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FROM ‘KIBBUTZ’ TO VENTURE
CAPITAL EMPIRE
Though elements of Israeli society set the stage for budding entrepreneurs, Israel’s
world-class educational institutions, innovation support programs, and opportunity-wealthy
venture capital environment have been central in helping thousands of Israelis turn their
startup dream into reality. This network of entrepreneurial support is one of the reasons
why Israel is the self-declared “Silicon Wadi," the second-most bustling startup ecosystem
outside of the Silicon Valley in California.
EDUCATING ISRAEL’S EINSTEINS
Any good innovator knows that it is rare for a first attempt to be the best attempt. In the
case of the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, the first institution of higher education
established in Israel, this happens to be the case. Founded in 1924 as the ‘Technikum,’
the institution was established to give new Jewish immigrants the chance to acquire the
technical studies they were prevented from pursuing in Europe. Men and women from
diverse backgrounds came together on the Technion’s Haifa Campus to pursue degrees in
engineering, science, medicine and technical studies. Over time, the Technion has become
the leading scientific and engineering school in the Middle East, educating Nobel Prize
winners, world-renowned entrepreneurs and top scientists.
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