THE JERUSALEM REPORT APRIL 9, 2012 34

In October 2011, Willetts and Science and

Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz
announced the establishment of a new body
called BIRAX the Britain-Israel Research
and Academic Exchange Partnership in
Regenerative Medicine. The UK and Israel
will each provide matching funding of up
to 50,000 for the initial phase of BIRAXs
work, and European Union funding will be
sought by both countries for joint research
programs in regenerative medicine.
In addition, the frst annual meeting oI
a newly formed UK-Israel Technology
Council was held on March 14 in Lan-
caster House in London, co-chaired by
David Willetts and Israels Chief Scien-
tist Avi Hasson. The council identifed
digital technology, water technology, life
sciences, creative industries and fnancial
services as key sectors for the two coun-
tries to focus on, where the UK and Israeli
economies match each other particularly
well. The Council is comprised of 35 high-
ranking business leaders and senior of-
fcials as well as senior executives Irom
Virgin Media, Google, Alcatel Lucent,
Amadeus Capital, NICE Systems, Pitango
Venture Capital and other leading corpora-
tions and investment funds.
Silicon roundabout
It is not news that the main business story
of Israel these days is technology and a lot
of it. Israel has more companies listed on
the tech-heavy NASDAQ stock exchange
in New York than any country outside of
the US except for Canada and China. The
start-up nation, with ever growing num-
bers of young Israelis graduating each year
from its top-notch universities and tech-
savvy military units to a dizzying array
of start-ups, has consistently been located
among the leaders of the international
technology pack. That leadership has been
proven through all the major tech trends of
the past decade and a half, from the earli-
est Web chat programs to todays smart-
phone apps and interactive media environ-
ments. Rothschild Blvd. in Tel Aviv today
hosts so many young technology start-ups
that some are calling it Silicon Boule-
vard, the local counterpart of Californias
Silicon Valley.
The UK is now developing Sili-
con Roundabout, says Naomi Krieger,
director of the UK-Israel Technologies
Hub. Every advanced country today un-
derstands that technology is essential for
economic growth. In some measure, the
British Embassys High Tech Hub initiative
is an expression of admiration for what Is-
rael has achieved in technology and a desire
to mimic some oI its success in the feld. A
technology center called Tech City in Lon-
dons East End, bringing together some 200
start-ups, is being promoted by the British
government as a magnet for early stage en-
trepreneurs.
Ambassador Gould believes there are
good reasons for Israeli companies to part-
ner with British companies and establish
branches in the UK. For one, in compari-
son to California, which is a full day and
ten time zones away by aeroplane, Britain
is almost on Israels doorstep.
I know that the default option for Israeli
tech entrepreneurs is to go straight across
the Atlantic, Gould told the star-studded
guests, who gathered at his residence to
launch the hub last summer. Let me tell
you why you should stop in London frst.
Were close, practically in the same time
zone, and a whole lot closer than Palo Alto.
Britain offers you a great market, access to
the whole of the European Union, and trad-
ing links across the entire world. We offer
skills in business development, sales and
marketing that can help Israeli innovation
go global.
Eye-opener
Krieger points to several British advan-
tages for Israeli companies. The UK itself
is a major hub, she says. It is a hub for
Europe, for the English-speaking world, for
the commonwealth, for media. Those are
only some of the advantages. Not to men-
tion being only fve hours away, the lan-
guage, and a legal system that is similar to
Israels. There are advantages that the U.S.
cannot offer.
Conversely, exposing British frms to
Israels potential is also an eye-opener for
some, showing off an Israel that may be
different from the image the country enjoys
in newspaper headlines on the Middle East
confict. ReIerring to one oI the members
of a British business delegation visiting Is-
rael at the invitation of the high-tech hub
recently, Krieger reports that she was told
by the executive that she had met Israeli
start-ups before but had no idea of the mag-
nitude and the hotbed of innovation here.
The executive, says Kreiger with a smile,
was blown away by how much there is in
one place.
The high-tech hub places stress on fnd-
ing synergies between Israeli and British
companies, looking for opportunities for
Israeli technology to partner with UK in-
dustries, with each side bringing unique
talents that complement each other. We
are not interested in simple you buy, we
sell stories, stresses Krieger. We are not
handing out money, this is not a fund. We
are providing a very important facilitation
service for matching, collaboration and
bridging gaps.
New media
Krieger herself is not British. She hails
from New York. Before joining the Brit-
ish Embassy staff, Krieger was Director of
Strategy and Operations at the Taub Cen-
ter for Social Policy Studies in Israel, and
Executive Director of STRIVE Israel, a
national organization dedicated to helping
unemployed Israelis develop careers and
fnancial independence. She gained expe-
rience working with the Israeli high-tech
sector after completing a masters degree in
public policy at Harvard University, work-
ing as an investment banker for Lehman
Brothers helping Israeli companies to ac-
cess global markets and conduct mergers
and acquisitions.
Krieger`s fve-person staII at the high-
tech hub is still working on fnalizing the
list oI technology felds on which it will
Iocus, but it has already identifed several
that will get prominent attention because
of the synergistic possibilities for combin-
ing Israeli technologies with what British
companies can offer. New media is at the
top of the list.
New media means mobile apps, game
apps, anything that bridges the creative
world of content and broadcasting, ex-
plains Krieger. New media is interest-
ing for us because the UK is very strong
in media and creative content, while Israel
is very strong in technology for delivering
content to customers.
In addition to digital technology and tele-
communications and life sciences, which
includes bio-med, bio-technology and the
pharmaceuticals industry, the British Em-
BUSINESS
The UK itself is a major
hub. It is a hub for
Europe, for the English-
speaking world, for the
commonwealth, for media