Israel is a global technology and innovation powerhouse. The country has a reputation for technological excellence, as many leading international tech companies, such as Apple, Cisco, IBM and Microsoft, have established R&D centres in Israel.
Want to innovate and transform your technology business? Consider partnering Israeli companies to bring relevant solutions to Asia. You can explore acquiring or licensing Israeli technologies, developing new business models or building new products using Israeli technologies in the following sub-sectors:
Israeli companies are leaders in the field of Operational Technology, the hardware, software and systems to monitor and control how physical devices perform. In particular, Israel is known as a global centre for cybersecurity research of such industrial systems.
Israeli startups have blazed a trail to become a world leader in drone technology. These include Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), autonomous or self-navigating vehicles, as well as robotics.
Bank on Israel’s AGV, autonomous vehicle and robotics solutions, and apply them to opportunities in industries that include logistics, oil and gas, and public utilities.
As one of the world’s leading agrotech, cleantech, watertech hubs, Israel has actively exported these technologies and solutions. Located in an arid region, Israel’s pioneering efforts in water, desalination, irrigation technology and desert greening efforts offer tremendous opportunities for Singapore companies in these fields.
You can explore working with Israeli technologies to meet the growing global demand for water. Alternatively, you can apply the technology to agricultural, real estate and public utilities sectors in Asia, to lower operating costs and offer new value-added services.
Israel is gaining global recognition for its contribution to biotechnology and healthcare technology, which helped to improve healthcare and quality of life for millions worldwide. This is driven by the country’s academic excellence, robust R&D programmes, leading medical centres, as well as the Israeli government’s plans to grow Israel into a leader in digital health.
Tap Israeli companies’ strong proprietary technology suites in the digital health space that can be deployed across markets. You can also look for opportunities to partner Israeli companies to do cross-marketing and research.
Israelis enjoy shopping and are interested in purchasing quality items. With a GDP per capita as high as US$37,175 (S$50,186) in 20171, Israelis have high purchasing power, and are among the most connected shoppers in the world, averaging two online orders per second in 20172.
The rising cost of living has squeezed the budgets of many Israelis. As consumers become more price-conscious, they have turned to online shopping to seek out better deals.
Besides opportunities in Israel’s consumer market, capitalise on the country’s large domestic consumption of imported food products. Your food business can tap the increased interest from Israeli food importers to source Asian food products from Singaporean food manufacturers, since barriers on food imports were reduced in 2016.
Given the established reputation of the Singapore brand, your company has a good chance of entering and being welcomed in the Israeli market.
Ease your company’s entry into the Israeli market by working with local partners. Enterprise Singapore has teamed up with the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce to facilitate Israeli food importers participating in Singapore’s Food and Hotel Asia (FHA) trade show. Be there to tie up with Israeli businesses as your first step to expanding your business to the Middle East.
1 World Bank 2 Israel Postal Company, 2018
Besides mature high tech companies, Israel has a vibrant startup ecosystem comprising young and competitive startup companies. The country has the highest number of startups per capita in the world3 and is a leader in autonomous driving, cleantech, cybersecurity, digital health, and enterprise software.
The startup ecosystem comprises thousands of startups, hundreds of investors, dozens of accelerators and many other resources. Many leading multinational corporations recognise Israel’s technology prowess. They have acquired Israeli startups and turned them into centres of innovation and excellence, while others have merged startups into existing R&D centres.
Looking for tech-sourcing and co-creation opportunities? Then consider working with Israeli innovation partners or accelerators who can facilitate the flow of startups between Israel and Singapore.
For example, StartupEast Ventures, an Israeli private equity and venture capital firm, has set up SEAMO Ventures in Singapore to bring Israeli startups into the Asian market. Trendlines is another Israeli innovation commercialisation company that specialises in incubation and startup investments. Trendlines Medical Singapore has discovered, invested in and incubated Singapore-based medtech entrepreneurs and startups for scaling in the regional and global markets.
3 “Bloomberg Innovation Index for 2017”, Bloomberg News, 2018
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