After four years as EDU Director we thought it appropriate to ask Ms. Topaz Karmi a few questions:
What is an EDU?
The Economic Development Unit, or EDU is short, was established by the Jewish Agency as part of its Partnership 2000 Program with the assistance of the Arad Municipality and the Tamar Regional Council. The role of the EDU is to help entrepreneurs, that is, people who wish to open a business and business owners. The Unit is also known as MATI - Business Promotion Center.
One can class the services into several main categories:
Personal mentoring provided by expert consultants in diverse fields such as financial management, marketing and administration. During the 2001 fiscal year, we assisted some 250 new applicants.
General training such as the course on business management or focused professional training such as management of tourist site and financial management of agricultural initiatives.
In February for example, we initiated with Kibbutz Ein Geddi and the Tamar Regional Council's Growth Fund a course designed for senior coordinators and managers of economic branches in the kibbutz.
Procurement of loans needed to establish or expand business, either through private funds or by helping the entrepreneur in his/her transactions with banks.
How is the Arad Tamar Economic Development Unit connected to "Partnership 2000"?
Partnership 2000 chose the EDU as one of the projects it supports through the Regional Development Subcommittee and allocated significant sums from its annual budget.
What are the goals of the Economic Development Unit?
Based on the current economic situation and the fact that Arad has been recently added to the list of localities with high unemployment rate, we decided to focus in 20002 on trying to reduce unemployment by providing extensive assistance to existing businesses helping them persevere through this crisis situation. We are of course not alone in this endeavor. We are working closely with the mayors, Mr. Bezalel Tabib and Mr. Yoav Givati and with the local citizen advisory committees.
What are the EDU's achievements over the past 4 years since you became the EDU director?
Where I'm concerned, the fact that so many entrepreneurs in Arad and Tamar perceive the EDU as a professional address they can turn to and that they make us of our services is in itself an important accomplishment. When we are able to prevent a business owner from making mistakes or convince an entrepreneur not to proceed with a highly vulnerable initiative that may cause heavy financial losses, I fee we have done our job and I count that as an achievement.
What would you like to accomplish this year?
Based on our goals, we defined several objectives:
Continue to service hundreds of entrepreneurs in Arad and Tamar who request our assistance, with special attention paid to business management in crisis situations.
Continue professional training and courses for new initiatives and existing businesses. This year we have several courses planned for new immigrants and a special course for female entrepreneurs who wish to open their own business.
It is very important to promote these sectors in the population. We are also considering a course for people who unwillingly found themselves out of a job and want to investigate the options of opening their own business.
Continue to promote, with the Tamar Growth Fund, the professional training and job placement program in the Tamar Regional Council.
Establish an Administration Authority for the Arad Industrial Area to help attract environment friendly industries to the Region.
Promote the Master and Contour Plans for Arad-Tamar in a citizen participatory process to allow the public to play a role in shaping their place of residence. We are also making a conscious effort to ensure that regional development is environment friendly in its broadest definition, as a basic value and not as a luxury.
Assist the leadership in the Region in their efforts to change national priorities and encourage the allocation of needed resources to closing the gap that differentiates center from periphery.
Are there certain areas where you feel that you have been more successful?
There are entrepreneurs who came to us with a very basic idea and are now the proud owners of growing businesses. We helped them find investors, opening new markets, procuring State grants, etc. These cases are a great source of satisfaction. We serve as the premier link for many businesses in Arad and Tamar Region.
Where, if at all, do you feel you may have failed?
I am disconcerted, to day in particular and over the past years in general, when I see how difficult it is to attract enterprises and factories to our Region. Geographically remote and lacking adequate and significant government incentives we are not sufficiently attractive, notwithstanding the relative advantages the Region can offer.
Shortly before I became EDU director the incentives for industries in peripheral regions were downscaled. Even the R&D Law which was passed has been ineffective in giving preference to businesses located in more distant areas. As a result, we see the main bulk of advanced industries clustered in the country center.
I often feel overpowered by the demands placed on the EDU leaving us little time to promote issues and forcing us to direct the full scope of our attention to crisis management. Sometimes I meet with an entrepreneur and I just know that if I could have only invested more time in his/her initiative, things could have turned our differently. It all boils down to insufficient time and limited resources.
How has the Intifada impacted the EDU activities?
The latest Intifada has effected the activities of the EDU in several ways:
Businesses are running into cash flow problems and this has increased the number of business owners who are applying for assistance. The financial situation of these businesses is so difficult that they are unable to even pay the small fee and that places additional burden on the EDU budget.
Investors in Israel and abroad with whom we had been in contact with for a prolonged period of time have decided to put on hold, until the situation clears up, financial undertakings in the Region.
The Economic Development Unit also tries to help by offering job placement services, especially in the Tamar Region where the tourist industry has totally collapsed.
The security situation has an impact on all aspects of life; this is the reason why we are now focusing on business a unique business management program that is designed to help businesses persevere the economic recession.
What is the EDU's target audience?
Any person residing in the Arad Tamar Region who has a business idea can call on us. Jointly we will try with professional tools to examine the feasibility of the initiative. We are also geared to help business owners who would like to expand their businesses or feel the need for an unbiased diagnosis of the situation.
Does the service entail a fee?
Initial consulting is free of charge. If additional meetings are required or the entrepreneur is interested in ongoing mentoring, the government subsidizes the services and the entrepreneur only pays for 25% of the costs. New immigrants are entitled for service free of charge for a period of 10 years.
How does one contact the EDU?
Simply give us a call and schedule a meeting. We can be reached by phone - 08-955292.
To conclude, here is a quote from Topaz:
"I truly believe in the potential of the Arad-Tamar Region. This Region has made great progress due to the unique quality of its poulation. I believe that even today, we must look forward and set our aspirations and design our lives accordingly. For me, living in the region means quality of life - its tranquility, awesome primeval landscapes and a caring community that wants to set its own course. It is important that we invest efforts to improve quality of life and resolve problems of our Bedouin neighbors otherwise we all stand to suffer and continue to fight for our share of the national resources".
Sivan 5762 - May 2002