Israel’s Postal Service to Launch Startup Pilot Program

Notorious for its frequent delays and lost packages, Israel’s national postal service wants to partner with local startups to solve its (many) operational difficulties. In an open call released Wednesday, state-owned Israel Postal Company Ltd. invited local startups to apply to a program through which they can pilot their technologies according to the company’s needs. The company seeks to partner with startups developing solutions for online commerce, financial services, and the retail industry.

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Selected startups will be given access to mentors and potential clients. Following the pilot program, the postal company will decide whether it wants to put the technologies into use as part of its commercial services, invest in the developer, or discontinue the pilot. The financial terms of the program were not disclosed. A spokeswoman for Israel Postal Company told Calcalist the size of the prospective investments and the terms of the pilot will be determined on a case by case basis.

In June, Israel announced a program to allow startups to test their products at state-owned companies and receive monetary assistance of 20%-60% of their research and development costs.

Israel Postal Company also announced its plans to set up an innovation and tech entrepreneurship in Tel Aviv within the next few months.