Israel Boosts Wartime Aid Fund For Startups To 400M Shekels

Israel’s Finance Ministry has expanded the fund to bolster the country’s high-tech sector during wartime from 100 million shekels to 400 million. 

The fund will provide vital support to those startups facing financial insecurity due to the conflict with Hamas that began on October 7, the ministry said. 

The decision was made following the release of a survey of 500 high-tech companies in the days immediately following the outbreak of the conflict, which detailed the difficulties facing Israeli startups. 

Ministry officials met Wednesday with counterparts from the government’s Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), and leading members of the high-tech sector to discuss how to support companies during the conflict and long-term plans for the industry once the war is over.  

Other participants in the meeting included representatives of Israeli and foreign venture capital funds, institutional investors and other key members of the industry, who further outlined the challenges currently facing the sector in Israel and called for a prompt response to them. 

The Finance Ministry said that the decision to increase the fund was the first in a series of both short- and long-term measures being implemented to assist the sector. 

Companies will be able to apply for grants from the fund in November. Startups will be evaluated on a range of criteria, including those technological assets, existing available funding, impact on employees and infrastructure. 

The high-tech industry was the largest contributor to Israel’s national GDP in 2022, accounting for just over 18 percent or 290 billion shekels ($78B), according to the IIA. It was also responsible for 50 percent of the country’s foreign exports.