Tag: green-tech

Green Tech: 8 Israeli Tech Trends, 8 Crazy Nights 2015 (2/8)

It’s that time of year! Join us for the next eight days for what’s become an OurCrowd tradition: highlighting during Hanukkah — the festival of lights – the top eight Israeli tech trends that spark the interest of our investment team and what they see on the ground. Trend #2: Green Tech Behind the trend: For its entire existence, Israel – out of necessity — has been a leading research hub in areas related to the environment, from water conservation and desalinization to agriculture to alternative energy sources. So much so, other countries often seek advice and innovation first from Israel: this year, in fact, California turned to Israel to learn how to deal with four years of devastating droughts. As concerns rise about ramifications of climate change, more attention is being paid in general to clean air and water, as well as food security; all areas in which Israeli startups are developing solutions. The Israeli delegation to COP21 (the UN climate change conference held in Paris last week) was headed by no less than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reports...

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Collective Innovation: The Startup Nation’s roots in the kibbutz movement

In Israel’s early years, long before it became the “Start-up Nation,” the country began to develop when communities of people came together and found a way to live and progress. They did this through the creation of kibbutzim, a collective communal society based on the guiding principles of socialism. Although the kibbutzim approach contradicts the capitalist system which the startup industry is based on today, it was an instrumental part of Israel’s success story. After all, the concept of kibbutz is innovative in itself. After years of being the supporting pillar of Israel’s economy, in the 1980s the kibbutz movement began to suffer the consequences of Israel’s economic transition from socialism to a free market based on capitalist values. Most kibbutzim had to privatize part or all of their economic and social structures to avoid going bankrupt. However, some kibbutzniks tapped into their innovative roots and were able to overcome the crisis they faced. Showing some of the ingenuity they are famous for, the kibbutzim  branched out from farming and turned to high-tech in order to save their communities. A conceptual change Today...

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