IVN’s Economic Reconstruction Intervention (IERI) began towards the end of 2006, triggered by the Second Lebanon War. The war highlighted and exacerbated longstanding difficulties facing the economic structure of Northern Israel, in particular small and medium businesses. IERI complements, rather than duplicates, other efforts in the area and was established to stimulate business growth in Israel's periphery through a scalable model. The model combines business assessment, consultancy towards business development by regional business consultants, mentoring by IVN volunteers- business executives, contributing time and sharing strategic planning, managerial and entrepreneurship experience and expertise, and lending for small and medium businesses - all, combined with strengthening and empowering the infrastructure - regional business consultants and MATIs (Small Business Development Centers). What is unique and unusual about the IERI model is that it combines the lending with the consulting and strategic mentoring, with a high level of quality assurance management, measurement and evaluation, and so, assures the infrastructure upgrade to achieve scalability and sustainability of the regional business growth efforts.
To date, 160 small-medium businesses, Jewish- and Arab Israeli- owned, became part of the initiative in varying stages of progress (evaluation, strategic business planning, work plan creation and ongoing plan implementation, up to completion). We are working with 6 northern MATIs, and with over 20 regional business consultants. Approximately 25 IVN mentors are currently active. In addition, some 30 business loans were granted to project participants who would not have been able to receive an alternative loan from other loan funds, including banks.
Initial indicators show real signs of success using this model, both from a financial and managerial perspective.
Through IVN's mentorship program, the businesses and the consultants are given the opportunity to learn from the experience gained by those running established, successful companies. The mentor volunteers his/her time. Whereas the consultants and the MATIs are effective on the tactical level, the mentors provide a broad managerial, strategic and business development overview. The mentor works with the MATIs and the consultant and periodically visits the business itself.
