About Israel
“The economy of Israel is a highly advanced free-market and knowledge-based economy, ranked 19th on the latest UN’s Human Development Index, placing Israel in the category of “Very Highly Developed”, allowing the country to enjoy a higher standard of living than many Western countries. Israel is also a major tourist destination, with 4.55 million foreign tourists in 2019 (Wikipedia).
Why Israel
Our GDP was $387.717 billion, with an annual growth rate of 3.5%.
Our GDP per Capita was $43,641, ranked 21 in the world and in 2020 we ranked 19th (despite COVID).
“The economy of Israel is a highly advanced free-market and knowledge-based economy, ranked 19th on the latest UN’s Human Development Index, placing Israel in the category of “Very Highly Developed”, allowing the country to enjoy a higher standard of living than many Western countries. Israel is also a major tourist destination, with 4.55 million foreign tourists visiting it in 2019 (Wikipedia).
Some of you may already be familiar with the bestselling book “Start-Up Nation”, which describes the economy of Israel, explaining how Israel is now almost on par with the Silicon Valley of California, and how Israel has reached an economic growth which now has 80 Israeli companies listed on the NASDAQ, making us the country with the most companies listed on NASDAQ outside the USA (after China).
Franchising in Israel
Like in most Western countries, franchising pays a major role in the Israeli economy. There are currently around 300 franchise brands in Israel of which the vast majority are local, so we need more international brands. During the past 20 years, many franchises have evolved with most of them being in the coffee shop and fast-food sector. A surprisingly large number of our local brands have close to 100 franchised stores, which for our small population shows the potential of what brands can achieve in Israel. In the non-food categories, we have Fashion, Real-Estate, Wellness, Supermarkets, Pet Foods and not surprisingly, a lot of educational brands as well.
High Tech (IT) franchises
A whole new ball game in franchising. The IT space is not in the typical retail arena of franchising, but with IFI being the “Start Up Nations” franchise authority, my company has recently been tasked with creating master franchise business formulas, centralizing the IP of such IT brands for global expansion. We are currently testing such a format – specifically with an Israeli “Virtual Reality” educational franchise abroad, making us pioneers in this space.
Abraham Accords and Recent Peace Treaties
The recent Peace treaties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, have opened many doors for International Brands to enter Israel. It is no secret that many international brands were reluctant to expand into Israel due to international public opinion, but since the signing of these accords, I have been inundated with international brands showing interest in entering Israel. The long-awaited Peace Treaty with the UAE has been especially warm, which has already led to a strategic partnership between my company and my counterpart in Dubai (Franchise Arabia), which has already resulted in a number of deals.
Palestine (Westbank)
The Westbank has a population of 2.7 Million Palestinians. The major cities are Ramallah, Janīn, Nāblus, Bethlehem, Hebron and Jericho. Over the past number of years, the economy I n the Westbank has flourished, which has seen the opening of many new businesses. This in turn, has led to a substantial increase of the standard of living, which has resulted in the opening of shopping malls and other retail districts. The economy is autonomous from Israel, which has resulted in many international franchise brands having signed master franchise agreements with local investors from all areas of the West Bank. Such deals include KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Hardees and other well-known brands.
Should you be interested in expanding your brand into the Westbank, I can be of substantial assistance via my vast network of business investors from the Arab sector both in Israel, East Jerusalem, and The Westbank.
International Brands in Israel
Surprisingly, there are only a handful of International Brands in Israel, and here is where the opportunity is. Our market is wide open to welcoming many more international franchised brands. Israeli’s travel a lot and I get asked all the time why there are not more international brands available to the Israeli Population.