05.11.2020

The Dan David Foundation, the Jerusalem Foundation and MATI- the Jerusalem Business Development Center, are proud to announce FIRST STEPS, a competition for small and medium-sized businesses in Jerusalem. The competition’s goal is to promote excellence and innovation in business by supporting Jerusalem entrepreneurs as they plan their commercial activities that create sustainable businesses.

  • The competition will award approximately 1,550,000 NIS in interest-free loans to businesses, with loans ranging from 200,000-400,000 NIS. Best of all, there will be no need to submit any guarantees.
  •  The period for submissions is June 15, 2018 to July 15, 2018 (submissions by 17:00!)
  • Please read the terms and conditions of the contest here, where you can also find a link to the online application/submission form, and frequently asked questions.

Dan David – Zionist, Businessman & Philanthropist:

Dan David started out as a newspaper photographer from Romania and a leader of the Hanoar Hatzioni movement there. Immediately after World War II, he was active in organizing trains and ships filled with illegal immigrants headed to what was then Palestine.  He was persecuted by the Communist regime for his Zionist activity and was only allowed to leave Romania for Israel in 1960. In 1961, Dan David had a dream. He planned to use his knowledge and experience in photography to develop and popularize instant photographic technology. But as a near-penniless refugee he did not have the funds needed to make the initial investment. A foreign businessman who believed in his idea came to the rescue with a $200,000 loan without guarantees and Dan made his dream a reality, setting up the first of many automatic photo booths in Tel Aviv. Success followed soon and Dan returned the loan to the businessman, going on to bring the photo booth and other vending machine technologies to countries around the world.

Dan David repeatedly expressed his philosophy: Money is not an end in itself, but a means to fulfil a vision. The fact that a loan helped him fulfil his dream inspired him to support in a similar way promising young entrepreneurs who, like him, lack the means to take the first steps to realize their own dreams. Dan passed away on September 6th 2011 but his philanthropic work continues thanks to the Dan David Foundation, which he established to support education, scientific research and entrepreneurship. His son, Ariel, a journalist by trade, has followed in his father’s philanthropic footsteps and carries on his father’s values.

The Dan David Foundation:

Established in 2001, the Dan David Prize is the Foundation’s flagship project. It is an international prize, jointly managed with Tel Aviv University, which annually awards three million-dollar prizes for outstanding contributions to humanity in the sciences, humanities and other fields.

The Foundation is a partner in the establishment of the National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel, supporting the construction of the Dan David Building for Archaeology, which will host exhibitions on the latest archaeological discoveries in Israel, research and restoration laboratories and storage facilities for treasures ranging from the Dead Sea Scrolls to rare mosaics, ancient glassware and pottery.

As archaeology and anthropology were one of Dan David’s main fields of interest, the Foundation supports the study of human origins and evolution through a number of paleontological digs throughout Israel and through the Dan David Center for Research in Human Evolution and Biohistory established at Tel Aviv University.

The First Steps competition promotes excellence and innovation in businesses by supporting Jerusalem entrepreneurs as they plan their commercial activity and help them succeed.

More can be learned about the many projects supported by the Dan David Foundation at: www.dandavidprize.org

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