The Embassy of Israel in Greece and MIT Enterprise Forum Greece are glad to co-organize and announce the competition-event for Greek start-uppers, titled “START HAIFA 2018” competition that will take place on Tuesday 30 October 2018 in Athens.
The goal of the competition is to select and announce 1 winner from Greece that will be part of a group of 15 winners from similar competitions organized by Israeli Embassies in selected countries around the globe.
What is the prize?
The winner goes to Israel!
- The winner from Greece will participate in an international start up seminar in Israel, called Start Haifa 2018, which will take place from 2-7 December 2018.
- The prize is a six-day/five nights all expenses paid trip for the winner.
- The winner will participate in a startup delegation of winners like themselves, from selected countries around the world.
- The winner will highly benefit and receive useful experience from the free workshops and lectures, the unique opportunity to meet and visit multinationals, R&D Centers, companies, VCs, networking events and meetups with Israeli start uppers and more mature companies as well as to network and interact with fellow start uppers from around the world.
The companies that apply should be:
Greek startups focusing on technologies that have a social impact in the following categories:
- -MEDICAL EQUIPMENT
- -DIGITAL HEALTH/ E-HEALTH
- -MARITIME TECHNOLOGIES, i.e. alternative fuels for shipping, waste solutions for shipping, energy solutions for shipping, navigation and logistic solutions for shipping, etc.
- -AUTONOMOUS PUBLIC TRANSPORT, in terms of buses, trams, metro, trains etc.
- -URBAN CYBER i.e. solutions safeguarding critical urban infrastructure
Who can apply?
We are looking for innovative and strong tech-oriented companies that have a positive impact in bettering the lives of people; startups that are solving real problems; companies that have a high potentiality of attracting interest and create positive discussions around their product or service.
Eligible companies to apply must have the following characteristics:
- -Any Greek startup company dealing in tech industries such as medical equipment, digital health/e-health, maritime technologies, autonomous public transport or urban cyber.
- -The startup must have a working prototype for product or service in one of the above categories to present, preferably with a proven track record.
- -The participants/applicants have to be one of the founders and/or directors of the company (not an employee).
- -The applicant should preferably be between the ages of 25-40 years of age.
- -The company should be a startup, with a team of two founders or more, incorporated as an independent company (not a subsidiary of a large and established one).
- -The company should be incorporated in Greece or have at least 50% Greek nationals in the founders/directors team based in Greece.
- -The startup company must have been incorporated less than 4 years ago by the end of the application period. No individual applications or team applications (e.g. student teams, research teams not incorporated) will be accepted.
- -All communication regarding the competition, from the application to live presentations and events in Athens and Haifa will be in English. In that respect applicants must speak and write advanced English.
- -Note that only one founding member of a startup company may submit the company to the competition.
- -The representative of the company that entered the competition will represent the team to all events, as a finalist and subsequently as winner of the competition.
- -The profile of the applicant/representative should be a dynamic person with strong entrepreneurial spirit, excellent communication skills, open to accept the value of the program, and to contribute to it actively as well.
What else do you need to know?
- Participants must be able to arrive in Israel no later than the morning of 2 December 2018 and leave no earlier than evening of 7 December 2018. If the winner cannot follow this schedule, the prize goes to the runner-up.
- It is mandatory for the winner to follow the special 6-day program designed for them. Failure to do so will result in loss of privileges and will require reimbursement of all expenses by the winner.
- The organizers of the competition reserve the right to make the final decision or any changes regarding the program.
Who will evaluate you?
Evaluation will take place in 2 phases:
A) Selecting the final candidates to present in Athens
B) Selecting the winner on Tuesday 30 October 2018, which will represent Greece at Start Haifa 2018.
For each stage, a judging panel of professionals, investors and entrepreneurs from Greece and Israel will evaluate your application and presentation respectively.
Do not miss the deadline!
- Applications must be submitted by Sunday, October 7 until 23:59 (Athens local time).
- The selected candidates for the pitching event, which will conclude to the local competition winner, will be announced on 19 October 2018 on the organizers’ social media channels.
- Competition event will be held 30 October 2018 where the winner will be announced.
When is the pitching competition?
- Tuesday 30 October 2018 is the date of the “START HAIFA 2018” pitching competition taking place at the be finnovative, National Bank of Greece, 74 Peiraos St. in Moschato.
- The prize is a six-day/five nights all expenses paid trip for the winner to Israel. The six-day seminar is designed to expose the participants to the highly acclaimed Israeli innovation ecosystem. It will be packed with workshops, lectures, meetings and visits to multinationals, R&D Centers, companies, VCs, networking events and meetups with Israeli start uppers and more mature companies. The Greek winner will be part of a group of start uppers from around the world, interacting with them and exchanging their respective experiences. However, most importantly, they will have the amazing opportunity to learn from the extensive startup ecosystem in Israel.
Haifa is one of the most fascinating centers for high-tech in Israel, home to academic institutions such as the very prestigious and globally renowned polytechnic university, the Technion, and Haifa University, and major mega medical centers such as Rambam. One will find most of the major multinational companies with their extensive R&D centers of excellence, located in Haifa, with many of the Technion graduates working there. There is a vibrant Innovation District in the renewed downtown area, with more than 220 startup companies operating there.
Haifa is the main and biggest port of Israel, highly modernized, and one of the major ports of the Middle East, making it a crucial transportation hub between east and west.
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Good luck to all of you! Καλή επιτυχία! Be’Hatslacha! (Hebrew for good luck!)