Israeli start-ups to bid for EU grants totalling 32b. euros

EU research program invites Israeli companies to submit grant applications; grants considered cheapest money available for technology companies.

By GLOBES/ BATYA FELDMAN
start up 88 (photo credit: Azri Samin)
start up 88
(photo credit: Azri Samin)
At a time when it is hard for new technology companies to raise capital, they ought to remember one deep pocket that has money for Israeli companies: EU grant programs for technology R&D companies.
The EU Seventh Framework Progamme for Research and Development has invited Israeli companies to submit grant applications. These grants are considered the cheapest money available for technology companies.
Companies that successfully pass the bureaucratic hurdles and meet the criteria can gain access to millions of euros, which are offered without strings attached. The venture even keeps the intellectual property.
Jerusalem Venture Partners venture partner Yoav Tzruya is a member of the EU Seventh Framework Progamme for Research and Development forum, which decides its hi-tech investments. The forum reviews the grant applications, sifts them and picks the projects that will receive financing.
“The EU program has 32 billion for 2007-13. EU member states participate in the funding, along with other countries, such as Israel,” said Tzruya. “The budget is divided into ‘calls,’ which are programs in various fields published every few months.”
Tzruya said 780 million euros are targeted for various technology companies. The topic of the next call, he said, is “digital content and languages; digital content storage; access to video, audio, and text content and automatic translation.”