Israel Innovation Authority Launches Grant Program for Female-Founded Startups

The Israel Innovation Authority, the government’s tech investment arm, announced on Wednesday the launch of a grant program for female-founded startups.

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The grant aims to double the number of female-led initiatives supported by the authority within two years.

To qualify for the grant, 33% of the company’s owners and technological management roles must be filled by women. The grant will cover up to 75% of a startup’s research and development costs for its first year, and up to 70% for the second year. The budget cap will be NIS 2.5 million ($690,000) for the first year and NIS 4.5 million ($1.24 million) for the following year.

In 2000-2017, women accounted for just 7% of the founders or co-founders of startups established in Israel, according to an April report by Israel-based market research firm IVC Research Center Ltd.

Only 10.5% of the founders of startups established in Israel since 2014 are women, according to Start-Up Nation Central (SNC), a Tel Aviv-based non-profit organization and startup database. Out of 387 founders whose startups have raised more than just seed investments, only around 5% are women, according to SNC.