Italian Ambassador to Israel Gianluigi Benedetti. Photo: Courtesy.

JNS.org – Italy has chosen seven startups to take part in the first ever accelerator program for Italian startups in Israel beginning in January.

They were chosen from a total of 40 applicants from various sectors, including health, smart mobility, food tech and clean tech all seeking to develop their new business ideas in Israel, also known as the “Startup Nation.”

The three-month program—to take place between January and March 2020 at the Eilat Tech Center—is a joint venture set up by the Italian Embassy in Israel and the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, part of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, a bank based in Italy.

The program will offer mentors and tutors to help the Italian entities, and the startup founders will have networking meetings with successful Israeli companies in related sectors, according to The Times of Israel. Funding will be provided by the Italian embassy in Israel, which has designated 100,000 euros ($112,135) for the program.

The program’s final event, to be held in Tel Aviv, will include an expo and a pitch event attended by representatives from the government and industries, as well as investors from Israel, Italy, other parts of Europe and the United States, according to a released statement.

The program was organized under the Italian-Israeli Agreement for industrial, scientific and technological cooperation.

“Thanks to the accelerator program, seven young Italian startups will have the opportunity to develop their business idea for three months in ‘Startup Nation’s extraordinary and dynamic ecosystem,” said Italian Ambassador to Israel Gianluigi Benedetti.