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Rabat – “As part of our innovation diplomacy activity,” says an unflappably upbeat and laid-back Avi Hasson, “we find the Middle East and North Africa key regions for us. We really want to build a deep and long-term relationship, which is based on innovation and technology.”
Hasson is the CEO of Start-Up Nation Central, a non-profit organization that promotes the Israeli innovation ecosystem in the global market. As the head of a platform that seeks to export Israeli innovation to the world, especially to what many in Israel are keen to call the “New Middle East,” Hasson is a firm believer in the importance of innovation in overcoming global challenges.
Entrepreneurship is built on innovation, which in turn is all about creative ideas and how they may be leveraged to effectively implement new company concepts through strategic planning and decision-making.
Talking to MWN on the sidelines of the “Morocco-Israel Connect to Innovate” Forum — which aims at boosting bilateral trade and providing technology solutions — Hasson spoke abundantly of what a rapidly evolving and ever-globalized market means for multinationals scrambling to forecast market trends and efficiently meet customer needs.
As it helps countries and multinationals to thrive, remain relevant, and stand out from the crowd, innovation was the theme that drove this year’s “Create to Innovate” Forum in Casablanca. Held between May 23 and 25, the event brought together actors from Israel and Morocco to discuss the next phase in the two countries’ relationship as they embark on a journey to deepen bilateral trade.
The event, Hasson says, was “a stepping stone in our attempt to desire to bring the Moroccan ecosystem and the Israelian ecosystem deeper together.”
He reflects, “What we have in the event is really a combination of multiple tracks that are focused on specific areas. Those areas are derived both from King Mohammed VI’s New Development Model, but also from the existing capabilities of the Israeli technology ecosystem.”
With a signing of 13 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) — linked to the development of innovative solutions — Hasson is confident that this collaboration will lay the groundwork for an increase in B2B and G2G operations, notably in human capital, agrifood-tech, water-tech, climate-tech, logistics, and other areas.
Maintaining human resources
Along with 25 Israeli companies, Start-Up Nation Central is aiming to open a trade market in Morocco by organizing business meetings with Moroccan counterparts, says Hasson.
The main goal of these meetings, he adds, is to hold “more horizontal discussions with our Moroccan counterparts.”
There are two major subjects that the discussions will be focused on. One is concerned with “ecosystem development,” while the other one is more focused on “human capital.”
Hasson explains, “Israel has built over the years a very mature and developed innovation ecosystem. Morocco is on that journey. And we think we are happy to do that to share some of our know-how and best practices to see where they could be relevant from transferring technologies from universities to companies, innovation policies, and so on.”
A key ambition of the cooperation is to help create the right conditions for Moroccan talents in the fields of business, innovation, and high-tech. The goal, according to the Israeli CEO, is to avoid brain drain, the exodus of Moroccan talents in search of greener pastures elsewhere.
“Morocco generates a great number of talented professionals in computer science and engineering,” he says. “And sometimes those people don’t have the right opportunities in their country and they have to leave for other markets.”
Hasson continues, “Israel on the other hand has 7000 startups and 400 multinational companies and needs more people. And if we can combine that supply and demand and create opportunities for building offshore activities for Israelian entities in Morocco.”
But what’s special or unique about this vision of consolidating business cooperation between Morocco and Israel? How, exactly, will it be instrumental in helping Morocco in creating the conditions to keep its growing pool of high-tech and innovation talents?
In response, Hasson argues that “we are not just strengthening the relationship, we are actually keeping that economic value in Morocco.” The idea, he added, is to train the young and promising Moroccan force in the innovation and high-tech industry to “maybe set up their own companies and be the future entrepreneurs of this country.”
For Hasson, part of what makes Start-Up Nation Central stand out as an ideal partner for the kind of technology transfer Morocco needs is that it is completely independent and has no alternate, suspicious political agenda. “Everything we do is to connect Israeli innovation to global challenges and really see where the two meet,” he said.
Innovation diplomacy: a key element
Perhaps the best way to characterize innovation diplomacy would be to suggest that it is an updated iteration of “smart power” in the geopolitical arena.
With developing countries eager to close the widening technology gap and be part of global conversations around the irreversible digitization of the global economy, Israel is eager to capitalize on its capital on the innovation front.
As they set sights on Morocco, Israeli businesses and the Israeli government are naturally pitching to the North African country the idea that deepening bilateral strategic cooperation could be a boon for the Moroccan market when it comes to the advanced and innovative technologies the country needs to rise up to its current and emerging challenges.
Hasson reflects, “I think what we found here is really a unique opportunity, which is driven both by the reaffirmation of the relationship that we signed 18 months ago or so, and the New Development Model that I mentioned before.”
“It’s a good segue to create a relationship and this is why we are here,” he concludes. “This is not the end because we really believe in this opportunity and we think the capabilities that we see here and also the very deep relationship will create the opportunity that we want to explore.”
