innovation israel

Young Entrepreneurship Incentive Program

These organizations are selected through competitive procedures, and the incentive program is conducted in a one-year format.
The non-profit organization, Unistream, which encourages and educates young people in business entrepreneurship, won a 2015 tender and has been re-selected to operate the Authority’s designated Young Entrepreneur incentive program “Startup Now” each year since then.

Goal of the incentive program:

To encourage and educate young people towards practical experience in business entrepreneurship, while imparting skills and knowledge that will help them integrate into the future world of entrepreneurship.

Who is the incentive program for?

• Organizations that are interested in instilling the basics of entrepreneurship and innovation in Grade 7-12 students.
• The incentive program operates in different settings: schools, community centers and local authorities.

What do you get?

• The participants in the incentive program learn concepts from the fields of business, economics and entrepreneurship. They also practice the process of establishing a company and developing a real business venture.
• Participants experience the entrepreneurial process in practice, from the conceptual stage to production and sales.
• The process is supported by dozens of prominent businessmen from various fields who mentor and assist the students in developing their projects.

Why should you apply for this incentive program?

Empowering young people: The incentive program is designed for diverse populations and different audiences that have never been exposed to entrepreneurship. The activities included in the incentive program empower young participants and develop their aptitudes and capabilities. The incentive program is carried out mainly in the south and north of the country, focusing on populations from Israel’s social and geographic periphery.

Future prospects: Exposure to the incentive program’s content and the concepts from the entrepreneurial world, as well as familiarity with business leaders who assist the students in the development of a business enterprise, allowing them a foothold in the Israeli entrepreneurial community.

For further details: Young Entrepreneurship Incentive Program

 

Renewable Energy (Cleantech) Technology Center

The center enables testing and trials for products undergoing development and demonstration. The Center is operated by a licensee from the private sector, together with a strategic investor and an academic research center.

Goal of the incentive program:

To assist companies and entrepreneurs that are developing, or interested in developing, a product integrating an innovative technology that has economic potential in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency. In addition, the incentive program is designed for teams that can carry out the proposed R&D by themselves, on the technological and the managerial levels. The center operates in the Eilot region and utilizes this area’s unique geographic and climatic advantages. This support is conditional upon the project’s ability to contribute to the development of the Eilot region.

Who is the incentive program for?

• Companies and entrepreneurs who wish to carry out projects that require technological R&D in the renewable energy and energy efficiency fields.
• The Renewable Energy Technology Center supports projects in relevant technological fields, such as solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, fuel alternatives, energy efficiency, smart grid, energy storage, and more.
• The incentive program is available for early stage companies and entrepreneurs interested in developing technological projects in the renewable energy fields, as well as for researchers wishing to carry out applied research in these areas, and companies that want to conduct experiments in the testing areas operated by the Center.
• The assistance is carried out via three sub-programs:
  • Initial sub-program: Funding and support of applied R&D activities, via cooperation between academia and industry.
  • Advanced sub-program: Funding and support of technological projects of early stage companies in the pre-seed and seed stages.
  • Testing areas sub-program: Funding and support of demonstrations and experiments in the fields of renewable energy, through facilitating of testing areas and required infrastructures.

What do you get?

The participants of all the sub-programs receive professional and technical support from the Center’s staff for the completion of the project. The financial support depends on the sub-program in which the operation is carried out:

• Primary sub-program: Financial support of 66% of the approved R&D expenditures for an activity period of up to two years. In exceptional cases a one-year extension of the a period will be approved without changes in the scope of the financial support. The participants in this incentive program are exempt from paying royalties to the Authority.
• Advanced sub-program:
  • Financial support of 60% or 85% of the approved R&D expenditures by the Authority, and supplementary financing up to 100% of the approved R&D expenditures by the Center’s licensee for activity period of up to two years.
    • Financial support of 60% of R&D expenditures for existing young companies at the beginning of their activities, even if they have been supported in the past by other incentive programs of the Authority or as part of any other program.
    • Financial support of 85% of R&D expenditures is available only for projects that have not previously received government support as part of one of the Authority’s incentive programs, except for the Primary sub-program of the Renewable Energy Technology Center.
  • The approved budget for a project is up to NIS 2,500,000. In exceptional cases, a one-year extension of the activity period will be approved without changes in the scope of the financial support.
  • The entrepreneur or company receiving the benefits as part of this incentive program will repay the received funding to the Authority by the payment of royalties from sales, but only if the project succeeds in reaching the commercialization stage, and the company generates revenues.
• Testing areas sub-program: Financial support of 50% of the approved R&D expenditures for activity period of up to two years, with no royalties payment obligation.

Why should you apply for this incentive program?

Substantial financial support for projects in the fields of renewable energy: A total budget of NIS 98 million is reserved for the support of projects carried out as part of the Technology Center during the seven years of the license period, and for continued investment of the licensee in the projects even after the completion of the activity period in the Center.

Assistance from a specialist in the fields of renewable energy: The activity is supported by a licensee possessing the necessary expertise, experience and connections with strategic partners and investment resources in the fields of renewable energy.

Quality Hallmark support: Support from the Authority and the Technology Center is provided following a comprehensive professional assessment of the project, which serves as a mark of quality for companies in the industry, making it easier for them to mobilize private capital down the road.

For additional information please contact:

Renewable Energy Technology Center
Email: SU@innovationisrael.org.il
Tel: 02-6662664 / 03-5118142

Capital Nature Ltd.
Phone: 08-6371717 / 09-7715230
Website: capitalnature.com
Email: info@capitalnature.com

For further details: Renewable Energy (Cleantech) Technology Center