“Accelerate in Israel”, the development and internationalization program for Italian startups
The full-scale development and internationalization program “Accelerate in Israel”, now in its third edition, is open to the most ambitious and innovative Italian startups thanks to the collaboration with the Israel-Italy Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center and ICE Agency, the agency for promoting Italian companies abroad and supporting their internationalization.
The acceleration program aims to offer “our young entrepreneurs a unique opportunity to develop their business idea through an intensive period of work with Israeli and international entrepreneurs and investors,” as stated by the Italian Ambassador to Israel, Gianluigi Benedetti.
The startups will be selected after a rigorous evaluation process of the requirements and will undergo a period of 10 weeks of acceleration with mentoring activities, networking, and meetings with investors, to enhance their business potential. In addition, each is expected to receive a funding of 12,000 euros.
Unfortunately, the 32 Italian startups that won last year were unable to start in 2020, but they will participate in the program along with this year’s winners, so there could be about 60 Italian startups participating in the acceleration program in Israel in 2022!
Comments on the edition
Stefano Ventura, scientific officer at the Embassy of Tel Aviv and President of the Selection Committee, declares: “At the moment when we foresee the end of the pandemic, our full-immersion program in Israel’s innovation ecosystem will be a launching pad to develop the freshest and most visionary ideas of Italian startups in an international context.”
Francesco Epifania, CEO of Socialthingum, states: “We are pleased to have been selected in the ‘Accelerate in Israel’ 2020 program, which will surely add value to our product WhoTeach, the Digital Learning platform equipped with Artificial Intelligence that helps training centers and companies to create online courses.”
Piero Zizzi, Business Developer at Socialthingum, asserts: “This acceleration journey will certainly be an opportunity for both personal and professional growth, as well as for scaling up the WhoTeach product.”
Andrea Torassa and Emilio Zunino, founders of Maiora Solutions, state: “This acceleration period in Israel represents a great opportunity to allow us to make a significant leap in the development of the company. We will have the opportunity to interact with multiple globally important players in a context that will give us the opportunity to prepare the international launch of ARGO and to build a solid network of relationships with companies from all over the world.”
Carmen Dal Monte, CEO of Takeflight, states: “Winning ‘Accelerate in Israel’ was an important milestone in our internationalization process that began in 2019 with the Global Startup Program and led to the opening of our new company, Edukairos, in the United States. We will bring our Edukairos student app, already available on the Italian market, and our catalog of innovative multimedia ebooks for STEM learning to Israel, and from Israel we will launch our new integrated platform with A.I.”
Vincenzo Merenda, CEO of Mash&Co, asserts: “We are looking at the Israeli market with great interest; the ‘Accelerate in Israel’ program will allow us to become part of an ecosystem where both video gaming innovation and edtech are continuously growing, also thanks to the propensity for internationalization. We are certain that through this opportunity we will establish collaborations with new partners for the development of our ‘Mash&Co’ products.”
How to apply for the call
The program is indeed a significant opportunity for Italian companies, as it takes place during a period of strong recovery and relaunch of the global economy, as well as investments in innovation.
We remind you that the deadline for submitting your application for the “Accelerate in Israel 2021 3rd Edition” program is set for October 22, 2021, postponed from the previous deadline of September 13.
The call can be viewed on the website of the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv.