48 startups from Israel and various countries around the world will participate in the first Israeli program that will open in the Masschallenge complex in Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem
The Accelerator from Challenge, the accelerator reveals the list of the 48 startups accepted for the first acceleration program that will open in Jerusalem at the beginning of July. The startups were selected through a strict selection process from among 500 candidates who submitted applications to be admitted to the program. 150 of the 500 companies and entrepreneurs who applied for the program in Israel came from 35 different countries around the world. Among the companies accepted to the program will be entrepreneurs from Turkey, Nigeria, South Korea, Cameroon and the United States. The independent judging and sorting process that took place last month included 160 experts from the Israeli industry.
The companies that will participate in the acceleration program will deal in a wide variety of fields:
- 45% of the companies belong to the hi-tech industry
- 20% of the companies belong to the life sciences industry
- 10% of the companies belong to the social entrepreneurship sector
- 25% of the companies will develop entrepreneurship in various fields
The entrepreneurs and companies participating in the program will benefit from training and access to MassChallenge's professional partners in Israel and the world, they will benefit from an inviting workspace at no cost. The access they will receive to the accelerator's global network will help them in a wide variety of fields that are essential for startup companies. The program in Israel will end on October 27th in a ceremony where prizes of up to one million shekels will be awarded to the companies that excel.
At the same time as the announcement about the participants in the Israeli program, MassChallenge Global announces the companies accepted for the new program in Boston and Switzerland. In addition, Messchallenge Israel will send 7 Israeli startups to the acceleration program in Boston.'
Messchallenge Israel will integrate in the next two years, about 100 start-up companies from a wide variety of fields, the most prominent of which are: cyber, Internet of Things (IOT), information technology, tourism and travel, and social entrepreneurship. MassChallenge operates as stated without profit and does not take holdings in the companies that participate in its programs operating in Boston, London, Switzerland and starting this year also in Jerusalem.
Over the past 6 years, 835 companies have participated in MassChallenge's global programs, raising more than a billion dollars. The revenue of these companies has already reached more than half a billion dollars. These companies created 8500 new jobs.
The partners and supporters of Masschallenge Israel are:
Jerusalem Development Authority, Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs, Jerusalem Municipality, Ministry of Economy
, The Kraft Group, PTC, Poalim Hi-Tech, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, CJP, EMC, IBM, Liberty Mutual, BCG, Strauss, Tnuva, Wissotzky, HFN, Yigal Arnon & Co., FBC & Co, Reinhold Cohn Group.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat noted that "Jerusalem has experienced a renaissance in recent years also in the field of high-tech and startups. It is not for nothing that the prestigious TIME magazine named Jerusalem one of the five leading cities in the world in the technological field. In just over two years, the scope of technological entrepreneurship in the city increased tenfold. The great demand to participate in Masschallenge's acceleration program in Jerusalem indicates that the city is becoming a center of attraction for entrepreneurs who benefit from Jerusalem's high-quality ecosystem and an entrepreneurial community that has a very important contribution to the Israeli high-tech industry."
Eyal Haimovski, CEO of the Jerusalem Development Authority, said: "The acceptance of the 48 startups into the MassChallenge accelerator program in Jerusalem is further proof of the interest of international entrepreneurial parties in the technological ecosystem that has been forged in the city. The cooperation of the Jerusalem Development Authority with the Jerusalem Municipality and the Ministry for Jerusalem and Heritage aims to expand this trend and pave the way for other international bodies that want to be partners in the innovative and creative success stories that have come out of Jerusalem in recent years."
Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, Sharit Goldstein said that the opening of MassChallenge in Jerusalem is a direct continuation of the government's actions to strengthen Jerusalem's position as a leading city in the field of technological entrepreneurship, and is a significant contribution to maintaining the economic and national resilience of the capital. The hundreds of companies that submitted applications for the acceleration program in the "Maschallenge Jerusalem" from Israel and the world is a strong testimony to the degree of attractiveness of Jerusalem in the field and its tremendous potential. The Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage considers it very important to carry out actions to attract entrepreneurs from the field of technology to the city, and we will continue to work, together with the Jerusalem Development Authority, to strengthen its economy.
"We welcome the 48 companies joining MassChallenge's first acceleration program in Jerusalem" said Israel Ganut, CEO of MassChallenge Israel. The companies were accepted into our program after a strict and professional screening process that took place in collaboration with the best professional forces operating in the Israeli industry. "I am proud and happy to see such a wide variety of entrepreneurs who will deal with many and varied fields of innovation within the acceleration program. Our program will support companies together with the best experts from Israel and the global network of MassChallenge."
The accelerator will also participate in the IATI BIOMED 2016 conference
