In addition, a summary of the performance of the incubator project for 2006 was held this week: incubator companies raised 250 million dollars last year, a 43% increase in investment volumes in incubator companies compared to 2005 when 175 million dollars were raised
A momentum committee headed by the chief scientist, Dr. Eli Ofer, approved 12 pre-R&D programs, with a budget of NIS 1.7 million (of which NIS 1.24 million are state grants).
The manager of the swing program at the Office of the Chief Scientist, Jacob Fisher, said that of the approved projects, 6 were in the field of communication and information systems, and 6 more from different fields: electronics, materials, biotech and consumer products.
Tnufa manager chose to mention a project on managing the development processes of software products, which is shared by the Israeli start-up company Orcanus and the Oracle company.
According to Fisher, this project, which was approved as part of the R&D cooperation agreement between Oracle and the Office of the Chief Scientist, is the fifth project under the agreement. Additional projects are in various testing processes in swing.
The chief scientist, Dr. Eli Ofer, addressed the issue of cooperation with global companies, noting that such cooperation dramatically improves the chances of an Israeli start-up company to break into global markets. The company's chances of raising capital also increase considerably as a result.
Dr. Ofer noted in this context, the success of the Yedat company, the first to be approved within the framework of the agreement between the Office of the Chief Scientist and Oracle, which these days managed to raise 4.4 million dollars from venture capital investors and even sign a cooperation agreement with a partner.
We are working to sign similar agreements with other global companies, added Dr. Ofer.
The Chief Scientist, through the Tnufa Administration, supports entrepreneurs and start-up companies in a variety of aid tracks to promote R&D:
• Support for startups
• Upgrading traditional industry
• Cooperation with multinational corporations
• Promotion of industrial design
• Development of green products
The assistance in the framework of a swing is at a rate of up to 85% of the approved budget, up to a grant ceiling of NIS 250,000.
February 19, 2007
The program of technological incubators in the Office of the Chief Scientist at TMT - summary of the year 2006
Incubator companies raised 250 million dollars last year, a 43% increase in investment volumes in incubator companies compared to 2005 when 175 million dollars were raised
In preparation for the annual celebratory event of the technological incubator program of the Office of the Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Science and Technology, which will be held this year at the beginning of March, the administration of the incubator program published a summary of data regarding the year 2006.
The year 2006 was a record year for the technological incubators program, which is run in the Office of the Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Employment. The investment bodies, which returned to investment activity last year, after the years of the crisis, discovered a welcome supply of innovative and promising ventures in the incubator program and the results speak for themselves:
178 incubator companies (young and old) raised an aggregate amount of 2006 million dollars in 250, compared to 112 incubator companies that raised private capital in 2005 (an increase of about 60%).
93 of them raised an aggregate amount of approximately 70 million dollars as part of the first fundraising round only, compared to 54 companies that raised private capital as part of the first fundraising round in 2005 (an increase of approximately 72%).
It should be noted that in addition to this, 2 incubator companies made significant exits:
1. The company Sightline, which develops medical devices for the early detection of tumors in the digestive tract and which emerged from the Altam incubator in 1996, was purchased by the American medical device giant, Stryker, for $150 million, in cash and shares.
2. The Ori-Dent company that develops innovative dental crowns made of plastic material for children and which came out of Ashkelon in 2005, was purchased by a giant in the dental field, DentsPly in a deal estimated at 100 million dollars in royalties over 10 years.
In addition to them, Protlix, which develops a drug to treat Gaucher's disease, merged with the stock exchange skeleton Orthodontics and began trading on Nasdaq at the end of 2006.
areas of activity
In 2006, the incubator committee approved grants for 78 new entrepreneurs.
During 2006, 232 entrepreneurs operated in the incubators, in the following fields:
1. Medical devices - 39%
2. Biotechnology – 19%
3. Software – 19%
4. Electronics – 9%
5. Environmental quality - 4%
6. Machinery – 3%
7. Agriculture – 3%
8. Materials – 2%
9. Communication – 2%
The incubators deal with all technological fields. In recent years, the field of life sciences has been on the rise and this year reached about 60% of the scope of activity in greenhouses.
Dr. Eli Ofer, the chief scientist at the Ministry of Science and Technology, says that the incubator program for technological entrepreneurship is an important and successful program, and is currently the number 1 start-up producer in Israel. Its correct conduct, its adaptation to changing needs and conditions, and its stability over the years have made it an essential tool for the development of sophisticated industry in the State of Israel. The year 2006 proves this beyond doubt.
Renee Fridor, founder and manager of the incubator program, is satisfied with the achievements of the program in 2006: over 60% of the companies that graduated from the incubators in 2006 were able to raise private investment in an aggregate amount of over 70 million dollars. This is a very impressive result, she says.
According to Pridor, the willingness of the private sector to invest in incubator enterprises already in the first round (within two years since they started in the incubator) more than 2.5 dollars for every government dollar - proves the effectiveness and success of the program.
As part of the incubator program, 24 technological incubators operate. 16 of them are privatized greenhouses. 15 of the 24 incubators are located in peripheral and "problematic" areas and in addition 3 incubators operate in Jerusalem.
During 2006, 3 greenhouses were privatized:
1. A Kinneret greenhouse operating in Zemach, which was privatized by the Ronald Stern Group from Canada, with the goal of focusing on water technologies.
2. Hamma L.N. Entrepreneurship from the Haifa Bay which was privatized by the Altshuler Group - Shaham and Mr. Zeev Brunfeld whose goal is to focus on environmental technologies.
3. An orchard greenhouse from Dimona that was merged into a Mai'an greenhouse from Be'er Sheva.
Since the establishment of the incubator program in 1991, incubator companies have raised over 1.5 billion dollars, compared to the 425 million dollars that the state invested in the incubator program, that is, almost four times.
Here it must be said that as part of the incubator program, the state invests in entrepreneurs and high-risk innovative ideas, in the earliest stages. Without this initial investment, most of the companies would not have been established and the private investments would not have arrived as described in the graph above.
It should be remembered that the goal of the incubator program is to give a proof opportunity to every enterprise that meets the requirements of the program, so that good ideas are not lost just because they were not given the opportunity to prove themselves.
The cut in the chief scientist's budget in general, and in the incubator program's budget in particular, harms the fulfillment of this important goal. A reduced budget means rejecting worthy ventures. Worthy entrepreneurs are our important natural treasure that must be made a special effort to nurture and turn it into an economic force.
