Important results for the activities in support of startups and innovative Italian companies active in the technological sector in Israel. These are two initiatives launched by the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv together with the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center: the first edition of the Israel-Italy Acceleration Program and the EcoMotion 2020 virtual event.
Despite the health emergency, both initiatives were completed with great success and in full compliance with the safety parameters. So much so that the Italian Embassy and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center have decided to renew the initiative by doubling the budget of this first edition, for which a new call will be published soon.
7 startups participated in the Israel-Italy Acceleration Program who were able to follow a training and growth path at theEilat High Tech Center, the accelerator sponsored by the Israeli-American group Arieli Capital, which manages innovation programs for universities, research centers, government institutions and large companies.
The program aims to develop new business ideas in one of the world's most advanced innovation ecosystems. In fact, Israel ranks first in the number of startups per capita and in the creation of patents (with 4,1% of GDP invested in research and development), thanks to these factors, the country can count on a strong capacity to attract capital: around 47% of companies have a significant foreign shareholding or are wholly controlled by groups foreigners, against a European average of 9%.
A total of 40 applications were presented. Among these, the Evaluation Committee selected the best companies active in the Health tech, Smart mobility and Clean tech sectors. The 7 finalists were: for Health tech BionIT Labs, SyDiag, Materiad and Elysium, for Smart mobility Isaac Djungle; for Nanomia clean tech.
However, the health crisis linked to the Coronavirus has forced startups to return to Italy early, postponing the final final event to a later date.
As regards instead EcoMotion, the most important event in the world on the mobility of the future, a Virtual Event was created due to the epidemiological emergency, which was attended by over 400 participants, representing big corporates and 150 international startups.
Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center accompanied some of the most important Italian companies involved in mobility to the event, placing them side by side with 7 promising startups: Sentetic followed by the Innovation Center itself, and Parkofon, Automotus, Nickelytics, V2X Network, TUC and We Glad, which been supported by Techstars, one of the most important international accelerators.
In particular, the Innovation Center was the protagonist of webinar Meet the Italian Smart Mobility Ecosystem and Opportunity, a virtual conference dedicated to investment opportunities in Italy, with a particular focus on Smart mobility.
“It was a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in Israel's unique innovation ecosystem,” he said. Gianluigi Benedetti, Italian Ambassador in Israel – To refine design ideas and technological solutions in a constant, close dialogue with Israeli and international experts, investors and entrepreneurs”.
"Supporting the growth of the best Italian technological companies also through international acceleration programs is part of the mission of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center and Israel - commented Guido de Vecchi, General Manager of the Innovation Center – It is the most concrete example of a successful innovative ecosystem in which research centres, incubators, investors and the government can provide valuable assistance in the formation and growth of the most promising startups”.
