Jan 26, 2021
The Europeans don’t have the same venture capital mindset as Americans, and the EU is a much more complicated player when it comes to Israeli high tech.
By Yakir Benzion, United With Israel
When it comes to investing in Israeli high tech and looking at success stories of Israeli startup companies outside of the Jewish state, everybody knows that America is the main mover while the European Union is lagging far behind,
The
Jerusalem Post noted in an article on Monday.
“Let’s do a little thought experiment. If I ask you for a great Israel success story on the U.S. market, what comes to mind?” asked Ido Alon, Director of Strategy & Change at the Israeli office of the European-based international accounting giant KPMG, the
Illustrative image of the European Union and Israeli flags (Maksym Kapliuk; iStock by Getty Images)
The economic collaboration between Israel and the European Union has not come close to fulfilling its potential, particularly with regard to the tech sector, according to a first-of-its-kind report by the EU.
The authors of the report said European conglomerates are lagging behind their US and Chinese competitors with regard to both merger and acquisition deals and corporate investments in Israel, while VC engagement in the Israeli tech sector is low too.
Small and medium-sized European companies, which make up approximately 99.8% of all non-financial business in Europe and generate more than 50% of the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP), “are almost entirely absent” from the Israeli market, as they face “significant barriers” to being able to engage with the nation.