A new project of the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation will seek out Israeli technologies to develop and commercialize for emerging markets, beginning with India.
The agreement launching TechEmerge in Israel was signed on January 13 at the second annual Foreign Trade Conference hosted by the Foreign Trade Administration at the Ministry of Economy and Industry in Tel Aviv.
“We are looking at companies from Israel and elsewhere to be able to bring their technology to where it is needed most – emerging markets where there is an opportunity, where there is a scale and where there is a chance to do something which hasn’t been done before,” said Alzbeta Klein, global co-head of the IFC Investment Fund of the World Bank Group.
The pilot phase of TechEmerge will focus on health in India, matching top health technology innovators with interested healthcare providers in India. These pairs will explore how the technology can be implemented to benefit healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.
“Around a dozen leading private-sector healthcare providers in India have signed up and are looking for new technologies for point of care, remote monitoring, patient engagement, and telehealth, among others,” said Ruzgar Barisik, IFC Venture Capital senior investment officer.
“Our life sciences industry is ranked first globally for the number of medical device patents per capita, and Israel, being well-positioned in the life science realm, could take an active and meaningful role in the TechEmerge program,” said Amit Lang, director general of the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry.
The Indian healthcare market is set to grow to $280 billion by 2020, driven by increasing income levels, a growing middle class, longer life expectancy and the rise in incidences of non-communicable chronic diseases.