By David Halevi
The world is on the cusp of tech change, and Israel can and must take advantage of those changes to remain relevant, according to Momo Mahadev, CEO of Maala, an umbrella organization of 130 large Israeli companies dedicated to corporate, social and environmental responsibility.
“Studies have shown that innovation in information technology, which Israel has specialized in until now, may be leveling off,” Mahadev says. “We have developed a program that we believe will help Israel thrive in the new era of technology development that is already beginning.”
With the non-profit Heschel Center think tank and business-consulting agency Praxis, Maala has established the Appropriate Innovation Initiative in Israel, an effort to develop and provide sustainable solutions to the challenges faced by developing countries.
The idea, says Mahadev, is to encourage Israeli businesses to “think out of the box” and to develop projects, products, and even psychological and social conditions for the adoption of advanced tech solutions to age-old problems in developing countries that will benefit the societies they work in, as well as the company itself and the Israeli high-tech industry.
Maala already runs several programs to help businesses achieve goals of social responsibility and greater environmental awareness – the very areas that Maala, and many experts, believe will be the next great growth area for tech companies.
“In 2011, Sha Zukang, the head of the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs, made a short visit to Israel,” relates Mahadev. “He pointed out that Israel had the experience and technology in water management, desert agriculture and sustainable crop production – all areas that the tech world would be tackling in the coming decade.”
Zukang encouraged Israel to get in on the ground floor of new technologies that are already in great demand, and help raise the standard of living of people around the world. That’s what the new initiative is all about.
Disruptive intervention
“A big Israeli company that supplies, for example, drip irrigation systems, will probably include training and education on the best way to use the system when they sell a turnkey project to a mega-farm in the US, but they might not think to give that kind of training to a small farm in India that buys a simple system. But that education and training will help the Indian farmer more effectively use the system, so it's important that it be provided,” Mahadev says.
The Appropriate Innovation Initiative also will help build an ecosystem in the Israeli economy to design sustainability projects. “For example, as Indians become wealthier, the presence of flush toilets – which the majority of the population still does not have access to – is growing. This is of course an opportunity for toilet manufacturers, pipe makers, and others in the sanitation fixture business. But India cannot wait the decades it is likely to take for more Indians to rise to middle class income levels.
“One way to expand toilet availability in India would be, perhaps, to implement energy solutions that make use of human waste to generate electricity, similar to systems currently in place that use animal waste to generate power.”
The money earned from the sale of electricity (or saved by not buying oil) could offset the cost of installing sanitation systems for those who cannot afford it. “It sounds like an idea that you would expect companies to eventually think of by themselves, but we decided to move things along with a 'disruptive intervention' in the form of the Initiative,” says Mahadev.
“Thinking out of the box in this case would help impoverished Indians, the environment and health system in that country, and would also help Israel develop a new industry, cross-fertilizing the energy and sanitation industry,” he adds.
A boost for Israel’s education system
Mahadev believes the project will create ideas that will come to be viewed as indispensable, and that the cross-fertilization will benefit Israel in many interrelated ways.
“The development of this ecosystem will also have a major impact on Israel's education system, since more kids will be encouraged to train in disciplines that are relevant to sustainable development.”
Like it or not, says Mahadev, the world is changing – and the Appropriate Innovation Initiative is necessary in order to keep Israel on top of technology.
“According to the Harvard Business Review we are entering the 'fourth era of innovation,' in which innovation and creativity move back from garage-style startups to large corporations,” he says.
This change is taking place precisely because the tech world is starting to tackle the large-scale problems that plague the world – like sustainability problems.
“Discussion on this trend has begun over the past years, and there are a few initiatives in the US and Europe similar to what we are doing,” says Mahadev, but so far the Appropriate Innovation Initiative – with about 70 large and small companies, along with NGOs and academic institutions involved – is the largest and most advanced.
“With so much innovation in sustainability technologies already, Israel is in a great position to take advantage of these new trends,” says Mahadev. “It's important not only for Israel, but for the whole world.”