Back in the good old days, “B-to-B” stood for “business-to-business” in Silicon Valley jargon. Now, with markets down and unemployment up, Doron Abrahami flashes a wan smile and points out it means “back to business.”
For Abrahami, who replaced the outgoing Yishai Laks as Israel’s West Coast consul for economic affairs in August, these are difficult times. The bubble has largely burst for Silicon Valley (home to more than 150 Israeli companies), and now Abrahami has to deal with a market rendered even more volatile by domestic terrorism and war.
His message remains solid, however: Israel is open for business.
For anyone skittish about investing money or resources in Israel, Abrahami promised to “give him the example of all the American companies already investing in Israel or with manufacturing sites in Israel, such as Applied Materials and National Semiconductors. I will tell him that since the [current intifada] began, all these companies didn’t lose even one working day.”
After working out of Santa Clara since the early 1990s, Abrahami is the first economic consul to be headquartered in Los Angeles. While some Israeli-born Silicon Valley CEOs felt the consulate was turning its back on high-tech businesses by going south, Abrahami insists this is not the case. He returns to the Bay Area every two weeks, and meets frequently with local Israeli CEOs. Additionally, Amon Agassi has been appointed to a new position as the San Francisco Israel Consulate General’s director of business development.
Agassi and Abrahami only half-jokingly describe themselves as “matchmakers.” The pair attempt to partner American companies that require Israeli products and know-how or vice-versa.
“I am going to live in the Silicon Valley and most of my work will be there,” said Agassi, a former Israeli high-tech worker who resides in Sunnyvale. “I’m willing to help out anybody. I’m trying to make the links between California businesses and Israeli businesses.”
While the high-tech industry represents the lifeblood of U.S.-Israeli trade, Abrahami said the move to Los Angeles has helped him locate opportunities for business partnerships in other fields.
“People speak about California and think about Silicon Valley and tend to forget that there are also possibilities in low-tech fields like agriculture,” he said. “California is the leading agricultural state in the U.S., and we’ve identified a very interesting project in the Imperial Valley [in southeastern California]. I’m learning about ways to get Israeli companies involved in…using the Colorado River to irrigate the farms.”
With advanced knowledge in the field of drip irrigation, Abrahami hopes to put together a team of 10 or 15 Israeli irrigation companies to contend for Imperial Valley jobs.
Now located in Hollywood’s backyard, the economic consul hopes to get Israeli companies involved in the entertainment, music and video industries. He hopes to put together an exposition called “Digital Hollywood,” in which a handful of Israeli software companies pitch their wares.
Abrahami also would like to involve Israeli technology and security firms in the 2002 Winter Olympics, and said Israel’s L.A. consul general has already made a call to the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce.
The heart and soul of U.S-Israeli trade remains high-tech, however, and Abrahami encourages investors to buy low and sell high.
“The level of shares has very drastically decreased,” he said. “This is the time to come and invest very cheaply in Israeli companies.”