Kaunas (Kovno) for as low as €10 one way. Passengers also receive a gift basket that includes Ahava hand cream and chocolate.

Yissum Research – the technology-transfer company of the Hebrew University, has set up Agrinnovation, an investment fund focused on agricultural inventions. One of its first projects is an innovative protective coating for extending the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables.

Israel’s Apester encourages business customers to respond to polls, quizzes and other types of interactive content.

A delegation of 20 CEOs from the US State of Michigan came to Israel to see what makes the entrepreneurial ethos of “Start-Up Nation” tick. They were most surprised to learn from Israel about inner-city security and the automotive industry.

London Mayor Boris Johnson came to Israel to get more Israeli technology companies to expand to London and IPO on its stock markets. London has 141 Israeli tech firms of which 16 are listed on the London Stock Exchange, with a combined market value of £3.7 billion.

Benjamin Peng attended the Go4Israel conference in Tel Aviv wearing a kippah (scull-cap). Three years ago he founded Chinese investment firm Yafo Capital ("Yafo" is the Hebrew name of the city of Jaffa) along with two Chinese partners. He even proposed to his girlfriend at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

Russia’s Aeroflot airline is adding more flights on its routes from Moscow and St Petersburgh to Tel Aviv. Aeroflot only began services to Israel five years ago and soon will be operating 37 flights a week. The change reflects increased trade between Russia and Israel’s Russian immigrants.

Israel’s Gett (formally Gett Taxis) is launching a courier service that will pick up a parcel within ten minutes of a call and deliver it for a charge of NIS 25-55 depending on area. The service will initially operate in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Givatayim.