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Founded by Merage Foundation Israel, InNegev, Israel Innovation Institute, Ben Gurion University of the Negev and Group 19, The DeserTech and Climate Innovation Center stands as a beacon for groundbreaking DeserTech and Climate initiatives, accelerating startup companies and bringing the Hi-Tech industry to the Negev, while passionately fostering employment and abundant opportunities, cultivating a flourishing ecosystem of innovation that originates in the Negev and resonates worldwide.
The DeserTech and Climate Innovation Center in the Negev was established aiming to realize the unique knowledge developed in the Negev, fostering startup companies responding to the global climate and desert challenges, developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Negev, increasing and diversifying the Hi-Tech employment in the Negev with hundreds of new technological jobs.
Thanks to the center’s activities, the Negev will become a living laboratory for climate and desert technologies relying on the various R&D centers, the desert climate, and the physical infrastructure. A key area the center will focus on is promoting employment in the Negev in knowledge- intensive professions, and this will be done through unique programs for training and direct placement in a process that will change the paradigm: Recruiting employers, mapping the appropriate HR for the required professions, leveraging government and private incentives and building training in the On-the-Job Training model.
77 Haenergia St. Be’er Sheva, Gav Yam Negev
77 Haenergia St. Be’er Sheva, Gav Yam Negev
Group 19 was established in 2016 by the social entrepreneur Hana Rado. The group specializes in creating jobs opportunities in the Israeli periphery, with an emphasis on women, and works to integrate unskilled populations into the workforce through the method of ‘on the job training’. The group consists of five companies: Group 19 Tech, Group 19 Finance, Group 19 Data, Group 19 Digital, and Group 19 Admin. The companies are located in Yerucham, Mitzpe Ramon, Sderot, Ofakim, and Safed, and provide a variety of services to companies in central Israel through employees from the periphery.
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) is one of Israel’s leading research universities and among the world leaders in many fields. BGU has about 20,000 students and 4,000 faculty members across 6 academic faculties and over 60 interdisciplinary research hubs. The University has three main campuses: The Marcus Family Campus in Beer-Sheva; the research campus at Sde Boker and the Eilat Campus, and is home to national and multi-disciplinary research institutes: the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev; the National Institute of Solar Energy; the Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology; the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research; the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel & Zionism, and Heksherim – The Research Institute for Jewish and Israeli Literature and Culture.
The Israel Innovation Institute was established in 2011 as a not-for-profit organization to position Israel as the innovation hub for global challenges and increase the well-being of 21st-century citizens in Israel and worldwide.
The Institute supports entrepreneurs and startups in finding resources, making connections, and exchanging knowledge with industry players. The III also initiates open innovation processes in organizations by identifying challenges and needs and matching them to the most relevant solutions.
The III has established some of the world’s leading innovation ecosystems based on an innovative approach and an operational model developed and de facto implemented in the past ten years in the following sectors: Digital Healthcare (HealthIL), Smart Mobility (EcoMotion), Advanced Agriculture (GrowingIL), Desert Technologies (DeserTech), Aquaculture (AquaculTech), Climate Change Technologies community (PLANETech), and Innovation Management Community (Catalyst) to support our entire mission.
A leading Israeli incubator, tackles global climate challenges through cutting-edge startups. Located in the heart of Israel’s Negev desert, a region known for its arid climate, InNegev fosters innovation in climate tech and sustainability solutions. The incubator focuses on early-stage ventures across various sectors, including agri-food, water management, extreme weather resilience, energy, circular economy practices, and carbon capture technologies. With a strong track record of supporting successful startups and a well-established network within the Israeli and international climate tech ecosystem, InNegev provides entrepreneurs with the resources and connections needed to bring their ideas to life.
The Merage Foundation Israel is a private philanthropic foundation established by David and Laura Merage. Inspired by David Ben Gurion, since 1998, the Merage Foundation builds on the pioneering spirit and ingenuity of the Israeli people to ignite and scale a wide range of transformational programs in the areas of Negev Development, Aliya and Social Resilience. In the last few years, the foundation has become a leader in regional economic development, as the founder of internationally recognized initiatives including DeserTech, the Negev Desert Wine Region, Synergy7, and 710 West, transforming the Negev into a global hub for desert innovation.
