NSW businesses relish Israel experience

FOR the first time, a New South Wales minister has led a business delegation to Israel – paving the way for 10 companies to explore Israel and strengthen the NSW high-tech culture.

The 10 companies travelling last week with Innovation Minister Matt Kean had virtually no experience of the so-called Start-Up Nation.

“I hadn’t thought Israel was as advanced as it is until I started researching for this trip,” said Naomi Stuart, talking to The AJN in the thick of the DLD Tel Aviv Innovation Festival.

The Wagga Wagga businesswoman was inspired by meetings with Israeli companies and is planning on making deals to support her company, FARMpay, which helps farmers.

The four-day trip was the first foreign foray for Kean since taking office in January.

He described it as “almost an MBA crash course” for NSW innovators held in the best possible location for the lessons.

“I want to be an evangelist for what is happening here,” he said, promising to “turbo change our engagement with Israel”.

He plans to carry on trumpeting Israeli achievements as a model for Australian business, and said that he expects to bring more trips.

“The reason I’m here is because for us to succeed it can’t just be businesses left to do it by themselves. It’s got to be a genuine partnership between government, business, the community and academia,” he told The AJN.

“I see the government playing a key role in being a connector.”

The NSW delegates had packed itineraries, tailored to each of their areas of interest by the Landing Pad in Tel Aviv, a high-tech centre funded by Australian state funds which helps Aussie entrepreneurs to explore Israeli technology.

Laura Dang, founder of financial technology company Upload Once, said that her immersion in Israel taught her the need to think about marketing her services globally, not just in Australia.

She said that this is taken-as-given in Israel where the local market is tiny, but not in Australia.

“It’s a mindset shift, to reposition our company from a local company to a global company which has headquarters in Sydney,” Dang commented.

Kean said that this message was one of the reasons he wanted to lead the trip.

“I think Australians have this attitude that we live in this island continent and just need to think Australia; the reality is that technology is breaking down barriers… and we are competing with companies wherever, not just Australia.

“We want them to not just think about scaling up in Australia; we want them to do what the Israelis do which is to sell their products to the world.”

NATHAN JEFFAY