Guj & Israel discuss possible investment synergies in startups

Israel extended a warm welcome to the visiting Vibrant Gujarat delegation from India. The first meeting of the delegation was Start-Up Nation Central to discuss and connect Government and Business leaders between Israel and the state of Gujarat in India. The Vibrant Gujarat delegates discussed possible investment synergies in start-ups between Israel and Gujarat, emphasizing on implementation of IT in academia, solar technology, agriculture sector and possible collaboration in the area of Defence, Technology and R&D.  Furthermore, an academic collaboration with Tel Aviv University was discussed and deliberated upon, during the visit of the delegation the university. Gujarat Government aims to support numerous start-ups over a period of the next 5 years and has created the State Start-Up Scheme, in accordance with the initiative of Startup India announced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Mr. Modi.  iCreate is totally funded by the Government of Gujarat and provides mentorship and nurture start-ups in the state. Israel Innovation Authority in Tel Aviv met officials from the Vibrant Gujarat Delegation with keen interest and extended their services and support in the form of financial assistance, support for entrepreneurs and early stage companies, support from traditional and hi-tech companies, and collaboration in academics with the state of Gujarat. Several meetings were held with private, multi-billion dollar companies such as Israel Aerospace Industries, Tahal and Mobileye discussing varied subjects ranging from collaboration of knowledge, enabling policies in a stable environment in Gujarat, potential partnership opportunities and participation opportunities at the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2017. Ms. Mamta Verma, Industries Commissioner and Leader of Delegation said, “This has been a very successful visit. We have received very encouraging response from everyone we met here in Israel, and we are really looking forward to a fruitful collaboration, leading to a successful Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017.” Mr. Sunil Parekh of Zydus Group and a senior member of the delegation added, “We have had excellent meetings in the area of startup and tech innovations, water-based solutions and aerospace and defence collaboration. The spectrum for collaborating is massive and the time has never been better for Gujarat to capitalize on the opportunity available with Israel. Mr. Anupam Jalote of iCreate said, “We understand that Israel is looking towards India as one of the key countries to take its technological innovation to. iCreate will be able to provide key cultural and market penetration insights, as well as create a complete ecosystem for the co-promotion and incubation of Indo-Israeli technology start-ups. These organizations will be guided through to commercialization. There have been very useful meetings in this visit, and we hope for tangible outcomes soon.”