International Food Tech Hub Debuts In Northern Israel
An international innovation center dedicated to the application of food science and food technologies was launched in northern Israel last week by Erel Margalit, the founder and executive chairman of Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), the international venture capital firm.
The hub, called Margalit Startup City Galil – the International Foodtech Center, developed in conjunction with the Jewish National Fund (JNF), debuted in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona at an inauguration event that drew Israeli entrepreneurs and investors, Israeli officials, leading academic researchers, investors, and multinational organizations.
While this is Margalit’s fourth Startup City innovation center — he has hubs in New York, Beersheba, and Jerusalem and is planning centers in Paris and Dubai — is the first one that focuses solely on food tech and agritech innovation.
The International Foodtech Center in the Galilee operates in strategic cooperation with a host of ecosystem players, public bodies and corporations, including the Kiryat Shmona Municipality, Upper Galilee Regional Council, and the Galilee Development Company; and local and international business and technological bodies that are opening a branch the Galilee for the first time, including JVP, Cisco, Deloitte, Luzzatto Group, Bank Hapoalim, and Fischer & Fischer Law Firm.
Academic institutions such as the Tel Hai Academic College and the Migal Research Institute, the Israeli Science and the Technology Ministry’s regional R&D center in the Galilee region will also be active in the new food tech center, along with many food and agriculture technology companies, and community organizations.
“Foodtech is the next