About Us
Daroma-Tzafona is a company for the benefit of the public. Its mission is to continue the activities of Tzafona, the company for the development of the Galilee, and in addition to expand its activities to the southern part of Israel.
The goal of the company is to initiate, plan, and encourage processes and projects which will lead to the advancement and development of the populations in the Galilee and Negev and to brand these regions as regions which are advanced, economically robust, and with a high quality of life which is attractive to people from all over the country.
The company was established by a number of private entrepreneurs, headed by the industrialist Mr. Eitan Wertheimer who serves as the Chair of the Company, and in cooperation with the Jewish Agency for Israel.
The Tzafona and Daroma Loan Funds for Businesses
After completing the strategic plans for the development of the Galilee and the Negev, most of the company’s activities focus on the operation of Loan Funds for financing and supporting businesses in the periphery - Tzafona for Businesses in the north and Daroma for Businesses in the south. In accordance with the recommendations in the strategic plan, these funds promote small and medium size productive businesses and exporters in these regions.
According to our preliminary assessment in these regions, we found that the main problems facing businesses in the periphery are twofold; on the one hand they lack accessibility to quality financing (significant sums at good terms) and on the other hand they have management issues.
Industrial factories and businesses producing products for export are regional economic stimulators. Through the Funds we are interested in granting these businesses with significant added value; by providing easier accessibility to significant financing at excellent terms and by making available quality management tools to business owners and their managers.
The Funds are operated in cooperation with the Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank, for the purpose of providing the loans and with the nonprofit IVN (Israel Venture Network), for the purpose of support and guidance for those businesses the receiving loans.
During 2009, we opened a unique training program for managers in the north who have received support from the Fund - Tzafona Academy – in cooperation with SIT and the Management Program of the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzelia. The purpose of the training is to provide managers in the periphery with a variety of quality, state of the art management tools and to create networks of industrialists in the Galilee and in the future, in the Negev.
Supervision and Evaluation
The Company has committed to its donors to supervise and evaluate the impact of the program on the northern and southern regions. For this purpose, representatives of the Company visit businesses which have received financing and support regularly to collect data relevant to ongoing operations. During these visits attention is also paid to the general situation of the businesses, the main difficulties they are facing and options for additional assistance.
Our Offices
Our main offices are located in the north, in the Misgav Industrial Zone (Teradyon), not far from Karmiel. The Company has an additional office in the south, located in the Omer Industrial Park (near Be'er Sheva).