Internship grant links Wayne State to Israeli startups

The Michigan Israel Business Bridge has given a $10,000 grant to Wayne State University’s School of Business Administration, allowing one of the university’s smaller grants to create the opportunity for some big business gains in Metro Detroit.

Israel ranks as the country with the second most startups in the world. It’s behind the U.S. but accounts for more than the whole of Europe. Israel is also the No. 2 country in regards to companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The $10,000 William Schumer Scholarship will provide funding for a Wayne State MBA intern to work with the Michigan Israel Business Bridge. One of the primary goals of the internship is to help build bridges between Michigan- and Isreal-based companies.

“It’s actually quite a significant organization,” says Celia Romm Livermore, a business professor at Wayne State and member of the Michigan Israel Business Bridge. “At the moment it works with 200 companies and has been quite active in matching up Israeli companies with companies here for joint partnerships.”

Israeli businesses have been making some investments in Metro Detroit over the last year.  HBR Labs, a software firm with an R&D office in Israel, scored a six-figure investment from Oakland County to set up an office in Farmington Hills. Raval USA, based in Be’er-Sheva near Tel Aviv, opened a Rochester Hills office in 2008. The founder of Planet Jewish, Howard Brown, is also running his newest startup, CircleBuilder, from Metro Detroit.

Source: Celia Romm Livermore, business professor at Wayne State University
Writer: Jon Zemke