10 reasons why women entrepreneurs must apply to Israel’s Start TLV contest

Innovation and technology - these are the key drivers for the world’s favoured startup destination Israel. Now Indian entrepreneurs have a chance to experience first-hand how business is done in a country that has generated more startups than other Asian and European countries and is second only to the US in this regard.

The Start Tel Aviv (Start TLV) is an annual event organised by the Israeli government and the Tel Aviv Municipality to encourage innovation in young entrepreneurs across the globe. Open to participants from 23 countries, the winners from each country will win an all-expense-paid five-day trip to Tel Aviv to take part in a startup ‘boost-camp’, and attend the DLD Festival in Tel Aviv.

This year, the theme for the contest is ‘Making the World a Better Place’ and the contest is open to women-led startups with innovative technologies that can have a social impact.

Find out why you should not miss the bus on this fantastic opportunity.

Innovation hub: Israel may be small in size. But that hasn’t stopped it from forging ahead in the innovation race. With great importance given to education and intellectual capital, little wonder that today the country is globally acknowledged as a leading hub of innovation. So much so that when the phrase ‘Startup Nation’ is mentioned, everyone knows it is Israel that is being talked about.

Bustling startup destination Tel Aviv: At the heart of the Israel startup boom is its bustling capital Tel Aviv. A technology hub with a strong pool of talented individuals, Tel Aviv is ranked fifth in a global list of the top startup ecosystems. The city has also been named Europe’s leading tech hub by the Wall Street Journal, and ranked by Savills as one of the world's top three tech cities alongside San Francisco and Austin.

The DLD conference: The DLD Tel Aviv Digital Conference is Israel's largest international tech gathering where hundreds of influencers, experts, techies, startups, investors, and large corporations will be present. And you get to rub shoulders with the best names in the industry.

Israel‘s encouragement of women entrepreneurs: By and large, Israel’s startup ecosystem is gender neutral, and is ranked as the top hub for women outside the US. According to a Compass report, Tel Aviv has 20 percent women founders, while the European average is 17 percent.

A chance to network with like-minded people from across the globe: The contest will see contestants from 23 countries participating. So this is a great opportunity for you to meet and connect with other entrepreneurs with a similar ethos, and form lasting relationships that can take you places.

Mentorship: Other than government support through incubators and accelerators, Israel also has a pervasive culture of openness and collaboration where entrepreneurs support and help nurture other budding entrepreneurs. Also present are several R&D hubs, incubation centres, VCs, accelerators, incubators, and industry programmes that are contributing to building a strong ecosystem.

Highest per capita availability of venture capital: The per capita investment for Israel is over twice as much as the US and 30 times more than all the members of the European Union combined. With around 70 active funds, of which 14 are international, Israel also sees active participation from 200 international funds not based in the country.

Global exposure: Since the domestic market is not very big, most startups in Israel cater to global customers, and you get to see and learn first-hand how to align thinking, processes, and other factors keeping this larger audience in mind.

Tools and workshops to boost your solution: The winners from each country will take part in a ‘boostcamp’, with workshops and sessions designed to give them tools that can help them take their product or solution to the next level.

Get a headstart in achieving your goal of a better world: See your dream of changing the world come to life, after all that’s what you set out to do. This event will only put you on the fast track to do that. 

Last year’s winner from India, Mausumi Acharyya of Advenio, shares what it was like to be a part of this programme: “It was a great experience to be able to participate in the Start Tel Aviv 2016. Getting to meet amazing entrepreneurs from all across the world and also being able to know about their startups was a great learning experience. We also had the opportunity to meet and interact with several successful entrepreneurs in Israel, meet the top management from Israeli companies and also pitch to some important investors there. It was nice to get a feel of the ecosystem there. Overall it's a must attend event with great networking opportunities.”

Who can apply and how?

The Indian leg of the competition is open to any women-led startup, which meets the following criteria:

• The CEO/Founder/Co-Founder is a female under 37 years
• The startup has to be a private enterprise
• The startup has to be in the early seed fund stage and with a ‘prototype’ product or solution
• The startup is working in the field of social entrepreneurship and/or urban innovation
• The startup is associated with ICT products targeted at the global market

Find out more about the event. You also need to submit a short video with a write-up of not more than 300 words on why you believe your innovation can make the world better, and mail it to this email id. The last date to apply is July 1, 2017.