Her message to founders was clear: “If you are aiming to get bigger and global, your solutions must match other regions and places.”
Published Nov 12, 2025 | 2:34 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 12, 2025 | 2:34 PM
Israeli Water Attaché Noa Amsalem in conversation with South First's Nolan Pinto.
Synopsis: Israel’s Water Attaché Noa Amsalem urges Indian water-tech startups to think globally for scalability. She highlights hurdles for foreign startups in India and ongoing Indo-Israeli efforts to ease collaboration. Praising Israel’s scarcity-to-surplus journey through strict regulations, recycling, and desalination, she pushes bilateral pilot projects and knowledge exchange.
In an exclusive conversation with South First’s Nolan Pinto on Let’s Talk Water, Noa Amsalem, the Water Attaché at the Embassy of Israel in India, shared her insights on startup collaboration and innovation in the water technology sector.
Speaking about the challenges faced by Israeli startups working in water tech, mostly, Amsalem noted, “It’s a little difficult to be a startup, especially if you are a foreign startup that wants to come to India. The Indian government doesn’t want to invest in startups that are not based in India. It’s very hard.”
She added that Israel and India are exploring ways to make this process easier.
“This is something we are trying to solve, to see how we can bring Israeli startups. There are many interesting startups in Israel. We want to take startups from India to Israel as well. We are contemplating it, but it will require more work,” she said.
When asked about her advice to Indian startups, especially in the water-tech space, Amsalem highlighted the importance of global thinking. “A lot of Indian startups that I met are trying to solve local problems that sometimes are not relevant to other places,” she observed.
Her message to founders was clear: “If you are aiming to get bigger and global, your solutions must match other regions and places.”
From scarcity to surplus water, Israel today has managed how. Noa says this happened because of government decisions that led to strict regulations which in turn led to proper management and public awareness, not ignoring technology and innovation.
“Since water is a crucial resource, we have the motivation to use it efficiently and not to waste it. We have also found better solutions to supply water. We don’t have enough water and are pumping it from the ocean and recycling it from sewage. So we have to do it more efficiently because we are paying for every drop of water we are using,” she added.
Amsalem’s position as Water Attaché is a one-of-its-kind role, and India is the only country to have one.
“My role is to strengthen the relationship between Israel and India in the water department,” she explained.
Through her office, Israel collaborates with both federal agencies and state governments.
“We are doing capacity-building programs, round tables, delegations, and pilot projects. Basically, to bring Israeli knowledge and adapt it to Indian needs,” Amsalem says.
Her comments come at a time when India’s startup ecosystem, particularly in water innovation and sustainability, is expanding rapidly.
Watch the conversation here:
