International Course in Israel on:

SMEs in the Era of Globalization – Preparing SMEs for Involvement in the International Trade

August 3 – 12, 2008

Course Objective

The globalization era presents small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with both a challenge and a threat. The threat is the growing competition from overseas while the challenge lies in the new opportunities opened before them. The terms "export" and "import" are being replaced in the world's business dictionary by a new term: "coopetition", the combination of "cooperation" and "competition". Both the challenge and the threat demand more sophisticated and professional support measures. In most countries, some 80% of the exports are carried out by only 5% to 20% of the enterprises. Most of the enterprises that do not export are SMEs that have the potential to participate in the “international game” and grow, if given the right opportunity, assistance and know-how. This may substantially increase the contribution of SMEs to the development of their countries.

The course offered herewith will deal with these issues and dwell on advantages of comprehensive and integral support systems for SMEs. It will put special emphasis on support measures aimed at increasing their competitive capabilities and export potential. The course will draw both on the international and Israeli experience.

This course is conducted jointly by: NISPED / INCEP-SME and

The Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute (IEICI)

with the support and cooperation of: The Israel SME Authority (ISMEA).

Program of Studies:

The course includes frontal lectures, workshops, study visits to relevant institutions and organizations as well as 2 days of cultural and historical tours.

The main topics to be covered are:

Contribution of SMEs to the economy, society and the individual
Role of central, local and regional governments in promoting entrepreneurship and SMEs, and their access to international markets
Establishing and managing comprehensive support systems for SMEs - the central and local/regional levels
Financial and non- financial (i.e. training, counseling, etc.) support measures
Role and structure of export promotion organizations
Cooperation between the government and the private sector
Local/regional-level Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)
Strategies of development
The globalization process: from the export-import approach to international cooperation and joint ventures
Support measures for small and beginning exporters
Supporting R&D and high-tech start-ups
Information sources for SMEs
Internet and E-commerce - new opportunities for SMEs
International marketing, identification of niches and penetration of new markets
SMEs and international trade fairs
Groupings of SMEs for joint marketing of products / services
International trading companies in the service of SMEs
Supporting specific sectors such as: women, rural, etc.
Country presentations.

Requirements for Admission:

The course is designed for:

decision makers; senior staff of government ministries involved in economic and industrial development; regional and local governments; entrepreneurial and SME support and promotion agencies; senior staff of export promotion institutions, banks and development financial institutions, leaders of chambers of commerce and of economic and social associations (NGOs); SME associations: international organizations; as well as for trainers, business consultants and economists.

Applicants must have good communication skills in English.

Duration and Language

The course will last 10 days between the 3^rd and 12^th of August, 2008.

Participants are requested to arrive on August 2nd or the morning of August 3rd. (Accommodation prior to these dates is problematic).

The language of instruction will be English.

Course Site

The course will be held in the in the facilities of NISPED, which are located in the Golden Tulip Hotel in Beer Sheva, the capital of the Negev (southern Israel). Each room is equipped with air conditioning and its own shower and bathroom. There is a health club available to NISPED's guests.

Fees and Scholarships

The total fee is Euro 2,850. Partial scholarships of up to Euro 750 are available for participants from developing countries. This fee covers all in-country costs including tuition, background materials, full room and board (single rooms, breakfast, lunch, dinner and coffee/tea break), all inland transportation, study visits, visits to cultural and historical places, health insurance and transfer from and to the airport.

Applications

Candidates must submit the application form available on the NISPED website.

The completed application, including the health form, must be submitted no later than July 3rd, 2008.

Passport and Visa

Passports must be valid for at least six months from the opening day of the course. Applicants must submit an official visa application form. The dates and flight numbers for the return trip to and from Israel must be confirmed before arrival

Health Services

Medical insurance covers medical services and hospitalization in case of emergency. It does not cover the treatment of chronic diseases, dental care other than first aid, or repair of eyeglasses. Candidates using specific medications on a regular basis must bring sufficient quantities for the duration of their stay.

Clothing

Most days casual clothing is appropriate. Temperatures usually range from 20 to 32 degrees Celsius during this time of year. For the closing ceremony and official visits, participants may want to bring clothes that are little more formal. For those coming from countries that have a national costume, it is recommended to bring it. It is important to also bring: a bathing suit, sun hat and comfortable walking shoes for excursions.

Country Presentation

Each participant is requested to prepare in advance and bring to the course a general presentation of his/her country in four parts:

a. Geography, short history, population, economy, international trade, etc.

b. Description of SME sector and existing support systems,

c. Description of export sector and existing support systems,

d. Role of one's own organization.

During the course, time will be allotted for the delivery of these presentations.

Course Director

The course will be directed by Shmuel Bahat, who is the chairman and chief trainer of INCEP-SME. Shmuel Bahat is also a senior adviser to WASME - World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises.

In the early 1990^s, Mr. Bahat was the founder, and first chairman and CEO of the Israel Small and Medium Enterprise Authority (ISMEA), which is a joint government–private sector endeavor

Registration

About IEICI: The Israel Export and International

Cooperation Institute

The Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute is a joint government - private sector - non-profit organisation, dedicated to the promotion and development of the country’s international trade and business cooperation. The IEICI operates as a “membership club”, with 2600 member companies, which comprise 90% of Israel’s manufactured exports.

The IEICI offers exporters a diverse basket of services encompassing marketing, trade fairs, training, economic and financial consultancy, delegations and events, advertising and public relations, information services, international transportation, databases, and more. The IEICI’s professionals assist and advise at every stage in the export process.

The IEICI adjusts its working program to suit the demands of the changing markets. In 2004-2005 particular emphasis is put on the following targets and services:

Promotion of business cooperation between Israeli companies and companies in the international market place on all levels: technological, industrial and commercial.
Promotion of business cooperation in new and/or potential markets.
Provision of comprehensive information and consultancy services.
Promotion of joint-marketing by clusters of complementary manufacturers-exporters.
Assistance and training services to start-up companies and to new exporters.
Assisting exporters to participate in international projects and tenders.
Marketing efforts on sectors in which Israeli’s industry has relative advantage.

The Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute

29 Hamered St. Tel Aviv 68125

Tel: 972-3-5142830, Fax: 972-3-5142902

Website: www.export.gov.il

About INCEP-SME:

The International Center for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises

INCEP-SME, established by NISPED In 1998, runs education and training Programmes for the promotion and development of SMEs and entrepreneurship. It also initiates and manages projects and offers consulting services.

The SME community has, in recent years, witnessed with satisfaction a worldwide growing awareness of the importance of SMEs to both the national and the global economy. We have reached the point when governments recognize that SMEs are engines of growth and of job creation, that they are vibrant and innovative, quick to

respond, and that they are flexible and can adapt to changing circumstances. It is quite clear today, that as a result of all those virtues, SMEs have become a central force in the economy and the society. SMEs are also important for the development and acceleration of change in economies in transition - such as those in which agricultural predominance is giving way to industry and services, or those moving from a centralized to a free market economy. SMEs also serve as important vehicles in facilitating people-to-people conflict resolution through direct interaction between important sectors of society, thus creating growing mutual trust.

Israel is an apt location for such a center as it has experienced two major economic processes: the shift from a basically centralized economy to an open, free market, as well as the development of alternative sources of income as an answer to the needs of agricultural communities. Both, together with the remarkable development of

High-tech based start-ups, paved the way to the establishment of a modern,

comprehensive and efficient support system for SMEs, incorporating the government

as well as the private business sector.

INCEP-SME conducts workshops, seminars, courses and study tours for people and groups around the world concerned with and responsible for the advancement of SMEs and entrepreneurship. They include decision-makers, officials of central, regional and local governments, officials of banks and of development and financial institutions, leaders of national and regional support systems, leaders of SME organizations and chambers of commerce, business consultants, trainers and SME entrepreneurs.

INCEP-SME aims to share experiences and ideas so as to aid each country in determining the appropriate pattern of structuring its support system for SMEs and entrepreneurship.

Since its inception, INCEP-SME conducted more than 30 training programs in English, Arabic, Russian and Portuguese on various subjects related to SME and their promotion.

An agreement for a permanent, institutionalized connection was signed with the World Association for Small & Medium Enterprises (WASME). As a result of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), several joint international courses have already been conducted.

INCEP-SME is also recognized as a training center by MASHAV, the Center for International Cooperation, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and by ISMEA (Israel Small and Medium Enterprise Authority).

Some of the subjects of training programs conducted on a yearly basis are:

Comprehensive and Integrative Public Support Systems for SMEs – A Central Factor of Development Policy
The Promotion of Small and Medium High-tech Enterprises and R&D Based Star-Ups
SMEs in the Era of Globalization (Preparing SMEs for Export and International Trade)
Comprehensive Training for Development: Linking Vocational and Entrepreneurial Education
How to Become an Entrepreneur and Start my own Business
Role of SMEs in Developing Rural Regions.

About NISPED

The Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development

January 1998 marked the founding of the Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development (NISPED), an affiliate of the Negev College. NISPED was established with a view to promoting peace and development. Its focus is on the civil society: the voluntary, people-centered, non-governmental groups and organizations who seek to work with each other on the issues which are central to conflict-resolution and to the advance of sustainable human development. It is clear that unless people perceive a growing satisfaction of their basic human needs, there can be no durable peace.

NISPED serves as a center for education, training, and project development for societies undergoing fundamental processes of transformation. These processes include transition from conflict to conflict resolution; from the rigidities of centralized economies and political dictatorships to democracy and free market economies; from poverty and dependence to selfhood and socio-economic advance. To these ends, NISPED undertakes activities in the following areas:

Training. NISPED conducts in Israel and abroad, courses, seminars, and workshops for leaders, activists and trainers drawn from relevant civil society and government bodies.

Projects. The Institute engages in the initiation, planning, guidance and evaluation of concrete projects within its fields of interest both in its close geographical area and further afield.

Consultancy. The Institute offers consultancy services to public and private institutions in Israel and abroad. It also acts as a facilitator in networking between groups with similar interests and agendas.

NISPED's programs and projects are centered mainly on:

Small and medium enterprises.
Education for peace and conflict resolution
Cooperative studies
Jewish-Arab coexistence
Community development

NISPED seeks to cooperate with like-minded bodies in Israel and abroad. Its staff is committed to the creation of an institution of quality, which will contribute to the furtherance of peace and development, in our geographical region and across the globe.