Each center will be operated by a local company that specializes in each center’s area of focus.
By Pesach Benson, TPS
In an effort to promote entrepreneurship in Israel’s peripheral areas, the government announced a 100 million shekel ($27.6 million) initiative to establish nine innovation centers across the country promoting high-tech solutions for a range of issues such as foodtech, renewable energy, green building techniques, artificial intelligence, and more.
“Diversity of high-tech from a disciplinary, geographic and demographic point of view is a key element of the Authority’s strategy to strengthen Israeli high-tech in competition with other innovation centers in the world,” said Dror Bin, CEO of the Innovation Authority.
“The centers selected in the national competitive process among dozens of excellent applicants, and in unprecedented cooperation with the various government ministries, will enable the expansion of the circle of entrepreneurship and high-tech employment to all regions of the country and to all sectors in it, while demonstrating Israeli resilience and the ability to continue to initiate and innovate, and to grow new growth engines for the Israeli economy,” Bin added.
The initiative marks an unprecedented joint effort by the Ministry of Economy and Industry, the Ministry of the Negev, the Galilee and National Resilience, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Regional Cooperation along with the Innovation Authority.
The Israeli periphery refers to areas of the country that are situated away from the central metropolitan areas of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Centers will be established in the Eastern Galilee (focusing on foodtech and agritech), the Western Galilee (green building technologies), the Golan Heights (agritech, climate and AI issues), Eilat (biotech and aquaculture), eastern Jerusalem (healthtech), the eastern Negev (renewable energy), the central Negev (climate and desert tech), the western Negev (national security issues) and Judea and Samaria (innovation).
Each center will be operated by a local company that specializes in each center’s individual area of focus. The centers will implement programs to encourage technological entrepreneurship, accelerate ventures, attract high-tech employers and promote quality employment in their communities.
The centers will also cooperate with other figures such as local farmers, companies, academia, research institutions, government bodies, existing industries and investors to encourage high-tech growth and business.
“Israeli entrepreneurship, innovation and research curiosity are things that no one can take away from us and especially these days there is a necessity to expand government investments in cooperation with the business sector to encourage growth and innovation,” said Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat.