Startup Nation’s Next Mission is to Solve Global Problems, Bennett Says

In a video addressing Calcalist’s Mind the Tech NY 2021, the Israeli premier urged conference attendees to “harness the power of your imagination and dream big.”

By Elihay Vidal, Calcalist

“Our startup nation has a great amount to be proud of,” said Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in a video address, opening Calcalist’s Mind the Tech NY 2021 conference on Tuesday.

“But there is even a greater amount that we can aspire to achieve. We’ve got a big mission. Just imagine for a minute how much of an impact we in Israel could have if we channeled more of our energy into tackling global problems.”

The prime minister emphasized the importance of human capital, saying: “We wouldn’t just be improving lives on a national scale here in Israel, we’d be saving lives around the world. And we are doing this, but how can we do this further, by investing in our most valuable source of energy, the energy, and brainpower of our people.”

During his address, Bennett spoke about the long road and great advancements Israel made in its 73 years, saying: “We took a barren land and made it bloom; we turned one of the driest places on earth into the world’s number one country in water innovation; we harnessed the spirit of one of the world’s most ancient cultures, the Jewish culture, and used it to create a center of new innovation and new technology.”

“So as you gather together to talk about the future of innovation, don’t hold back. Harness the power of your imagination and dream big. Gather the courage to take risks and foster the resilience to get back up if things don’t quite work out as planned,” the Israeli premier urged his audience.

Bennett concluded his speech by offering some of his experience working in the industry. “Let me tell you this, when you found a company it never works out the way you planned,” he said. “It is up to you to create new technologies that can tackle real-life problems.

“Think about how to create water in areas that need water, how to create green energy, how to store energy, how to generate food without making such a big footprint. This is what we need to be focusing on, and I look forward to seeing what the future has in store.”