Israel’s Ministry of Economy and Industry on Wednesday issued a press release declaring the establishment of the Innovation Visas program, allowing an entrepreneur to reside in Israel for a period of up to 24 months, during which time he or she may submit a request to the Israel Innovation Authority’s Tnufa (Heb: lift) incentive program.
Tnufa was originally designed for fledgling entrepreneurs who are interested in formulating and validating an innovative technological concept and in reaching the R&D stage, where they can raise funding for further development and commercialization.
If the initiative matures into a company, the foreign entrepreneur may submit a request to receive further support from one of the Innovation Authority’s programs and to receive an expert’s visa for salaried work on his/her initiative, for up to 5 years. The Authority’s supportive framework will provide the foreign entrepreneur, who is beginning his/her journey in Israel, exposure to the Israeli innovation ecosystem, work space, technological infrastructure, and business and logistical support.
12 approved supportive frameworks have been selected:
1. The Tel Aviv Municipality’s Tel Aviv Global – A municipal company in charge of developing Tel Aviv and handling the Tel Aviv Municipality’s international accelerator project for urban entrepreneurship.
2. Samurai Incubate Inc. – An investment fund and private incubator for technological initiatives in pre-seed and seed stage companies in Japan and Israel.
3. TechForGood – An international organization advancing startups that develop innovative technological solutions for global, social and environmental issues.
4. The Trendlines Group – A technological incubator that identifies, invests and supports companies developing novel technology in medical equipment, in agriculture and in food technology.
5. MATI Haifa – A SME Development Center intended to develop the economy of the city of Haifa by encouraging technological and business entrepreneurship.
6. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem – The entrepreneurship center of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem encourages and helps in the establishment of startups in the university and serves as an incubator for initiatives.
7. Lighthouse – A shared work space to entrepreneurs who receive support and enrichment on the core issues of establishing and developing an initiative according to the entrepreneur’s needs.
8. TheHive by Gvahim – A non-profit intended to help higher education immigrants to integrate within the Israeli job market.
9. Alon MedTech Ventures– A technological incubator for entrepreneurs and startups in the life sciences field, specifically in the medical device sector.
10. Terralab Ventures – A technological incubator investing in seed stage companies and entrepreneurs, in Cleantech, Medtech and other fields.
11. The Kitchen Hub – A technological incubator investing in seed and pre-seed food-tech initiatives in order to face challenges in food production.
12. Initech digital product development – an Israeli software house supplying a wide range of technological services.
Anya Eldan, VP and Head of the Startup Division, Israel Innovation Authority, said in a statement: “The landing pads selected will provide foreign entrepreneurs a ‘soft landing’ in the local ecosystem in order to formulate their innovative initiative to the point of establishing a company in Israel, enriching the Israeli industry with excellent entrepreneurship. These Landing Pads join the range of tools we offer to young entrepreneurs and startup companies in order to cement their existence and robustness so that they can achieve fundable milestones.”
CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, Aharon Aharon said in a statement: “Israel’s unique ecosystem draws numerous foreign entrepreneurs interested in taking part in activities and establishing initiatives and partnerships. The approved landing pads selected cover a wide range of fields and will enable high quality entrepreneurs with knowledge, experience and groundbreaking ideas from all over the world to be a part of our fascinating ecosystem.”
Foreign entrepreneurs from around the world interested in developing their technological initiative in Israel are encouraged to reach out to the approved landing pads.