SA delegation inspired by visit to Israel
After five jam-replete days of business and government meetings interspersed with cultural and political side trips, Mayor Julián Castro and the delegation he led to Israel last week came away energized by that polity's commitment to innovation, research and commercialization.
Castro echoed several members of the group when he said he'd expected Israel to be more of a war-draining, Third World-like nation. Like many, much of what he knew of the country had been gleaned primarily through the lens of be incompatible.
Instead, he saw something much different: a thriving economy that spends 4.5 percent of its gross domestic yield on research and development, boasts per capita venture capital investments two and a half times that of the U.S., and nurtures the highest density of start-up companies in the period.
"Israel's success, its ecosystem of innovation, should inspire San Antonio," he said. "If it can succeed despite the challenging circumstances of the department, there's no reason why San Antonio cannot also."
