Between November 12 to 19, Montreal mayor Denis Coderre and Toronto mayor John Tory will travel to Israel to convince Israeli companies to collaborate with Canada.
Tory made the announcement during a press conference at Wealthsimple’s office. There, he said that SecureKey, which recently raised $27 million, INCubes, Plooto, and Vuru would also be joining to represent the city’s technology sector.
The mayors and companies are joining a delegation including government officials and tech leaders, including Facebook Canada managing director Jordan Banks, OMERS Ventures managing director Jim Orlando, and Jan De Silva, president and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
“Israel has emerged as a leading global hub for technology due in part to its successful incubator ecosystem,” said Tory. “Our mission is to learn how government interventions have facilitated the rapid growth of their technology sector, learn from their innovations, and connect Toronto businesses with opportunities in their market.”
The delegation will travel and meet the mayors of Tel Aviv, Ramallah, Haifa, Jerusalem, and Beersheva. The agenda includes visiting Israeli-based companies and tech hubs like The Google Innovation Centre in Tel Aviv, The Floor FinTech Innovation Centre, and Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology. Besides learning about what the Israeli government is doing right to foster innovation, the delegation will focus on strengthening economic ties and increasing trade and investment in cybersecurity and FinTech sectors.
“I want to learn about the rapid growth we’ve seen in Israel’s innovation ecosystem, and bring back those lessons so that we can grow our own FinTech and technology sectors here in Toronto,” Tory said during the press conference. “I believe that we have much to learn, and can facilitate great business opportunities and relationship-during for our delegates.”