A record number of new businesses were created in Israel in 2022, according to official data from the Israel Tax Authority.

In the first 11 months of the year, 142,100 new companies declared their opening, a 100 percent increase over 2021, when 64,900 businesses were created.

“The significant increase in the opening of files with the Tax Authority is not surprising,” said Monica Lev Cohen, CEO of Keren Shemesh, an organization that lends to small businesses. 

“In 2021, there was a significant decrease in the number of new businesses due to the coronavirus. In 2022, when the economy started to recover, many employees who were laid off or went on unemployment went into entrepreneurship. Some have undergone training which has enabled them to open a new business, while others have decided to open a business at the same time as they were employed,” she added.