Earlier this month, Israel’s Ministry of Economy’s Foreign Trade Administration announced a new assistance program for Israeli companies wishing to establish marketing representatives in, among other countries, China and Japan. The purpose of the program is twofold: both to accelerate rapid economic growth of Israeli companies in the target countries, as well as diversification of Israeli export destinations. The program will aim to strengthen the commercial activity and increase the number of Israeli companies in the target markets, by increasing exports to and expanding the scope of trade with these countries.

The program is designed for Israeli companies who wish to establish a marketing representative in the target countries. Awards granted will be based on expenditures by a grantee company for certain activities, including placing employees in the target country, hiring local consultants, operating expenses within the target country, and creation of a beta site and first commercial installation of a given new product to the target market. The grants will last up to three years each and range in size from 50 percent of a grantee company’s expenditures to a fixed cap of 700,000 New Israeli Shekels a year for expenditures on these activities (excluding the beta site related expenditures that are subject to a separate $400,000 cap). Grantee companies who subsequently increase their sales in the target country(s) will be charged royalties at a rate of 3 percent of such increase by the Ministry, pursuant to Section 12 of the program directive.
Continue Reading Government Grants Now Available to Israeli Companies Establishing Marketing Representatives in China and Japan