Israeli lions, Asian tigers

Israel has stepped up efforts to twin their nation’s hi-tech wizardry with emerging Eastern economic giants.

By EMANUEL MFOUKOU
Israeli lions, Asian tigers (photo credit: FLASH 90)
Israeli lions, Asian tigers
(photo credit: FLASH 90)
By now, everyone has heard of the “Asian tigers” – the rapidly developing economies of such countries as South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. This is not to even mention Japan, which has been highly competitive for decades, India’s growing hi-tech prowess, and of course the awakening industrial giant of China.
Israeli officials and business leaders are also taking note, and have stepped up efforts in recent years to twin their nation’s hi-tech wizardry and entrepreneurial spirit with the emerging economic powerhouses of the East.
These new Asian leaders have likewise noticed the “Start-up Nation” spirit that pervades Israel, and are seeking to partner with Israeli companies in order to further enhance the economic development of their own countries.
In fact, some Asian business leaders look at Israel with a certain envy, given that it has moved from a developing country to a full-fledged member of the prestigious Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, despite facing existential threats, boycotts and repeated wars.
Today, Israel has a population of only 7.8 million people, yet it has more companies on the NASDAQ exchange in New York than the whole of Europe with 502.5 million citizens, or the world’s two most populous countries China and India (2.5 billion). Similarly, Israel has the highest density of start-up companies in the world and is the undisputed leader when it comes to innovation and entrepreneurship in several fields especially desirable by the developing world.
Given Israel’s enviable business successes, it is comically ironic that recent global studies on anti-Semitism have found that the notorious forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion frequently makes the bestseller lists in Japan, largely because the Japanese want to know: If Jews truly control the world, how can we do it, too? Perhaps a better barometer of the Asian attraction to Israel’s entrepreneurial secrets is the fact that the book Start-up Nation, the captivating account of Israel’s many technological marvels co-authored by Saul Singer and Dan Senor, was nominated as the most influential book in China for 2011. The book has even become mandatory reading for certain regional governments in China.
As enumerated in Start-up Nation and other sources, Israeli companies designed the first chip for IBM computers as well as the first Pentium chips. Most of the Windows NT operating systems were developed by Microsoft Israel. The CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, has even gone so far as to say that Microsoft is an Israeli company just as much as an American one, referring to the innovative abilities of its Israeli R&D team.
In addition, such inventions as ICQ, the technology behind the AOL Instant Messenger, along with the cellphone and voice-mail technology have all been developed in Israel.
Since the book came out two years ago, Singer has been traveling the globe to deliver lectures on his digest of the factors behind Israel’s surging hi-tech engine. In late May, he was a key presenter at a special conference in Jerusalem sponsored by the Israel Asia Center, a newly founded fellowship created last October to promote and enhance the growing relationship between Israel and the up-and-coming Asian nations.
Over the past eight months, the Israel Asia Center has hosted 12 Asian students for a special program that has allowed them to study Israeli business models up close and to build connections with Israel’s business sector. The conference was held to honor the center’s first graduating class, which included students from a range of Asian countries and representing such diverse fields as business, agri-tech, clean tech, academia, media and development.
Rebecca Zeffert, founder and executive director of the Israel Asia Center, kicked off the graduation ceremony by explaining the importance of strengthening ties between Israel and Asia. She reminded the audience of how Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben- Gurion, foresaw the importance of building strong bonds with Asia already in the nation’s infancy.
“Our government has deemed it a principal aim of foreign policy to form links with the people of Asia and help their development… We must find room for more of their use in the institutions of higher learning and facilitate practical training… in an attitude of humility and fraternity,” she quoted Ben-Gurion as saying.
Some scholars are already calling this the “Asian century,” and thus Ben- Gurion’s foresight was remarkably apt.
The fact that four out of every seven people on the planet live in Asia speaks for itself, while three of the world’s four largest national economies are also located in Asia.
Zeffert highlighted that since the 1950s, Asia has experienced rapid development that in many cases has led to major challenges. It has created problems such as dangerously high levels of pollution, scarcity of clean water, increasing demand for food production and a growing demand for sustainable energy resources. This is where the Jewish nation could play an important role, she noted.
“Israel may be a country of just seven million people, a mere dot on the map of the Asian land mass. However, over the past 64 years this small country has become adept at finding effective and innovative solutions to many of these challenges. While Israel traditionally has set its focus to the West, the global shift eastwards means Israel needs to strengthen its economic, political and cultural alliances with countries in east, south and southeast Asia,” Zeffert said.
Hagai Shagrir, the director of the Northeast Asia division at Israel’s Foreign Ministry, commended the Israel Asia Center for its important work in strengthening the relationship between Israel and Asia. He said that while Israel might be a miniscule country with the size and population similar to one neighborhood of Beijing, Israelis are good at discovering new ideas and practical innovations. He gave a number of examples of what the Foreign Ministry has accomplished of late in relation to Asia, one of them being a program for scholarships enabling hundreds of students from China and India to come to Israel for higher education.
Singer then led a panel discussion with four of the Asian student fellows which explored the dynamics and challenges within the field of Israel-Asia relations.
The students, all experts within their respective fields, were Dr. Vasudheva Reddy Akepati from India, Howe Wang from China, Lee Jae Eun from South Korea and Sharon Teo from Singapore.
They answered questions ranging from the strength of their respective countries, how they have experienced studying in Israel, and what lessons they will bring back to their native countries.
A common theme in the discussions was that the business atmosphere in Israel is very different from the Asian scene with regards to such factors as hierarchy, education and risk-taking. All of the student panelists agreed that the school system in Israel is very different compared to their home countries and that in Israel students are taught to interact with and question their teachers.
“In Korea the students are taught to listen, but here you have the chance to be innovative and creative. South Korea should adopt this approach,” Lee said.
She added that in Israel people are always available to talk to you. “In Asia it’s difficult to meet the leader of a company, but here in Israel it is very different. Here you go straight to the CEO.”
Wang, from China, pointed out that Israelis are very intense but at the same time relaxed and extremely efficient.
“They are also good with questioning stuff and are all the time looking how to improve things. What drives innovation is actually to constantly improve what you currently have.”
The students were deeply thrilled over Singer’s book, which unveils certain lessons of how their countries could change in order to not only “be up to date, but also be up to tomorrow.”
Singer said he believes the book has reached such success “because people want to be innovative. Just as start-ups put together people with various skills, so should the nations of the world also work together in order to use each other’s expertise.”
“Twenty years from now the world will be very different from the Americacentered world as we know it today. The so-called emerging market is growing faster and is bigger than the American market. It is the market of the future, and we in Israel need to think this way,” Singer concluded.
Meanwhile, the city of Tel Aviv recently hosted its 18th annual edition of Agritech, an international exhibition fair that showcases Israel’s innovative agricultural and water management capabilities. The conference drew companies and delegations from all corners of the globe with an interest to learn more about new inventions for the agro-industrial field.
Hundreds of Israeli exhibitors showed their products, and all sorts of agricultural techniques were to be seen, as representatives from companies specializing in everything from water and irrigation to beekeeping, poultry and aquaculture were manning displays.
One attendee at Agritech was Dr. Akhilesh Kumar from India. During the past 20 months he has been working on his post-doctoral studies at the Volcani Center in Israel, specializing in the field of transgenic research. Kumar told The Christian Edition that the reason for him being in Israel is that the country is a world leader in agricultural technology.
“Israel is a very tiny country but they have lots of potential. They are able to take the maximum from the minimum resources. If you want to learn something, you have to be here. I came here because of their expertise and to learn from the best in order to complete my post-doctoral research,” Kumar explained.
Kumar hopes to bring Israeli companies to India to help clean the revered but highly-polluted River Ganges, which is suffering from toxins emanating from local industries.
“I am trying my best to help India by learning the Israeli clean-tech techniques in a practical way. We can see some Israeli technologies which could help us, collaboration in this area could be good for both countries. The Indian problem could be solved, while Israel would be able to establish their business in India.”
The Indo-Israeli relationship is growing fast, he explains, especially within the fields of the diamond trade and defense industries. According to Kumar, there will be a boom in the sectors of clean tech, solar energy, and information technologies within the next 10 years.
“Considering the size of the Indian market of 1.2 billion people, established links in those areas would be very good for both countries,” he stated.
It is not just Asians who are looking to tap into Israel’s creativity, but African and Latin American countries are doing so as well. Congolese cabinet minister Rodolphe Adada was also on hand during the Agritech conference and spoke to a group of Israeli business leaders at a special gathering arranged by the Israeli Agriculture Ministry. He lauded what he was seeing during the exhibition.
“It is a conference which has been able to show us several interesting innovations,” he told The Christian Edition. “Israel is a country that has managed to develop very advanced techniques, particularly within the agricultural sector.”
Adada echoed the words of Israeli President Shimon Peres, who once said that “agriculture is 95 percent science and 5 percent work.”
Adada said he was overwhelmed by being in Israel and that he had some very interesting talks with his Israeli counterparts MKs Shalom Simhon and Orit Noked.
“We hope that the cooperation between Congo and Israel, which is starting to improve, will develop even further and be of advantage for the Congo. The Congolese government is interested in deepening the cooperation in several different areas, in particular areas concerning how to manage household water consumption along with sophisticated production techniques, just to mention but a few,” he said.
He also hopes to see Israeli companies establish subsidiaries in the Congolese market in coming years to help further develop the country’s agricultural sector.
He added that it was one thing to read about Israel’s rapid development, and another to see it with your own eyes.
“It is amazing when you see the interest in Israeli technologies from people who have come here from all four corners of the world,” insisted Adada, the former foreign minister of Congo Brazzaville and today the Minister for Industrial Development and Promotion of the Private Sector.
“I have met both Chinese and Indians here. It means that Israel is a place where we also have to be present.”
So even he was noticing the increased partnership between the lions of Israel and the Asian tigers.