Israel Active

There are 73 international R&D centers in Tel Aviv, nearly doubling in five years, providing over 6,200 jobs. The latest, Visa, joins Amazon, AOL, Apple, Barclays, Bosch, Citibank, Coca Cola, Deutsche Telekom, Facebook, Google, IBM, Intel, MasterCard, Microsoft, Paypal, Renault, Samsung, Siemens, Yahoo and more.

Innovate Israel returns to London on 12th Sept co-sponsored by OurCrowd in partnership with The Institution of Engineering and Technology. Over 20 leaders of Israeli companies will discuss the most exciting innovations coming from scale-up nation.

The first Israeli-developed environmental satellite, VENµS, was successfully launched at the Guiana Space Center’s Kourou site.  The joint Israel Space Agency and French space agency CNES project will allow study of global environment, agriculture and water issues.

Karnataka, a state in southwestern India, has transformed 59,305 acres of drought-stricken land in Hunagund into a fertile green pasture, thanks to Israeli drip irrigation. As a result, by October, 15,000 farmers will harvest their first monsoon season crop in years.

I reported recently about Hebrew University Professor Berta Levavi-Sivan’s technology that promotes fish growth – as implemented in Uganda. She has co-founded the startup AquiNovo to utilize the technology and was awarded a 2017 Kaye Innovation award.

During his visit to Israel, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was shown Israeli technological innovation in the fields of water, energy and malaria tests. These included Water-Gen, Aqwise, Innovation: Africa, HomeBiogas and Sight Diagnostics.

Israel’s Ministry of Education has launched a NIS 70 million initiative to increase English proficiency around the country. Its 4-year goal is for 70% of Israeli students to study high and advanced English (currently 61%). It targets improving verbal skills using non-formal methods. Also, more on the NIS 12 million ($3.4 million) nationwide training program for English teachers.

Tahal Group – a subsidiary of Israel’s Kardan – is to construct three agricultural centers in Angola worth $145 million. They include farms, irrigation, greenhouses, chicken coops and a training center. Tahal is also to build a $176 million agricultural and water project in Zambia.

I reported previously about Israeli startup Flytrex’s claims to be the world’s first delivery drone that operates over the cloud.  Now Flytrex has launched in Iceland what it says is the world’s first commercial food delivery route based entirely on unmanned aerial vehicles.

I reported previously on Israel’s Karamba Security which protects cars against hacking attempt to alter its factory settings. Karamba’s CarWall was unanimously awarded 2017 Best Auto Cybersecurity Product/Service by TU-Automotive.