Technological Incubators in Northern Israel

In honor of the incubator in Misgav being named Outstanding Incubator for 2009 we are beginning a multi-post series on Technological Incubators in northern Israel.

Here’s a few facts about the incubators program in Israel taken from the official site of the incubators program :

• The program was originally  initiated in 1991 to help entrepreneurs who had immigrated to Israel to develop their ideas. Since then the program was extended to non-immigrants and now is open to all Israeli citizens.
• The program is administered by the office of the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor.
• There are currently 24 incubators in Israel located from the Negev to the upper Galilee, with 15 located in the periphery.
• There is one incubator devoted specifically to Biotech (in Jerusalem).
• There is a Jewish-Arab incubator in Nazareth which is the first incubator of its type to be co-owned by Jewish and Israeli Arabs businessmen.
• There are about 200 companies operating in incubators.
• As of 2007 the type of  companies in incubators were as follows: 39% medical device, 19% software, 19% biotech, 9% electronics  and the rest split between agriculture, communications, environment, and machinery.
• By the end of 2006, the total cumulative private investment in graduate incubator companies surpassed $1.5 billion.
• By the end of 2006, over 1000 projects had matured and left the incubators. Of these graduates, 57% have successfully attracted private investments.

In our next post we will begin to feature individual incubators starting with the Yozmot HaEmek incubator.