Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Furus believes Israeli technology can greatly help the Philippines improve several areas, including cybersecurity, civil defense and emergency preparedness.
The envoy also hosted a Manila Angel Investors Network Inc. presentation night on Thursday at his Makati City home with the theme “Building Bridges Between Innovation and Technology,” which featured presentations from six Israel-based startups, including Clinten, Cyber2.0, RiLBiTE, Facetrom, Nutek and TripleP.
Business proposals included AI-based solutions to enhance crisis preparedness and cybersecurity, plant-based superfoods, and rainbow probes used to remove cancerous tissue after surgery.
Furth said technology, like innovation, is now crucial to the country’s development.
“Israel is a global hub, which is why we are pushing to build bridges of innovation and technology between the two countries,” he told the Daily Tribune.
“The Philippines is a global innovation hub. So what I’m trying to do is, on the one hand, introduce Israeli technology companies to the Philippines, because, as I said, the solutions these days are all about technology and, of course, it’s about the practice and how you use technology, that’s the future,” he added.
Furus added that the Israeli ecosystem is a leader in innovation and has adapted existing technologies based on the country’s current needs.
“I want to bring the Israeli innovation ecosystem to the Philippines,” he said, “because basically, this will make the Philippines unique and allow the Philippines to be self-reliant in developing its own technology. Right now, the startup community is growing, but I think there is still a lot to be done, given the size of the country and the challenges.”
He expressed confidence that as one of the world’s leading technology hubs, Israeli technology can assist the Philippines in areas such as agriculture, water, cybersecurity and defense technology, and stressed that the country “also has a lot to offer in terms of emergency preparedness.”
“For me, the next areas are medicine, geotech, climate tech, and energy, which are kind of alternative energies. So, for me, these are the main areas where Israel has a lot to offer,” he added.
