ISRAEL: IS IT the promised land of technology and innovation, the ultimate smart economy? Many people think so. If so, maybe Ireland should be following Israel’s model.
The tiny nation certainly has an extraordinary record for attracting global venture capital, sparking off leading-edge research and creating innovative companies.
Israel has experienced 50-fold economic growth in 60 years, according to Startup Nation: the Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle , by Dan Senor and Saul Singer. In 2008, they write, per-capita venture-capital investments into Israel were 30 times greater than into Europe, 80 times greater than into China and even two and a half times greater than into the US. Israel has the highest density of start-ups in the world: 3,850, or 'one for every 1,844 Israelis'. There are more Israeli companies on the technology-focused Nasdaq exchange than all companies from all of Europe."
