From a peripheral town to the Silicon Valley of northern Israel

This article examines how the small peripheral town of Yoqneam became one of the largest high-tech centres in Israel. It does so by using official data analysis and in-depth interviews with key figures to construct a holistic model that explains the town's phenomenal success in upgrading its socioeconomic level from 3 to 7 in 25 years. Four major success anchors have been identified: a) Employment opportunities that include high paying jobs in innovative clean industrial parks that enable personnel mobility and experience sharing; b) High standard of living that includes an excellent education system, along with various housing opportunities and beautiful surroundings; c) Growth accelerators, such as technological incubators that can contribute towards the transformation of this peripheral area into a technological centre; and d) Efficient transportation system that connects the town to the country's business centre, as well as to knowledge centres such as universities.