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Established in 2002, the Israel Venture Network (IVN) is a venture philanthropy network of high-tech entrepreneurs, business executives, venture capitalists, corporations and philanthropists from Israel and the US.
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| In the last fifteen years, Israel has been dramatically altered by the ambition, creativity and innovation of the high-tech sector. However, Israeli society faces serious challenges in ensuring that the benefits of the new economy are available to all. The immense disparity between rich and poor reinforces ethnic and religious tensions, jeopardizes potential for future economic growth and threatens the democratic principles on which Israel was founded. |
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At the time of its establishment in 2002, IVN defined educational intervention as one of its core activities and developed the Education Initiative. The flagship project of this initiative was Municipal Intervention, beginning in the north and spreading to the south.
In 2004 IVN then began its IsraCorps program, in partnership with the Rashi Foundation, strengthening Israeli society through instilling volunteerism as a tool for empowerment and as a greenhouse for nurturing the next generation of social leaders. Today, IsraCorps is an established independent organization, working with Israeli youth movements and municipalities, in addition to the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Education
We then added a Principal Training Course, in the belief that school principals must become the primary change agents. Together with the Yad Hanadiv Foundation, we ran a very successful pilot and due to its success, the Ministry of Education agreed to take ownership and lead a national process and hence, the Israel Institute for School Leadership (ISL) was established.
In 2004, IVN, in partnership with the New Israel Fund (NIF), initiated the Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship Program, which supports and incubates Social Entrepreneurs.
In March 2009, we successfully completed IVN's Economic Reconstruction Initiative (IERI) pilot in the North, triggered by the Lebanon war in 2006. The program was established to stimulate business growth in Israel's periphery, through a scalable model of coaching/mentoring and lending for small and medium businesses, combined with strengthening and empowering regional business consultants and MATIs (Small Business Development Centers). |
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| Today IVN provides a framework of mentoring, training and investment to its entrepreneurs through its two main programs, namely economic development in the periphery and social entrepreneurship (education & employment). |
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| IVN's Mission |
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Investing in entrepreneurship, the Israel Venture Network strives to promote sustainable social change in Israel, by strengthening education and the economy in the geographic and social periphery, through scalable models.
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| IVN is a network of business executives, corporations and philanthropists in Israel and the United States, bridging gaps in Israel through hands-on venture philanthropy. |
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| Investing In Entrepreneurship |
IVN's main advantage lies in its ability to identify needs and vehicles of change committed to social & educational change and economic development opportunities in Israel. Through both initiated and identified & incubated entrepreneurships, we nurture, develop and strengthen knowledge, skills, tools & competencies of entrepreneurs, thereby enabling their initiatives to blossom and succeed in an efficient and sustainable way. Through new, creative ventures, IVN cultivates, supports and promotes these entrepreneurs and their dedication to developing and implementing innovative and sustainable solutions to social challenges in Israel.
As a venture philanthropy, IVN is in the advantageous position of being able to take a more innovative approach regarding models, methods and pilot programs. IVN provides a framework of mentoring, training and investment to its entrepreneurs through its two main programs, namely economic development in the periphery and social entrepreneurship (education & employment). |
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