Inside Israeli's bid to make Kenya a startup nation

Gideon Behar, the Israeli ambassador to Kenya starts his speech with a brag. “Which of these two securities performed better in 2025 – Tel Aviv or Nasdaq?” he poses.

The answer is Tel Aviv, the capital that he is also representing here in Nairobi.

In 2025, Nasdaq’s returns averaged 21 per cent compared to Tel Aviv’s 51 per cent.

This performance is largely informed by the country’s enabling environment for innovation, which supports the sprouting and later acquisition of startups by bigger firms.

Behar says in 2025, these acquisitions averaged Sh11.7 trillion ($90 billion), led by Google’s purchase of Wiz, a cloud security company, for Sh4.1 trillion ($32 billion).

Palo Alto is also said to have acquired CyberArk, an Israel cyber security firm, for Sh3.3 trillion ($25 billion).

NVIDIA, arguably the largest technology company by market capitalisation, plans to spend Sh195 billion ($1.5 billion) as it expands its presence in Israel. Behar says this will create at least 10,000 jobs.

“Israel is a hub that attracts people, investors and creates innovation. The future of the economy today will be more in the high tech,” said the Israeli ambassador, adding that this business environment has made Israel position 27 globally in gross domestic product (GDP).

“It won’t be a surprise for me that by the end of this century, we will be one of the G20s.” Behar, who was speaking during the inaugural dinner with members of the East Africa Israel Chamber of Commerce (EAICC). EAICC is a platform that seeks to connect businesses within the East Africa region with those in Israel to enhance trade and investments.

Technology and innovation are one of the areas where Israel and the region seek to collaborate.  Behar said he intends to make Kenya the startup nation for the continent, as Israel is to the world.

Cybersecurity protection

He pointed out that fintech, in which Kenya is thriving, and cybersecurity are critical areas in the economy of the future.

“You cannot develop an economy today if you do not have good cybersecurity protection, and Israeli companies are the best when it comes to that,” he said. Behar said the reason why Israel is known as the startup capital of the world is because of the structures that aid the growth of such tech firms in the country.

“It is a cooperation between the government, private sector, academia and the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that all work together to produce successful startups,” he said.

He seeks to introduce this system to Kenya and East Africa with the belief that the country can be, and should be, the gateway for innovation for East Africa and Africa.

“My vision is to help Kenya start a nursery, a real centre for startups here that will spread innovation in Kenya and across the region,” he said.

“We (Israel) have more startups per capita than any other country in the world. In terms of real numbers, we are only second to the United States.”

Behar maintained that with the EAICC in place, businesses from both sides stand to benefit. Improved technology and innovation in agriculture are one of the targeted areas.

“For Israeli companies, there is a huge potential working together in irrigated agriculture, which Africa and Kenya need a lot,” he said.

Apart from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, EAICC membership stretches to Ethiopia, Mauritius, Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2025, Kenyan businesses were part of a delegation that took a trip to Tel Aviv in November.

“Last year, we had a delegation to Israel of senior chief executives and business leaders in the banking and finance sector, where we visited Tel Aviv for opportunities in the space,” said EAICC chairperson Frank Mwiti, who is also the chief executive of the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

New opportunities

Mwiti said the chamber was set up to drive trade and investments between the region and Israel.

The idea behind a regional chamber, he said, stems from the realisation that the opportunities that exist between Kenya and Israel also extend to the other countries. He explained that the membership of the chamber also mirrors this listing banking, technology, agriculture, cyber security and fintech as some of the businesses on board.

“Our mandate is to support companies that are seeking to enter these markets, help structure partnerships, identify quality counterparts, navigate regulatory, commercial and institutional environment across the region,” added EAICC chief executive Alice Muthama.

“The chamber will work to serve as a bridge between regions and investors who are seeking opportunities.”