Black sprouts and purple basil leaves blossom under bright LED lights in a Berlin backyard in Kreuzberg, a district known for its lively immigrant community and, increasingly, gentrification. Amongst the indoor flora, Israeli and German entrepreneurs mingle with McKinsey consultants and angel investors.

The crowd sips gin cocktails made with crushed basil leaves, farmed directly a few meters from the bar.

Started by three Israelis this year, Infarm is an offbeat hit in Berlin's dynamic, creative food scene, attracting Germans and Israelis who often meet other new arrivals to the German capital over Saturday brunch. Hidden in a courtyard, Infarm is a combination urban organic grower, restaurant and trendy bar with dark walls wedged behind the anonymous facade of an unrenovated apartment building off Reichenberger Straße, the front line in Berlin's gentrification battle.

Israel has given birth to start-up successes such as smartphone navigation app WAZE, which Google bought last year, the free text-messaging app, Viber, and free website builder, Wix. Now, some Israeli entrepreneurs - drawing on the pool of young German talent, investors and European business connections - are establishing start-ups in Berlin, where they are experimenting with more daring business concepts around cutting-edge technology.

While Berlin and Tel Aviv both have a vibrant nightlife, they also are nourishing innovative start-up scenes.

Israel, described by the American authors Dan Senor and Saul Singer in their bestseller as a "start-up nation," and Berlin, which McKinsey last year predicted would become "Europe's next start-up-metropolis" are increasingly in a symbiotic relationship, feeding off each other's talent.

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