Israel Innovation Authority, Ministry of Education Launch Young Entrepreneurs Program

The Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) and the Israeli Ministry of Education announced Tuesday the launch of a public tender for their new Young Entrepreneurs program for Israeli high school students. The program will operate with a budget of NIS 10 million (about $2.8 million) over five years and serve teenagers throughout Israel, with an emphasis on the country’s periphery.

The program aims to encourage entrepreneurial, scientific, and technological skill in local youth, by harnessing the scientific and technological infrastructure of the Ministry of Education. It will also leverage the Israel Innovation Authority for its connection to the Israeli high-tech ecosystem, while exposing students to industry players, academic agencies, startups, technological incubators, and entrepreneurship laboratories, in order to facilitate collaboration, product development support, and market reach.

 “The joint Young Entrepreneurs program with the Israeli Innovation Authority [will] strengthen mathematics and sciences studies throughout Israel, especially in the periphery. In addition, the program will teach and strengthen 21^st Century skills combined with strong disciplinary knowledge to prepare these youth for life in general and for the future of employment in particular,” Muhanna Fares, senior advisor to Minister of Education Rafi Peretz, said in a statement.

The Young Entrepreneurs program will be operated by up to two chosen organizations with backgrounds in entrepreneurial education. One of the chosen organizations will be responsible for northern Israel while the other will focus its efforts on the south. According to the organizations, that only one organization might be chosen to operate both regions.

The chosen operator(s) of the Young Entrepreneurs will provide educational services to at least 100 groups of teenagers at a minimum of 1,000 hours per month. 

“We place great importance on training the next generation of Israel’s entrepreneurs and ensuring Israel’s leadership position in science and technology. Exposing young people to an entrepreneurial way of thinking will equip them with the efficient and relevant tool sets they need to drive future innovations,” says Anya Eldan, VP of the Israel Innovation Authority and head of the startup division.