TURNING ADVERSITY into an advantage has been a significant factor in developing the high-tech industry in Israel, a seminar was told during the week.
The Entrepreneurial Nation seminar was held in Dublin on Wednesday as part of an effort to promote bilateral commercial links between Israel and the Republic.
“It’s quite remarkable the changes over the years,” Dr Daniel Laufer, associate professor of marketing at Yeshiva University in New York, said. “Increasingly, starting a company is becoming something that is being really valued by Israeli society.”
He drew comparisons between Ireland and Israel in terms of the importance of the diaspora and a strong education system in both nations, which could contribute to the high-tech sector. The use of incubators and research and development incentives has also been instrumental in the developing the sector.
“Israel has been very successful in this arena,” Dr Laufer said.
However, there were other factors that contributed to the success. Dr Laufer said the boycotts of Israel in the past had helped rather than hindered the country, and made its high-tech industry more self-sufficient.
The mandatory military service for Israeli citizens also benefits business, helping young people to network effectively, and gives them responsibility at a young age.
“They mature a lot quicker than people in other countries. There’s experience of teamwork,” he said.
He drew comparisons with Ireland in terms of how important the diaspora can be in business, with the establishment of Intel’s operations in Tel Aviv partly driven by Israeli nationals who worked at the chip maker.
The Minister for Commercial Affairs to the UK and Ireland at Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour Gil Erez told the seminar of the opportunities and assistance for doing business with Israel. A real-life example was presented in the form of Dublin-headquartered DecaWave.
Teaming up with Israeli firm AeroScout has been a significant advantage for the Irish firm. The chip company specialises in the architecture and design of integrated circuits for communications equipment markets that require ultra wideband technology.
DecaWave chief executive Ciarán Connell told the seminar that the partnership with AeroScout was its first break. DecaWave teamed up with the real-time location system company and won one of the EU’s Eureka awards.
That award brought DecaWave to the attention of Korean firm LG, and led to an important deal for the Irish company.
“The modern definition of a company is a company with a collection of contracts, and we have a very good collection of contracts with AeroScout, DIT and LG,” he said.
The company’s flagship product is a low-power ultra-wideband chip that can be used in everything from agriculture and building control to factory automation and intelligent hospitals.
The chip can be used for accurate real-time indoor location or in wireless sensors. LG’s technology components business, LG Innotek is developing a module that is based on DecaWave’s chip.
