Israeli cleantech firms get top China tech honor

Thirteen Israeli cleantech firms are being hosted this week at a special roadshow event in China, where they are meeting top investors, government officials, and business leaders in a first-ever high profile visit as members of the “country of honor” at the Pujiang Innovation Forum. Now in its seventh year, the Forum, jointly organized by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Municipal Government of Shanghai is considered one of China’s most influential high-level international forums focused on innovation.

Prior countries of honor have included Germany, Finland, and Russia, and in China, being chosen for this event is a sign that a country has “arrived” as a tech power, said Avi Luvton, Executive Director, Asia Pacific, at MATIMOP, the executive branch of the Economy Ministry’s Office of the Chief Scientist. “A company participating in the roadshow achieves in one week what it would achieve independently over a long period of intensive work. The China desk at MATIMOP invested months of work in building an intensive, high-quality schedule with meetings tailored for each and every one of the companies selected to make up this unique delegation.”

The roadshow brings the participating companies in contact with hundreds of potential partners, venture capital firms, private investors, research institutes, industrial parks and others. In the past, say Forum officials, many business and research deals have emerged from participation in the Forum, and the same is expected this year.

Organizing a roadshow – in which companies in a specific industry travel together to meet investors and partners in meetings and events set up in advance – is always a challenge, especially so in China, where language and culture barriers make it more difficult for many Israeli entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, Chief Scientist Avi Hasson has led five previous roadshows to China (not in the context of the Pujiang Innovation Forum), which proved to be very positive for some of the participants.

QR code firm Visualead, for example, got its introduction to China on a roadshow three years ago – and this year, it cut a deal with China online commerce giant Alibaba, first for an investment, and then as a partner. Alibaba’s new platform, for which Visualead is a leading technology partner, enables product manufacturers to print labels with unique codes for each individual product package. When consumers scan the codes using Alibaba Group’s Mobile Taobao application, they receive information about the specific product, such as feedback on the authenticity of the product they are holding or targeted online promotions directly from the product brand. The code guarantees that the product is authentic, and not a knockoff, traceable through Alibaba’s supply chain.

Among the companies on the current roadshow is Blue-I, a supplier of advanced measuring and monitoring devices used to treat water in industrial, municipal and private facilities.“Disinfection of water from sources such as rivers, lakes, and wells is becoming one of the most promising solutions to the global water crisis that threatens millions in peripheral villages, non-urban regions, and economically isolated areas every day,” said Jacob Azran, CEO of Blue I Water Technologies. “In many peripheral villages, water can be pumped only for a few hours each day. Because the water is treated for chlorination manually, that small amount of water is sometimes left unfit or unpleasant for consumption. With our Prizma system, the chlorination process is monitored and ensures that whatever water supply is available is completely safe for domestic use.”

According to Hasson, “in the past few years, the Office of the Chief Scientist has been investing great effort in strengthening cooperation with China, in light of the enormous, unrealized potential in this market. Our experience shows that such roadshows bring participating companies real results in the form of deals and long-term cooperation.”