Business ties between Canada and Israel continue to expand.
Earlier this month, Reza Moridi, Ontario’s minister of research and innovation, visited Israel, where he and Avi Hasson, chief scientist of Israel’s Ministry of the Economy, each announced $3 million in funding for companies collaborating in joint research and development projects in the high-tech field.
Around the same time, Innovation Saskatchewan, the Embassy of Israel and the Canada-Israel Industrial R & D Foundation (CIIRDF) hosted the first-ever Saskatchewan-Israel Agritech Roundtable in Saskatoon. The event brought together representatives of 10 Israeli technology companies and leaders of more than 30 organizations in the province’s agricultural sector.
Further to the west, an earlier effort to promote collaboration between Israeli high-tech companies and Canadian oilsands firms has led to 21 Israeli proposals to help Alberta oil producers deal with issues such as water reclamation and greenhouse gases.
And in yet another development, the Embassy of Israel and Startup Canada are sponsoring a competition to find Canada’s top ICT (information and communications technology) startup to represent Canada in Start Tel Aviv, a global competition for founders of web or mobile startup companies in the seed stage of development. The winner, who must be between 25 and 40, will receive “an intense, all-expense-paid, five-day startup experience in Tel Aviv.”
These are busy times for those promoting business ties between Canada and Israel, said Henri Rothschild, president of CIIRDF, which will implement the Ontario funding program in Canada.
Both Ontario and Israel have pledged $6 million for joint projects as part of the Ontario-Israel Collaborative Program (OICP), but that will amount to only about 40 per cent of the total invested in research. The Ontario and Israeli companies are expected to contribute or raise the rest, he said.
Each company is eligible to receive a maximum of $300,000 toward the projects, which are expected to focus on areas such as medical devices, information technology, advanced manufacturing, clean technology and the life sciences. Those are the areas that have already been funded by the two jurisdictions, based on a memorandum of understanding initiated 10 years ago.
To date, provincial and government of Israel funds have gone to support 15 joint research and development projects, leveraging nearly $17 million in investments from other sources and generating $52.5 million in revenue for the participating companies.
Rothschild said the corporate participants predict that in the next decade, up to $1 billion in economic value could be realized from the joint projects, though he suggested a figure closer to $200 million to $300 million might be more realistic.
“The new agreement will support existing collaborative research and development projects between Israel and Ontario-based companies and includes a new call for proposals for joint initiatives,” the ministry said in a statement.
The CIIRDF will administer the Canadian portion of the joint project by soliciting calls for proposals, reviewing them, providing feedback and selecting the winning bids. The organization also serves as a “matchmaker,” bringing together Canadian and Israeli companies eager to participate in the process. “Because we’re well networked in Canada and Israel, we’re suited to find matches,” Rothschild said.
Moridi said Ontario “recognizes that [its] capacity to compete internationally and create the jobs of tomorrow depends on collaboration. That is why we welcome this continued partnership with Israel.”
Hasson added: “The OICP is a highly effective gateway that enables the Office of the Chief Scientist to connect with ideal technology partners across Ontario and facilitate co-operative R & D that benefits both jurisdictions. This co-operation is essential to address our shared innovation and economic objectives.”
In Saskatchewan, meanwhile, the gathering of Canadians and Israelis included Premier Brad Wall, Israeli Ambassador Rafael Barak and key players in the province’s agricultural sector, Rothschild said. Like the Ontario agreement, the Saskatchewan-Israel R & D Collaboration Program promotes joint development and commercialization of new technologies, with a focus on agriculture, clean tech, minerals, nuclear and energy.
Referring to the Ontario project, he said, “We’re very excited. We know there are a lot of companies waiting for this announcement, waiting to make applications.”
