All-female delegation brings Israeli healthtech innovation to Japan
Two weeks after a photograph of German Chancellor Angela Merkel surrounded by an all-male crowd of Israeli and German businessmen raised questions over gender equality in Israeli business, a delegation of elite female Israeli technology executives visited Japan to bolster Israeli-Japanese health technology ties.
Organized by mHealth Israel, an organization aiming to create global awareness of Israel as a world leader in health technologies, the delegation met with Japanese government representatives and officials from tech giants such as Sony, Mitsubishi and Canon, as well as Japanese women in medical technology.
The three-day visit included meetings in Tokyo and Osaka with potential partners seeking co-innovation and investment partnerships, and startup managers, in addition to visiting major tech companies including NTT Data and BIO Japan.
Participants on the delegation included Limor Shacham of CNoga, Oranit Ido of DreaMed Diabetes, Michal Gindi of Make Sense, Merav Weinstock of IMNA and Sonia Ben-Yehuda of Health Precision.
In August, economic cooperation between Japan and Israel received a boost when the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO), a Japanese government-related organization promoting trade and investment, announced it would be opening a business center and accelerator program for Israeli start-ups.
JETRO will support early-stage Israeli companies expand their business operations to Japan and mediate increased business ties between Japanese and Israeli companies. Bilateral Israeli-Japanese trade stood at approximately $3.1 billion in 2016.