International development and the start up nation
All over the world technologies are transforming the life of people. For many they act as "survival life savers" particularly for the poorest who live in the developing south. Imagine that an estimated 2.1 billion people currently lack access to safe drinking water. More than 2 billion people lack clean, affordable energy for lighting and cooking. These nearly 4 billion poor living in developing countries currently represent an estimated $5 trillion market.
Israel with cutting edge technological developments in the water, agriculture, renewable energy, energy efficiency and health technology and its geographical proximity to Africa and Asia, has the potential to become one of the leading sources of innovative solutions to serve those who need it more.
One key sector of growth is environmental technologies. Israel research and development qualities based on accumulative experience, has been to supplying for decades cutting edge environmental solutions. From solar panels that power remote villages, to devices that purify brackish water to name just a few.
The key to success of the Israeli technological sector lies in the close coopration between R&D, Universities, NGOs and Industry and huge investments by government that earmarked $1B. The key to increase the transference of technologies to the poorest nations lies in increasing cooperation and the creation of partnerships at all levels.
The writer of the article, Mr Tobias Mendelovici, is the Director of Ocean Business (http://www.oceanbusiness.com.es/ ) an Israeli firm that bridges between Israel and emerging markets in order to accelerate the transference of innovation and clean technology.
