BCBusiness

BCBUSINESS.CA APRIL 2019 BCBUSINESS 47 reach global markets, attract new invest- ment and access startup capital." The Crown agency, whose job is to sup- port tech entrepreneurs and businesses, has the authority to "strengthen national and cross-border relationships." The U.S. has a head start, given its proximity and historical links, but Israel is emerging as a potentially important player. Last November, a B.C. delegation vis- ited Israel to explore opportunities for joint projects, including those in biosciences and smart cities, says Bruce Ralston, minister of jobs, trade and technolo€y. It included Bill Tam, VP business development and partner relations with the B.C.-based Canada's Digi- tal Technolo€y Supercluster, and scientist Alan Winter,ˆappointed the province's ‰rst innovation commissioner in February 2018. "In general, when Israelis are involved, things happen fast," says Ralston, who wel- comes an injection of Israeli talent, technol- o€y and startup culture into B.C. In a February interview, tech ambassa- dor Winter says the delegation's "excellent mission to Israel" will encourage B.C. orga- nizations, the IIA and private companies from both places to further collaborate on tech and health research projects. The B.C. group visited the cities of Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beersheba and Jerusalem, holding some 40 meetings with senior Israeli o–cials, Winter says. There was "sig- ni‰cant interest in Israel in Canada's Digital Technolo€y Supercluster," he recalls. "We also found that the discussions informed our understanding of the role of innovation in the economy, from startups through to multinational companies." The two sides are building on links estab- lished in 2016 by the visit of a B.C. delegation to Israel led by then–‰nance minister Mike de Jong. The RHI–Hebrew University biode- sign project was a direct result of that visit. W H Y N O W ?As the provincial govern- ment steps up its innovation drive, a vibrant Israeli tech community has been quietly emerging in Vancouver. Ezra Shanken is CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Van- couver, which serves about 30,000 people throughout the Lower Mainland. Although there are no o–cial statistics, Shanken has observed a ¡ow of tech and business types from Israel into Metro Vancouver over the past two years. He believes this has pushed the number of Israeli expatriates and their families to a record of about 5,000, with more likely to follow. "We're experiencing an in¡ux of Israeli talent coming to build the high-tech econ- omy here in British Columbia," Shanken says. "I don't know where that factors in the trade numbers, but I would count that very much as an impact on the economy." Some of those talents are a small por- tion of the 3,000 positions that Amazon .com is creating in Vancouver as the U.S. e-commerce giant expands its North Ameri- can tech hubs. An Amazon o–cial declined to comment on the number of expats and their families the company is bringing in from Israel. "With Amazon, you're talking about absorbing over 100 people into our community. That's a lot of people to absorb properly [in a short time]," Shanken says. "On top of that, you've got Israelis coming in for academia, for other tech companies, and as doctors for hospitals and the health-care sector. These are people in their 30s and 1 Ad Name: Alumni 30 Under 30 — CONGRATULATIONS Hannah Bernard, Levente Mihalik, Sarah Stewart BCIT and the BCIT Alumni Association are proud to congratulate our Alumni finalists in the BCBusiness 30 Under 30, celebrating British Columbia's next generation of young entrepreneurs and innovators. We are proud of your accomplishments as exceptional new business talents. bcit.ca/alumni —— BRITISH COLUMBIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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