Amdocs Israel general manager Harel Givon told the “Globes” Business in the South Conference at Sapir Academic College that operating in Sderot has paid off. Talking to “Globes” High-Tech Editor Assaf Gilead on a panel discussing the role of the economy and high-tech in reviving the south, he said, “The company has values that it wants to promote. Our ROI is economic but not only. Amdocs has been in Sderot for 22 years and we have grown with the city. The deployment of Amdocs in Israel is according to our social values and we have offices in Nazareth, Ra’anana and Sderot. We have grown to 650 employees.”
Givon said that 86% of employees at the development center in Sderot live in the area. “No one wants to evacuate from their place not only because they are satisfied, but also because there is simply no alternative. Amdocs is the only high-tech company that exists here and there is no problem finding personnel in the area, we are in contact with academia, and Sderot as a city is strong and we include youth in high-tech education.”
Givon added that he has met with companies in the industry to fulfill his promise to Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi, “To do everything to bring five companies to open offices here and grow.” This despite the fact that the high-tech industry in the world and in Israel is not growing at the moment. “Every large company has 20-30 people who live in the south and it is better for them than traveling to the center of the country.” According to him, the government’s plans are focused on the next two years, while the businesses in the south need long-term help “We want talents in the field to want to live here, and must take an active part in the restoration of this region of the country.”
Assaf Gilead noted that companies were reluctant to open development centers in the Gaza border region.
Givon responded that the basic conditions are education, academia and transport infrastructure. “It needs to be addressed through government benefits, which until October 6th were in the right direction, but now it needs to be at completely different multiples. We need to give an incentive to workers beyond seven kilometer from the Gaza Strip in terms of taxation, and we need to encourage people to build here, and prepare five-year plans for the high-tech companies.”
Also on the panel was Michal Frank, a senior consultant for the Tekuma Administration to revive the Gaza border region and a former Ministry of Transport director general. She said, “People need to be given certainty about the future and a roof over their heads. Employment worries all of us in order to bring about self-fulfillment and financial security, but the people in the Gaza envelope are not there yet because most of them are still preoccupied with the basics of Maslow’s pyramid of needs.”
She added, “We want to see investment in the economy, in business and growth engines in the south, so that at the end of five years it will no longer have to rely on government concessions and benefits, but will be competitive, green, nearby, and with a strong population where over 30% are academics.”
Full disclosure: The conference was sponsored by Bank Hapoalim, Strauss, Sderot Municipality, Amdocs, Haifa Group, Sapir Academic College, place il, and with the participation of Soroka Medical Center and Ashdod Port
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on June 4, 2024.
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