Oleh hadash puts Australia on the map

A new Israeli citizen has launched an international trade platform that seeks to greatly increase Israel’s presence in Australia and Oceania.

Twenty-five-year-old Joshua Saddick made aliya (immigration to Israel) in December 2013 with the intention of finding a new way to benefit the Israeli economy on a large scale.

Originally hailing from Perth, Western Australia, Saddick established his company Global Bridge Australasia (GBA) in August.

 

“I feel that despite the fact that Israel is recognized internationally as the 'start-up nation’, there are countless established Israeli companies with international presence that simply do not have any presence in Australasia,” he told The Jerusalem Post.

“GBA was set up with the purpose of acting as a two-way bridge between Israel and Australasia, increasing exports from Israel and introducing new investors into the Israeli economy.”

Together with Australian partner Peter Iancov, Saddick has introduced several Israeli companies into the Australian market, having secured exclusive distribution agreements with them.

GBA’s portfolio includes companies from the construction, cyber security, waste treatment, medical devices and social media-based application fields.

“Our aim is to provide significant cost and time benefits to governments and businesses within Australasia,” Saddick said.

“We will achieve this through the sourcing, provision and sales of a variety of innovative and most importantly proven technologies and products and services.”

On the back of a thriving mining industry in Australia, Saddick said several mining and oil and gas contractors are always on the look-out for innovative technologies that will reduce costs and increase construction efficiency.

“Having studied and worked in the financial markets in Western Australia, I know the importance of maintaining profit margins, but there is always the need to be on the look-out for your next competitive edge,” he said.

“In some cases, executives at these companies know that the solutions may exist in Israel but there is no one on the ground here to source products and services. This is where GBA plays its part," Saddick added.

"Ultimately, GBA will facilitate this transfer of technology and know-how by identifying areas and industries where innovation is not a priority.”

For example, Saddick said, in the Australian road-building industry, in most cases construction methods have not changed in 50 years.

“We are bringing an Israeli engineering company to completely revolutionize road and rail construction in Australasia. Another company we have on board focuses on effective waste disposal, which will drastically reduce the cost of hospital and hazardous materials by removing the need for logistics in the disposal process. Infectious waste would be treated on-site rather than being taken to a remote sterilization plant.”

Saddick said until now, Australasia has been off the radar of Israeli companies who naturally favor North American and European markets but having already identified more established Israel-based companies, he says now is the time to bring the two markets together.

“Peter and I look forward to seeing how far this journey will progress but our ultimate aim is to do our part for Israel, now and in the future.”