The Michigan Israel Business Accelerator, or MIBA, is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes economic ties between the U.S. state of Michigan and the State of Israel. The Michigan Israel Business Bridge was founded in 2007 and based in West Bloomfield, Michigan. In 2017, the Bridge was transformed and renamed the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator (MIBA). The MIBA serves as the state of Michigan's lead for all international trade between Michigan and Israel in order to drive economic prosperity and job creation in Michigan.
| Founded | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Type | [Dual Non-Profit]: 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(6) |
| Focus | Economic Development |
| Headquarters | Detroit, Michigan USA |
| Location | |
Area served | Michigan Israel |
| Method | Trade missions |
Key people | Scott Hiipakka, CEO Michigan Team Bernard Bourgeois, Director of Ecosystem Development Krista Siefert, Director of Operations Rachel Fine, Manager of Community Engagement Dan Ryan, Defense & Aerospace Partnerships Israel Team Esther Loewy, Senior Director, Market Expansion - MI US Naomi Miller, Director of Israel Partnerships Liza Yedwab, Manager of Israel Operations |
| Website | michiganisrael.com |
Formerly called | Michigan Israel Business Bridge |
Mission
editAccelerating Michigan's economic growth, one Israeli innovation at a time
Background
editThe MIBA's economic development efforts focus on six industry sectors: mobility, defense, health tech, sustainability tech, food-ag tech and advanced manufacturing/industry 4.0. The MIBA accomplishes its mission of “accelerating Michigan’s economic growth, one Israeli innovation at a time” by creating an assortment of opportunities for Business-to- Business interactions through trade missions, events, curated connections, and through our newest initiative: The Elevator – the first-of-its-kind landing zone in the US exclusively for Israeli companies of all sizes and startups. Since being founded in 2017, the MIBA has created hundreds of connections between Michigan and Israeli businesses. These connections have resulted in over 50 collaborations between Michigan and Israeli companies that brought over $6 million in direct economic activity into our state since 2021. Michigan now ranks sixth in the country for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from Israel by number of projects and is positioned to move higher on that list. With the launch of The Elevator in June 2023, the MIBA has a new asset to leverage as part of a broadened attraction strategy. Not only does The Elevator provide no cost office space and landing zone amenities to Israeli startups/businesses that choose to scale in Michigan, but it also allows us to expand programming to provide educational and networking opportunities to help Israeli companies succeed in Michigan.
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