A question that seems difficult to answer quickly about the world’s startup nation. How can a new country with a population of only about 9 million present to the world the largest number of successful startups at rates greater than all of Japan, China, India, and other countries?
First, we must agree on a fundamental principle: technological development and innovation are the main drivers of any country’s economy. Today, all countries are trying to achieve their economic renaissance by investing in scientific research and technological development.
Israel (Startup Nation) was the first in this field and reached it before others. Today, Israel has the largest number of companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, and they are from outside the North American continent.
Startup Nation – The Most Important Starting Point
Before the early 1990s, the economic plan laid its foundations in 1985 succeeded in establishing a financial success that has become the fastest in the world. It is a plan aimed at controlling inflation rates and providing a work environment for labor and innovative minds to stay inside Israel and work in it.
This is what led to the first wave of Israeli startups in the early 1990s. Excellence in the technological sector has been the cornerstone of putting the Israeli economy on the right path. Initially, the GDP rose by 4% on an annual basis per capita. The Israeli technology sector gained wide international fame due to innovation and creativity in the products introduced to the market at the time, especially when it turned to the fields of exporting products such as computers and medical devices.
Today, high-definition technology accounts for more than 50% of Israel’s total industrial exports to the world. During the ten years between 1995 and 2005, Israel was the only country in the world that spent the most money on scientific research, innovation, and technological development, as the rate of spending rose from 2.8% to 4.7%, which is higher than any other country that spent in this area in the Economic Cooperation Organization.
During the 1990s, Israeli industrial and technology-based exports rose from $ 7.8 billion to $ 21 billion.
Between 2006 and 2015, the number of Israeli startups working in the technology industry doubled annually. The market added about 650 new startups between 2006-2009 and the number of 1150 new startups between 2011-2014.
Today, nearly 1,000 startups appear in Israel every year, and this number has almost stabilized since the beginning of 2019.
The Israeli attributes of initiative, personal ambition, and love for risk were
among the most important decisive factors for Israel named “the startup nation.”
Israeli Startups – A Story of Innovation
Israel (Startup Nation) may not be the next “Silicon Valley,” but it is home to its most successful startups. According to 2019 statistics, Tel Aviv contains the largest number of startups per capita than any other city in the world.
Because of this healthy business environment in the State of Israel, and due to financing factors, many entrepreneurs worldwide choose to establish their startup in this small country. The reason for this is that they know that there is an environment in which innovation and the support of the technology sector are provided primarily by the state.
Many of the owners of these companies have indicated that they have achieved a lot of success compared to the companies that started their work in Silicon Valley in the United States of America. They are ready to venture into entering this experience that has proven successful over the past years.
In 2018, the giant Intel Corporation acquired the Israeli company, Mobileye, in a deal amounting to $ 15.3 billion, in what was considered the largest acquisition deal in the history of Israeli startups. Also, in the same year, Singapore’s Temasek Holdings bought the Israeli tech startup Sygnia for $ 250 million.
Of course, we also cannot forget the company Waze, a great example of the capacity for innovation and technological development in Israel. This company is involved in the development of GPS and mapping software. The giant Google company bought the Israeli company Waze for $ 1 billion in 2013.
Finally, It seems that the startup nation is ready to continue driving technological innovation and development until it reaches new global markets every day.
Recent peace agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Israel will open new markets for Israeli startups. These markets were until recently closed and impossible to access.
