Why Israel

A Message To Singapore Companies

Israel’s journey of innovation earned it the title of ‘Start-up nation’ in the year 2009. Israel has since carved out a position of eminence for itself by developing cutting edge technology and making breakthroughs in innovation across various sectors due to its penchant for transforming its limitations into formidable assets.

Cementing an industrial research and development partnership with Israel can pave the way towards the efficient expansion of the technical scope of a firm. Such collaboration efforts would lead to a collective effort towards commercialisation whereby all parties involved would stand to benefit.

Israel has achieved commendable success by implementing well-defined scientific and technological policies, and research grants to further support its competitive position. In the field of science, Israel encourages the establishment of centres of excellence, which are carefully designed to provide scientists with the resources needed for further innovation. These centres are best known for maintaining quality across the spectrum of scientific fields.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) recognises Israel as one of the leading countries globally in technological innovation. In the 2019 WEF Global Competitive Report, Israel received an overall rank of the 20th most competitive country. The 2019 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook also ranked Israel as the 24th most competitive country in the world.

The country is an innovation powerhouse, highlighted by its well-developed ecosystem, which places it amongst the top 15 countries with leading innovation capabilities. The country’s cutting-edge and flourishing private sector promotes macroeconomic stability owing to the ease of finding workers with the right skillset, as well as the availability of venture capital, making it conducive for the growth of innovative companies in the country. Below is a list of rankings that highlights Israel’s prominence as a leading authority in innovation, making it a suitable market for Singapore companies to consider finding R&D collaborative partnerships in:

Ranked 1st in Growth of Innovative companies*
Ranked 1st in Companies embracing disruptive ideas*
Ranked 1st for Expenditure on R&D (% GDP)*
Ranked 4th in Business Dynamism*
Ranked 6th for Digital Skills Among Active Population*
Ranked 10th for Patent applications/million pop*
Ranked 15th in Innovation Capability*

*WEF The Global Competitiveness Report 2019

The robust scientific and technological industries markers of the Israeli government’s consistent support of innovation in these sectors is further highlighted by UNESCO, which ranked the country second in the global spend of R&D relative to their GDP.

In June 2020, the Israeli Innovation Authority announced the approval of a budget of $43.2 Million to establish three research consortia over three years. The first consortium, the Andromeda Consortium, will focus on the development of technological infrastructure to further the command and control of autonomous vehicles in urban regions. Companies such as LiveU, BWE, mPrest, RGO Robotics, DriveU, Cognata, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Elbit Systems, will lead this initiative alongside leading academic research groups.

The second consortium, the Advanced Materials consortium, will use high-powered lasers for industrial materials processing. Academic groups from the Technion University will partner with companies such as Plasan Sasa, Rafael, Israel Aerospace Industries, Israel Shipyards, alongside R&D companies to provide the laser and automation systems. The third consortium, Quantum Communications, will be led by industry leaders such as Elisra, Mellanox Technologies, OpSys, and Quantum LR as they work with MAFAT of the Ministry of Defence, creating secure, single communication network channels.

The Singapore-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (SIIRD) boasts connections within the industrial sectors of Israel and Singapore. The programme enables firms to identify potential technological partners, supporting and funding R&D, pilot or test-bedding projects resulting in these partnerships. The research grants provided by SIIRD help to share the research and development risks with the collaborating Singapore and Israeli companies.

If your company is actively seeking a partner to collaborate with in Israel and/or R&D funding in Singapore, you are welcome to complete the R&D Partner Search Request Form. You will be required to describe your company’s profile, capabilities, as well as the projected profile of your desired partner. These profiles will then be matched within our database and ultimately help us provide you with a list of potential partners. We are pleased to be your guide and assist you in connecting with your shortlisted firms.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sources –

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2019.pdf

https://www.imd.org/contentassets/6b85960f0d1b42a0a07ba59c49e828fb/one-year-change- vertical.pdf

https://www.forbes.com/sites/markminevich/2020/05/29/how-the-us-can-learn-about-successful- innovation-strategies-from-israel-the-startup-nation/#2aa3bf374bcf

https://nocamels.com/2020/06/israel-innovation-authority-research-development-consortiums/

https://nocamels.com/2020/04/israeli-scientist-nabs-us-patent-for-coronavirus-vaccine-design/

https://nocamels.com/2020/01/influential-israelis-decade-defined-startup-nation-culture- business/

https://nocamels.com/2018/03/on-world-water-day-a-look-at-the-innovative-tech-that-makes- israel-a-water-superpower/

https://nocamels.com/2020/04/israel-72-coronavirus-ingenuity-collaboration-nation/

https://nocamels.com/2017/04/israel-center-self-driving-car-tech/

https://nocamels.com/2020/05/israeli-lab-antiviral-drugs-genetic-disease-sars-cov2-infections/