Below is a link to an article that discusses 10 reasons why Israel is a Cleantech Leader. According to the author Shawn Lesser of Sustainable World Capital, Israel is a global Cleantech powerhouse, attracting millions of dollars in investment every year. How does a small country like Israel become the world’s cleantech leader?

1. Israel is the Silicon Valley of Water devoting resources to the development of wastewater treatment and reclamation, as well as drip irrigation.

2. Brain Trust – Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to population in the world with a large concentration of engineers and PhDs.

3. Necessity is the mother of invention – Israel is poor in natural resources but rich in brain capital.

4. Leveragability of tech expertise to cleantech – Israel’s tech sector has flourished through the creation of leading core technology competencies.

5. Capital - Over 40 venture funds, several of them American, manages more than $10 billion in Israel, with an increasing share of their allocations devoted to cleantech companies.

6. The Better Place factor – Founded by Israeli entrepreneur Shai Agassi, Better Place, a Palo Alto, CA company is developing electric vehicle battery swapping infrastructure. Israel was the first country to sign on with Better Place.

7. The sun shines brightly over Israel - The solar radiation Israel receives drives the innovative creation of solar thermal companies.

8. Kibbutz Pioneers – Israel’s pioneering spirit, which has spilled over into cleantech, had its beginnings in the kibbutzim.

9. Home grown Israeli VC community - Israel has a vibrant local VC community, which includes Israel Cleantech Ventures, AquaAgro and Terra Ventures.

10. Momentum. Israel is fast becoming the cleantech incubator to the world.

Link to Article \"10 Reasons Why Israel is a Cleantech Leader,\" by Shawn Lesser

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