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  • SAL EMERGUI

Wednesday, December 30, 2020 - 01:17

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If artificial intelligence were to create a prototype of a center-left candidate for prime minister in Israel, it would hardly improve

Erel Margalit

in reality.

Born in a kibbutz almost 60 years ago, trained at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Columbia University, ex-officer, good looks and better rhetoric in Hebrew and English, ambassador of Jerusalem,

entrepreneur and technology investor

who creates jobs both in the periphery in Israel as in New York.

The complex Israeli political class has, however, its own laws, as Margalit was able to verify as a deputy between 2013 and 2017. After losing in the Labor Party primaries and leaving the Knesset (Parliament), he returned to the field where he moves best:

listening business projects and choose the most interesting and useful for them to be successful startups

, create investment and innovation synergies and seek the technological thread that sews the future.

To do this, he says, "it is necessary to be ambitious and sign alliances."

1993 is a key date to understand the trajectory of one of the great architects of the so-called Start-Up Nation.

Under the impulse of the state Yozma program (initiative)

, Margalit founded Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP)

.

27 years later, it is

Israel's leading venture capital fund

and has a notable international presence.

"We create a community that gives a company the option to enter without having to do everything from the beginning," explains the investor who signs some of the most important exits (sales or placements on the stock market) in his country.

CONTRAST

After

more than 1,400 million dollars raised in nine funds

and having created or invested in 150 companies in Israel, the United States and Europe, JVP inaugurated a few months ago in New York an

innovation center focused on cybersecurity

, while promoting the construction of a technological-residential neighborhood a few meters from its headquarters in Jerusalem.

The

Margalit Startup City

will cover some 50,000 square meters, accommodating local and multinational companies dedicated to entrepreneurship and innovation.

From Margalit's office, you can see the Mount of Olives and the walls of the Old City, in symbolic contrast to the start-ups taking their first steps in the JVP incubator.

We started the interview with his trip to Dubai three weeks ago.

For years

, JVP companies have been working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a low profile

, but now the Israeli technological presence is made official thanks to the agreement to normalize bilateral relations.

"We met with four ministers, several CEOs, etc. Through the UAE, we can reach many places in the area. It is the main investor in Morocco, Algeria or Tunisia and the number two business partner of India. We have a lot to learn in this field. They are not just customers but great traders throughout the region. "

Margalit recalls two moments from the mission to Dubai that included 13 companies from her portfolio.

"I remember the interesting interaction with the Minister of Food Safety dealing with what has to do with the combination of food, technology and agriculture."

He cites the Israeli company that offered a special sensor capable of detecting small insects that eat palm trees.

"Worms don't understand borders," he says with a smile.

"The meeting with young Arab entrepreneurs from the UAE and the rest of the Middle East was also exciting, which gives us the possibility of being partners, either by buying, selling or having connections. We can help companies there, be in contact with companies. universities, learn about government initiatives, ferment ideas. "

SECURITY

One of the effects of the pandemic is the increase in financial crime

.

ThetaRay, born in the JVP orbit, is dedicated to fighting it.

One of the most important partners of this company specialized in cybersecurity is Banco Santander

.

"There are many falsifications in the transactions of which the entities do not have proof.

And when they do, they receive millionaire fines. Many times the banks fail to detect actions related to money laundering, human trafficking or financing of terrorist groups. we enter ", indicates Margalit, who acts as president of the company's board of directors.

"For example, you arrive with your clients, but the Santander platform does not know all of them in detail, since it does not have access. If someone commits a mistake, he frustrates the transaction causing problems for the bank. With him and two other Spanish entities, ThetaRay does something very broad.

Thieves are very clever and they know how to deceive, so you need someone who knows how to fix and analyze numerous parameters

, including those that are not defined. Even if you do not have all the data of the bank you work with, you can give protection ".

"Before you made a transfer from one bank to another. Today you have a platform and everything is much more complex.

We created a standard that offers security to international finance in the new era.

Santander understood it before others. The key is to create one. platform in which, whether you are a small or large entity, you know that you are safe ".

According to him, they guarantee a level of security that current SWIFT cannot provide.

"Four or five banks, among the largest in the world, are the ones that will lead this field."

It is not by chance that Margalit chose

New York

as the setting for her new center.

"

It is a capital of many activities related to finance such as Cyber ​​or FinTech

and where 600 Israeli companies operate. Today, Israel plays in the league of the greats."

-Can you create a similar cybersecurity center in Spain?

-Italy and England are interested.

You have to see if you want it in Spain.

We can help Spanish companies.

If your goal is to be an international leader, you must reach the North American market.

How?

Maintaining Spanish excellence and building a presence in the United States.

You have to be in key markets.

We know how to do it because we are small in Israel.

-Not only play in the League, but in the Champions ...

-Exactly.

And you can play there much earlier than expected

.

Entrepreneurs from Israel and the United States want to work with Spanish entrepreneurs

.

As a hub and investment fund, we want to find ambitious entrepreneurs at an international level.

If this process goes well, we can talk about cyber, food tech and high tech.

For example, if I were an investor in a Spanish company, I would now take it to Abu Dhabi and Dubai to close big deals.

Why not?

In Spain there is a lot of knowledge and technology.

MORE THAN BUSINESS

In the role of advisor,

Margalit stresses the need for an ecosystem.

There comes into play, or should, political leadership.

"

It is important to know the position of the authorities.

Not all cities know how to get back to work. New York put 30 million dollars to our hub. It is not just about us, but about a complete ecosystem, with multinationals, universities, accelerators , startups, etc. Let the competent authority, for example, say: we want to create the cybersecurity center of Europe in this city. "

When she created JVP, Margalit only aimed to operate in Jerusalem.

"I did not think that we were going to have so many and such successful companies or that we could change the course of a city as complex as Jerusalem and even the country. I did not believe that with technology we could go to Galilee, in the north, or to Beer Sheva, in The south. The most exciting thing is to see how innovation changes the region. We do something bigger than business, "he says, boasting of cooperation with Arab social entrepreneurs in Jerusalem to promote joint activities such as Arabic classes, music, theater or sports.

The shadow of the coronavirus continues to be long

.

"At JVP we have recruited $ 350 million for local and New York businesses

. You need a community, a supportive investment back. You can't work alone. People need a community, even if they don't invest directly in your company. I don't know It only tries to raise money for your company, but, for example, a psychologist, since these are moments of great stress, how to receive government aid or help small shops on the street. "

Before saying goodbye, I ask him if he would have achieved the same success if he had been born in Girona where he has an ancestor.

"There is difficulty and hope. For us, in Jerusalem,

technology saved our lives, it connected people with enormous quality. By having a small market, our companies were born thinking of reaching the global level."

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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