In a December 2019 innovation exchange between Germany and Israel, Israeli startups met with German Mittelstand firms. A key insight: Personal contact is the key to success.

Germany and Israel face similar challenges and opportunities when it comes to globalization and digitalization. Which synergies could result from an innovation exchange? What would successful cooperation look like? As our study German and Israeli Innovation – The Best of Two Worlds shows: Networking is crucial for shaping German-Israeli partnerships. Innovative platforms, moreover, facilitate the interactions that can make those partnerships happen.

“Go far. Come close.” The first German-Israeli Pitch Night presented innovative startups from Israel and East Westphalia to an audience of 200 guests. Thanks to the concrete examples discussed, it also showed how both ecosystems can learn from each other.

The challenges and chances of digitization and migration for economy and society were the focus of this year’s network meeting of the German-Israeli Young Leaders Exchange “Adventure – A Journey from Success to Significance.”

Our new study shows far-reaching potential in the close cooperation between German and Israeli businesses – efforts which, to date, have been underutilized. Highlighting Israel's innovative dynamism, the study also offers German businesses engagement strategies facilitative in securing potential Israeli partners.

Innovation is the catchword on everyone's lips. Israel in particular is considered to be one of the world's leading ecosystems for startups and new technologies. This year's German-Israeli Young Leaders Exchange, held under the theme "inspiring innovation", focused on the basic conditions needed for a successful innovation ecosystem, as well as on innovation's impact on the economy and society. 

Since the start of diplomatic relations fifty years ago, Israel and Germany have displayed an extraordinary commitment to the path of rapprochement. However, Germans are significantly more critical of Israel than vice versa, and the younger generation in both countries displays a tendency towards estrangement.

German-Israeli relations are facing new challenges today. With this situation in mind, the Bertelsmann Stiftung initiated the German-Israeli Young Leaders Exchange.