{"id":337,"date":"2017-11-21T11:14:51","date_gmt":"2017-11-21T11:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forbes.co.il\/e\/?p=337"},"modified":"2021-06-29T13:26:52","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T13:26:52","slug":"a-new-silicon-valley-in-the-middle-east-beer-sheva-rising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forbes.co.il\/e\/a-new-silicon-valley-in-the-middle-east-beer-sheva-rising\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Silicon Valley In The Middle East: Be’er Sheva Rising"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the Intelligence and Communication corps transferring to the city, a successful university, and a brand new entrepreneurial center, it seems that even the greatest skeptics are beginning to understand that the Mayor of Be\u2019er Sheva, Rubik Danilovich, is not hallucinating when he declares that \u201cthe city will be a world-class innovation leader\u201d.<\/p>\n

Name the first three things that come to mind when you think of the Israeli Negev desert. If you came up with words like dust, poverty and camels, you are thinking of the old Be\u2019er Sheva. If, on the other hand, you thought of words like IT, innovation and entrepreneurship, your name might be Rubik Danilovich. The energetic mayor of Be\u2019er Sheva is hoping that, in the near future, he won\u2019t be the only Israeli who associates the \u201cCapital of the Negev\u201d with words that today more often bring to mind \u00a0Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. He believes the city is set to become world-renowned as a center of innovation and technology, a far cry from the shabby desert image it has endured during his tenure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember growing up with the stereotypes, the prejudice and the condescension,\u201d he says in an interview with Forbes Israel. \u201cI remember playing away games with my youth soccer league when the opposing team would call us the \u2018desert rats.\u2019\u00a0I\u2019m still Rubik from the Gimel neighborhood, I grew up in a 44 square meter apartment in a family of five, when Be\u2019er Sheva was a dusty desert town. Today I look at the city and I see big changes. And this is only the beginning \u2013 I\u2019m sure of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danilovich, the first Be\u2019er Sheva native to become its mayor, is one of those responsible for the city\u2019s ongoing metamorphosis, and which, under his strategic program, will continue to intensify in the coming years. Among those contributing alongside Danilovich are former Knesset member and Ben-Gurion University president Avishay Braverman, current university president Professor Rivka Carmi, and several senior city and government officials. \u201cIt may be hard to believe, but we put our egos aside,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat we\u2019ve created here is an ecosystem, not an ego-system. This is not a one-man show. It\u2019s the collaboration between us that has made it possible to ignite this process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danilovich began to promote a joint project with national government offices during his first year as mayor. After he took office in late 2008 (during Operation Cast Lead, as the city hunkered down under its first ever rocket attacks), Danilovich turned to the Treasury Ministry\u2019s budget department with a simple request: stop the \u201cbudget grants\u201d (which the government issues to towns struggling to maintain budgetary balance). \u201cThe way I see it, these grants only reinforced our image as a city that can\u2019t take care of itself,\u201d he explains. \u201cInstead we asked the government to give us \u2018mega projects\u2019\u00a0that could change the lives of residents in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Be\u2019er Sheva –\u00a0 Stop the Skeptics<\/h3>\n

These mega projects include, among others, one of the most ambitious visions the city has seen in many years: reinventing Be\u2019er Sheva as a global innovation hub. \u201cThere was a lot of skepticism at first,\u201d he continues. \u201cPeople didn\u2019t believe in us, laughed at us \u2013 they didn\u2019t believe the companies would want to come to the Negev. But I believe enthusiasm is everything. The way I see it that\u2019s leadership \u2013 to be ahead of your time and to bring a totally new vision. When people saw our enthusiasm and realized we were serious about this, they wanted to take part.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about money? Danilovich is outspoken on the issue. \u201cThere\u2019s always money. Any public servant who says there is no money for a given project should go home,\u201d he says. \u201cSure, maybe a boring, unimaginative NIS 100,000 project won\u2019t get you funding. But if you show a project that could bring about a real change, one valued at, say, NIS 1 billion, people will be interested in investing. We\u2019re thinking big. That\u2019s how it is \u2013 if you think small, you get small results. So maybe some of these visions will take decades to realize and maybe we won\u2019t be here to cut the ribbon, but that\u00a0doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re not going to plan and build the foundation today.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Bridge between Business and Academia<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Danilovich continues to plan for the future, but there are already changes on the ground. A spacious technology park has just opened in the northern part of the city, adjacent to\u00a0<\/strong>the university. No fewer than 20 buildings are expected to be built there in the coming years, including the newly established National Cyber Bureau, which was announced by Prime Minister Netanyahu this year.<\/p>\n

As part of planned unit transfers to the Negev, the IDF\u2019s cyber security division will set up shop a stone\u2019s throw away from the tech park, and military intelligence will be headquartered a few minutes\u2019\u00a0drive away at Laqiya Junction. \u201cFor the first time in many years the government is mounting a national project here, and it is making a clear statement \u2013 we want to bring all of the country\u2019s best minds together in Be\u2019er Sheva and make it a beacon not only nationally, but globally. This is happening today, and it will continue to intensify in the future,\u201d Danilovich says.<\/p>\n

If all goes according to plan, the city will be home to an unusual multi-sector partnership that is almost unheard of anywhere in the world. The university, a technology park hosting several of the world\u2019s leading tech companies, the IDF\u2019s IT and intelligence bodies, and the National Cyber Bureau\u00a0<\/strong>will all link up in northern Beersheba. And it is this academic-corporate-military consortium, city officials believe, that will transform Be\u2019er Sheva into a global innovation magnet. Danilovich is already calling it the \u201cSilicon Valley of the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The innovation center team: Rivka Carmy, President of Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Rubik Danilovitz, the mayor of Be\u2019er Sheva, and Ziv Ofek, entrepreneur (in the center). Photo: Forbes Israel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dream Big, Earn Big<\/h3>\n

And it turns out that the partnership project is going forward without the direct involvement of the municipality. One example of this momentum is the brand new Center for Digital Innovation (CDI) recently built in the technology park.<\/p>\n

The huge complex was established with the collaboration of University President Carmi and entrepreneur Ziv Ofek, who knows a thing or two about getting this sort of project going. Not long after completing his studies at Ben-Gurion University, he had already managed to found the company dbMotion, which later sold for $235 million.<\/p>\n

Now, Ofek says, it\u2019s time for the next venture \u2013 one that will help boost Be\u2019er Sheva\u2019s growth as an emerging technology hub. In the first stage, he explains, the center\u2019s focus will be on digital health. Later, its operations will expand into welfare, education and digital cities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
An Efficient Bridge Between Research and Entrepreneurship<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe want all the wonderful students who study here to choose to stay here after finishing their studies,\u201d Ofek says. \u201cWe want students to see Be\u2019er Sheva as fertile ground for developing themselves and realizing their dreams. This is why we built the Center here.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Ofek, the close link with the university gives the Center a huge \u2013 and unusual \u2013\u00a0advantage.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m a research freak,\u201d he confesses. \u201cBut as an entrepreneur I don\u2019t have a clue about what\u2019s happening in the world of research. Researchers and academics are the ones who see the big picture and know the issues on the ground. Historically, innovation has always come from academia, and that\u2019s what we want to build here \u2013 we want to be a bridge between the worlds of academia and entrepreneurship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Business is not an Abstract Concept<\/h3>\n

The bridge Ofek is talking about is more than an abstract concept. Recently, the city built a bridge shaped like a DNA helix, connecting the university campus to the technology park and CDI. Carmi, long considered one of the most influential women in Israel, understands the value of the collaborative project \u2013 and is the one who encouraged the university to take part.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom our perspective the idea is simple: to bring students and faculty closer to industry and to the application of academic research,\u201d she explains. \u201cThe model we\u2019ve set up here is unprecedented in Israel, and there are not many like it elsewhere in the world. Even the best known example of such a joint venture, between Silicon Valley industries and Stanford University, owes more to geographic proximity than to a planned collaboration. Here, if an entrepreneur needs questions answered or wants to hire an employee, he\u2019s literally across one bridge from the university. Within a few minutes, he could hire a student to do a specific job, or find an available consultant to address all kinds of issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not just planning partners; we are also business partners,\u201d\u00a0Carmi continues.\u00a0\u201cThe university has invested in the Center, so it\u2019s in our interests for the park to succeed and flourish. But the motivation for us is not profit \u2013 it\u2019s innovation. The traditional role of academia is to create knowledge, but we believe that playing an integral part in its application is no less important.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStanding on Your Head to See the Future\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The road to Be\u2019er Sheva\u2019s transformation into a global innovation center is long, but the steps Danilovich, Karmi, Ofek and others are taking today are already echoing around the world. The group received the go-ahead just under a year ago, when Brandeis University published a study that surveyed future technology hubs. It rated Be\u2019er Sheva first among the seven cities studied.<\/p>\n

Since then, Danilovich\u2019s office has become a kind of pilgrimage site \u2013 mayors of cities throughout the world have been coming to see how Be\u2019er Sheva\u2019s technology revolution happened in such a short time. Managers and chairpersons of big tech corporations \u2013 such as EMCand Lockheed Martin\u00a0\u00a0\u2013 have been coming as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake no mistake,\u201d Danilovich declares, \u201cthey aren\u2019t coming here as philanthropists. These people are coming because they see opportunity here \u2013 they see potential. And that\u2019s why all these companies have set up R&D centers and laboratories here.\u201d Some of the companies that have already booked spots in the technology park are Deutsche Telekom, EMC, Jerusalem Venture Partners, Oracle, Lockheed Martin, IBM, Elbit Systems, Ness Technologies \u2013 and the list goes on.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Investors come to Be’er Sheva because they sense opportunity. Danilovich<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAll these companies know why they\u2019re coming here,\u201d he continues. \u201cBe\u2019er Sheva turns out more engineers than anyplace else in Israel, with over 8000 engineering students in the city [at Ben-Gurion University and Shimoon College of Engineering]. We charge unbelievably low rates, lower than anywhere in the country. But the important factor is investment, human capital and collaboration between the different players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the heaps of books, pictures and the aerial photos that adorn the library in Danilovich\u2019s office, one can\u2019t help but notice a big bronze statue of Israel\u2019s first Prime Minister\u00a0David Ben-Gurion, in a signature pose \u2013 doing a handstand. Danilovich glances at the statue and smiles. \u201cYou know, the greatest leader of the 20th<\/sup>\u00a0century was one of ours \u2013 Ben-Gurion. Five feet tall, but a giant. When he wanted to see the future, he would stand on his head \u2013 so he could look at things from a new angle. That\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do here.\u201d<\/p>\n

A City Set on Becoming a World Tech Icon<\/h3>\n

Be\u2019er Sheva is the dream and opportunity capital of Israel, Danilovich says. \u201cA bit like the US, we\u2019re a city of immigrants. We\u2019ve absorbed immigrants from 80 countries over the years, and we see all of them as equals. Everyone comes here with a dream. What other city would elect a 37-year-old mayor who likes to wear jeans to the office? It\u2019s no accident that Ben-Gurion University is the only one in Israel with a woman president. That\u2019s the story of this city \u2013 there are opportunities here for everyone. And that is the spirit that\u2019s attracting the young entrepreneurs who aren\u2019t afraid to come here and put their dreams on the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, city officials aren\u2019t satisfied with just pulling in entrepreneurs from central Israel \u2013 they want Be\u2019er Sheva natives to become a serious force in the technology industry in the coming years. They have set up cyber tracks in many of the city\u2019s high schools, and one new school will have a dedicated technology focus. Danilovich believes that Negev residents will form a much more significant part of Israel\u2019s entrepreneurial and technology community in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very optimistic,\u201d he says, smiling. \u201cI\u2019m really excited to see what\u2019s happening in this city. We\u2019re one of the few cities in the world that are creating their own future;We\u2019re a city that is set to become a world technology icon; We\u2019re already quite strong in the cyber arena and we\u2019re getting stronger. As I said earlier, we\u2019re always thinking big \u2013 and planning ahead. What was it that Ben-Gurion said? That the Negev would be the testing ground of the Jewish people. So if we manage to achieve even 5% of Ben-Gurion\u2019s vision \u2013 that would be a fantastic accomplishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article appeared in the September 2015 issue of\u00a0<\/em>Forbes Israel<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Translated by Noam Primak<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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