Economics and Entrepreneurship Course

For Youth in Israel’s Periphery

Today, many disadvantaged young people in Israel’s periphery, where business is stagnant, have the innate talent and potential to create small enterprises. Such small businesses can provide vitally needed services and help lift these young people and their families out of poverty. These young men and women need to be trained and to acquire the skills needed to become small business owners. The government’s educational system does not provide these opportunities.

Many capable young people in Israel’s periphery lack an academic or useful vocational education. As a result, many are forced either to enter the unskilled labor market where they earn about $1300 a month or to rely on government assistance. With these low incomes, they face prices that are far higher than those in Europe and the United States. In fact, a basic apartment costs 240 salaries! As a result, Israel has the worst poverty rate among the 30 developed countries.

Educating and empowering young Israelis with untapped entrepreneurial potential will help them make a decent living and allow them to remain in the country.

For thirty years, the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress has been providing basic economic courses designed to help post-army youth, aged 20 – 26, face economic challenges and gain the skills needed to develop, manage and expand a new business in the demanding, heavily bureaucratized Israeli regulatory environment. In this new course targeting youth living in Israel’s periphery, students will learn to identify business opportunities, analyze the market, assess competition, understand financial management, develop a strong business plan, test the business model, pitch it, launch it and manage it wisely.

The 25-week course will include weekly classes, lectures from leading experts and experienced businesspeople, group sessions, one-on-one mentoring for each student and a corresponding online course which we have developed in Hebrew. Participants gain experience in each stage of entrepreneurship by developing and presenting their own projects.

Students going on to open a new business will enjoy a startup period during which they will be accompanied by a mentor who will help them secure credit, develop markets and improve services.

We depend on the help from people like you, who want a secure future for Israel. Your contribution will go directly towards making these classes free for students and helping them reach their full potential.

A snapshot from our class last year

The Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress (ICSEP) is a non-partisan pro-market think tank. The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School ranked us among the top 50 best Think Tanks worldwide. We were a Finalist for The 2016 Templeton Freedom Award and the winner of The 2006 Templeton Award For Student Outreach and The 2005 Templeton Award For Institutional Excellence.

We’re at the forefront of the struggle to re-educate Israelis and inspire them with pro-market thinking that has brought success to developed economies. We have trained sixty thousand young immigrants in economics, helping them integrate successfully into a market economy. We have also taught nearly thirty thousand Israeli high school and university students courses in economics and business.

In the policy area, we have initiated and helped implement almost every major economic reform in Israel, from the 1984 reform to halt runaway inflation to recent reforms in the financial and telephony markets. We have also been active in advancing privatization, competition and regulatory reduction measures in Israel.

ICSEP has a 33 year record of achievements – see our brochure with letters from the late Milton Friedman and from Prime Minister Netanyahu, former President Peres and many other testimonies, including from our students.

In a letter assessing our work Prime Minister Netanyahu wrote:

“In particular, I want to commend you on your success at educating a new generation of Israeli students about the critical importance of free markets in building a strong and just society. I was pleased to discover during my lectures to hundreds of your students across the country that these future leaders of Israel have been considerably influenced by your efforts.”

Our track record ensures that we can successfully implement the course for young entrepreneurs. Your help can ensure a better future for a young Israeli.

*ICSEP is a nonprofit organization which is tax-exempt under section 501(c).

ICSEP Founder and Director Daniel Doron with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney

Please contact us for more information:

www.ICSEP.org.il

Daniel Doron, Founder and Director
Email: daniel@ICSEP.org.il
Israeli Phone: +972-2-5346463