Link to the German-Israeli Business Association
City of Chemnitz to be SME hub in future
The first German-Israeli SME Day in Chemnitz ended today with visits by German and Israeli conference participants to research institutions and companies.
Lord Mayor Sven Schulze: "I am very pleased that the days in Chemnitz were successful and that we were able to establish ourselves as a centre for German-Israeli economic cooperation. Alongside our planned city partnership with Kiriat Bialik, this is another long-term pillar of our cooperation with Israel."
"The three-day premiere of the German-Israeli SME Day was a complete success. I am particularly pleased that DIW has chosen the city of Chemnitz as one of its six Israel Innovation Hubs in Germany. This is a concrete result that we can build on to cooperate more closely in the future," says Frank Müller-Rosentritt, member of the Bundestag from Chemnitz.
The three-day event was organised jointly with the City of Chemnitz, the Chemnitz Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the German-Israeli Business Association (DIW) and Elnet (European Leadership Network).
The organisers are unanimous: numerous companies, associations and societies contributed significantly to the success of the SME Day. At the end of the event, further in-depth cooperation is now planned through an Israel Innovation Hub. It will bring together innovative entrepreneurs and stakeholders from Israel and the Chemnitz region to discuss specific challenges and their solutions.
A functioning local network is important for this. "We are all the more pleased that we have found well-positioned SMEs, committed networkers and exciting research institutions in Chemnitz and Central Germany. With Smart Engineering, we are now linking the first innovation hub in the new federal states with our network in Israel," says Helge Eikelmann, Head of DIW's Federal Office.
In future, entrepreneurs from Tel Aviv, Haifa and Be'er Sheva will be making their way to Chemnitz, while delegations from Saxony will be able to gain an impression of the start-up ecosystem in Israel.
The German-Israeli Business Association is very pleased to be able to accompany this exchange over the next few years, says Eikelmann. "Together, we will tackle exciting topics such as artificial intelligence, automation, research and applications in the field of hydrogen and cyber security."