Business Opportunities
Israel and the New Economy
In the new economy, ideas and technical knowledge are the most valuable assets of any business. The State of Israel is home to a wealth of intellectual capital that derives from a highly skilled workforce and an advanced telecommunications network, both heavily funded by the Israeli government. The Israeli government has proven their commitment to research and development by allocating 2.9% of the GDP to R&D projects. This percentage is greater than any other country in the world. A number of publicly-traded companies have located their research facilities in Israel: Microsoft, Intel, Motorola, IBM, and Cisco are just a few.
Joint Ventures
There are several ways for American companies and investors to break into the Israeli market. A joint venture often combines the marketing strengths of an American company with the R&D of an Israeli start-up to yield a hybrid profit-model. Israelis can reach a much larger market in the U.S. American companies and can use Israeli technologies to improve their business.
The United States and Israel established BIRD in 1977 to fund joint U.S.-Israeli teams in the development and subsequent commercialization of innovative, non-defense technological products from which both the Israeli and American companies can expect to derive benefits commensurate with the investments and risks. Most grant recipients are small businesses involved with software, instrumentation, communications, medical devices, and semiconductors.