About
Netter Center

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Pioneering Inspiration. Entrepreneurial Innovation.

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1870

Mikve Israel

Located in Mikve Israel, where modern agriculture in the land of Israel was invented by Carl Netter in 1870

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2024

Netter Center

Netter Center brings together a unique workspace with outstanding professional content wide-ranging expertise and the vision of creating a better, sustainable future. It combines the advantage of its close proximity to the center of Tel Aviv, with the comfort and tranquility of a green and serene natural environment

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The vision

Our vision is clear: to nurture forward-thinking initiatives, and enable the successful implementation of inspired business ideas dedicated to meeting the challenges – and fulfilling the aspirations – of the fields of agrifood, climate and sustainability

The Team

The team of the Netter Center consists of professionals with an extensive background in the worlds of agriculture and food, business initiation and company building, assimilation of technologies, ecosystem development and local and global collaborations and connections. We invite you to contact us and be partners in the journey

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Avishai Vishengrad
Co-Founder &CEO
Avishai Vishengrad

Avishai began his career as a founding partner of AluTech, a kibbutz company that develops and manufactures computerized control systems for the agricultural industry ecosystems in Israel and abroad. In addition, Avishai oversaw the investment in and management of an incubator company for medical devices.

Further on, Avishai served in an intelligence capacity at The Prime Minister’s Office, where he led projects involving national security in Israel and abroad, and where, by combining cutting-edge technologies, he overcame inconceivable challenges.

Avishai has amassed experience in product development, from the concept through to production. As a serial entrepreneur, he founded several companies in the agricultural, food, and consumption industries and has extensive experience in the establishment, recruitment, and early-stage development of start-up companies.
Throughout his career, Avishai has been soul-bound to social action, and has led numerous groups on the Masa Israel program, as well as command and leadership training programs for the security and prison services.

On retirement from his service, Avishai initiated and established the Netter Innovation Center to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in agrifood, climate, and sustainability while creating an impact on society and the environment.

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Doron Meller
Chief Innovation Officer
Doron Meller

Doron’s affiliation with agriculture began at his Kibbutz birthplace, where he fulfilled diverse kibbutz duties.

His professional career started off in various positions in radio and television. Thereafter, Doron worked as a business strategy and management consultant in ESG spheres at BDO Israel, where he spent several years advising large Israeli companies on business, social, and environmental issues, among them banks, communication companies, and infrastructure companies.

Thereafter, he founded and directed the Israeli Ag-Tech community, GrowingIL, backed by the Israel Innovation Institute. During this time, he initiated and led a range of ventures to benefit players in the Israeli ecosystem – start-ups, investors, companies and industry, farmers, the academia and government, as well as various global entities.

Doron was appointed COO of the Israel Innovation Institute, which also operates communities in other fields, such as climate-tech, desert-tech, aquaculture, smart transportation, and digital health. In this capacity, he doubled the institute’s activity and extended it to new fields. To date, he serves as a member of the institute’s board.

Doron joined the Netter Center as its leader in innovation, content, and forging partnerships with different players in the ecosystem.

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Opher Zahavi, PhD
Campus Manager
Opher Zahavi, PhD

Opher became acquainted with the high-tech industry in the 1990s as a doctor of physics, managing teams of developers for medical imaging devices at Elscint Ltd. and Marconi Medical.

He transitioned to education in the early 2000s, when he was a fellow at the Mandel School for Educational Leadership in Jerusalem. Opher spent two decades in education in a teacher training program he initiated, as part of the National Task Force for the Advancement of Education in Israel (the Dovrat Committee). He was founder and principal of schools for youth at risk and students with learning difficulties, and chief scientist of the Beit Ekstein organization, which provides educational services, housing, and employment to the disabled.

Opher also served on the management committee of the marine ecology non-profit organization, EcoOcean; he volunteered in the archeological restoration of an ancient ship; he was a research fellow and student supervisor at Haifa University; and he served as an advisor to school principals. Moreover, Opher is an accomplished carpenter.

At Netter Center, he serves as activity director of the center’s campus, which runs a variety of entrepreneurship training programs in agriculture, food, and sustainability.

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Shiran Rokban
Workspace Manager
Shiran Rokban

Shiran comes from a multidisciplinary professional background of production, content, and activity that focuses on integrating people, food, and nature.

Shiran’s vast experience in production includes initiating projects, planning, and operating events in diverse fields. The many events that Shiran has produced include partnerships in various events produced by the IDF and the City of Jerusalem.

When it comes to cuisine and the restaurant industry, Shiran has extensive experience working actively alongside chefs in several different restaurants. She has produced and led workshops that combine culinary photography and local history, landscapes, and textures throughout Israel, as well as sensory culinary photography as part of her food workshop programs.

Shiran also teaches photography and is an experienced photographer in the field of government, politics, and photojournalism. She is a co-founder of “Creative”, an international photography club, that brings together local Israeli photographers from all population sectors. Shiran is active in projects such as “70 Faces”,The Autographs”, and “Local Testimony”. Her work also covers journalistic content such as columns and interviews, among others.

Apart from being a travel enthusiast and documenting special locations, she also runs urban nature workshops and tours, in collaboration with tour guides from various parts of the country.

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Dr. Itzhak Shalev
Chief Scientist
Dr. Itzhak Shalev

Dr. Itzhak Shalev holds a Ph.D. in Fiber and Polymer Science from North Carolina State University. He has served as Head of the Department of Industrial Chemistry and as Dean of Student Affairs at Shenkar College, as Chairman of the Israel Textile Association, and as Visiting Associate Professor at the College of Textiles at  NCSU. Dr. Shalev is currently Managing Director of Zzakey Technologies Ltd., an R&D support company.

Dr. Shalev is a consultant to the Israeli Ministries of Health and Defense, the Israel Electric Company, Israel Chemical Industries, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Israel Rail, Stratasys, and numerous other large and small industrial firms and startups in Israel and abroad. He has over 40 years of experience in industrial chemicals, formulations, and the fiber and polymer-based industries and has published over 80 technical papers and patents.

Dr. Shalev is currently active in industrial R&D in the fields of high-performance polymers, chemical processing, formulation development, nonwovens, functional textiles, raw material natural alternatives, fire and NBC protection, and medical device technology.

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Roi Kandel
Chief Agronomist
Roi Kandel

Roi’s career took root in the place where he was born and grew up – the kibbutz, which fostered his love for agriculture, the landscape, and nature.

He embarked on his path as a young agronomist and gradually advanced to the management of large volumes of field crops, vegetable crops, and orchards. Over the past 15 years, Roi has held the position of C.E.O., with several farms and agricultural organizations in the south of Israel under his management, where he has demonstrated proven success in growth and profitability.

With his vast experience amassed in both management and applied work in the fields, whether in experimentation or assimilating technology for agriculture, Roi engages in consultation, the establishment and management of agricultural initiatives, as well as professional mentoring to help advance young managers in agriculture.

Roi is also a partner in several technological ventures.

As Chief Agronomist at the Netter Center for Entrepreneurship, Roi promotes connection to the land, fields, and crops. He is responsible for connecting the various technological ventures with the farmers in the field, attending to the needs of the entrepreneurs, matching the product with the requirements on the ground, and of course overseeing the entire range of assistance for the entrepreneurs who need it.

Roi holds a bachelor’s degree in soil and water sciences from Hebrew University, a master’s degree in business administration, and an additional master’s degree in law.

Roi is married to Naomi and they have four children.

partners

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Zion Halfon
Co-Founder
Zion Halfon

Zion began his career in the late 1980s with the founding of Rotem, a company engaged in the development of control systems for hen houses, greenhouses, irrigation, and barns.

He later acquired the company and created a new management strategy which led to its growth, and expanded business connections with leading international agricultural companies. In 2015, the company was sold to the Swedish corporation, Munters.

Through his desire to share the vast knowledge he had amassed, and to assist young companies, Zion became a joint founder of the Tel Aviv business hub, Ayeka. There he served as a mentor to companies that operated on the premises, helping them forge business connections and locate investors, among other activities. Zion managed the complex until its sale in 2020.

Zion has established several ventures in agriculture, environmental protection, and alternative energy. He also invests in, and accompanies social initiatives covering various fields such as medicine, transportation, fin-tech, and advanced irrigation solutions.

Zion incorporates his social activism in a variety of social projects, and initiates connections between the industry and academia with the cooperation of the Volcani Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and through connecting with universities around the world.

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Ariel Shalev
Co-Founder
Ariel Shalev

Ariel’s career took root at UMS, a leading export marketing company for Israeli agricultural produce.

Over time, Ariel has woven a wide network of business connections throughout the world and he enjoys ongoing relations with breeding companies, agricultural businesses, marketing networks, and international logistics companies. Over recent years, Ariel’s main role was business development and investments, and served as VP of the company. He currently sits on the UMS management board.

As part of his innovation activity at the company, he was a key player in the successful acquisition of Phytech, an Ag-Tech leader in the world of precision agriculture in Israel and abroad.

Out of a deep desire to apply his abilities in creating a conscious business impact in the agricultural domain, Ariel mentors, consults in business development to several start-ups in agrifood-tech and climate-tech, as well as a variety of projects involving green energy, sustainable agriculture, and food security.

He is highly proficient in all supply chain processes, agricultural mechanization, packaging and logistics, international shipping, regulation, marketing and sales, sales promotion and strategy, branding, and creative processes. Ariel possesses an in-depth understanding of consumerism, agri-economics, multicultural and international relations, technology, and innovation.

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Arbel Levin
Mishkey Hanegev
Arbel Levin

Arbel serves as a board member of the Netter Center and is the representative for the Mashkei HaNegev organization.

Mashkei HaNegev is a central cooperative association owned by 52 kibbutzes from the Negev and Arava (Dead Sea Basin) regions, that works towards the promotion and development of economic activity of its members residing in the southern periphery of Israel, and focuses on agricultural crops, sorting, packaging and marketing agricultural produce, industry, and renewable energies, among other areas.

In his position of VP of business development at Mashkei HaNegev, Arbel directs the innovation division and is a founder member of the Netter Center.

Arbel has a wealth of experience in funding, investment management, and supporting small and medium-sized businesses, amassed from his role in the capital market as deputy director of the investment fund at Keren Makefet and subsequently in various positions, including fund manager for small and medium-sized businesses at the Ministry of Economy and Industry, fund manager under state guarantee, and key partner in establishing PE funds for medium-sized businesses.

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Liron Shaked
Mishkey Hadarom
Liron Shaked

Liron is the chairman of the Netter Center and the representative of its partner organization, Mishkei HaDarom, an innovative and leading economic organization in agriculture, real estate, and credit solutions. The organization combines the economic activity of 59 kibbutzes and moshavs with the purpose of promoting cooperation in the rural sector through investments and business initiatives.

As the director of the holding company at Mishkei HaDarom, Liron manages the organization’s innovation infrastructure, which includes, together with the Netter Center, Flora, the venture capital fund for investments in agrifood-tech start-ups and Mishkei TzabarTech – a testing arena for advanced agriculture. Additionally, he is a partner in regional agricultural enterprises and national holdings.

Liron holds vast experience in start-up and global business development. His path in high-tech began as director of the start-up and investor divisions at Microsoft Israel. He then became director of the European business development division, and went on to the company’s headquarters in Seattle where he managed Microsoft’s global strategic partnership division. Back in Israel, Liron served as business director at Microsoft Israel’s development center, following which he facilitated the business development of start-ups for Amazon, from the advanced capital-funding stages raising capital to IPO.

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