Taking Inspiration from Israeli startups

India-Israel Joining Hands to Boost Indian Startup Ecosystem

Taking Inspiration from Israeli startups

A 14-company delegation from NASSCOM recently visited Tel Aviv, Israel to explore and learn about the new trends and tech breakthroughs in the country’s startup sector. The visit was from 28 May till 1 June, 2016. Israel is known as the startup nation of the world. Israel’s spending on its R&D as a percentage of its GDP is highest in the world at 4.2%. The tech majors in the country contribute 26% of GDP. Israel is only behind the US as the second largest base of NASDAQ listed companies. India is only a rank behind it at #3.

Startup Environment of Israel is booming and How

No business sector of any nation can grow without a strong support and right policies from the government. What Israel’s government is doing for its domestic startups is a noteworthy example for the world. The government here grants about 80% funds to new startups, plus has an incubator system in place that provides around 15% funding support. NASSCOM, President, R Chandrashekhar told Economic Times, “It will be interesting to know how this model can be incorporated into the Indian startup ecosystem.” Adding to it, he said, “There is a unique opportunity for Indian companies to partner with their Israeli counterparts to establish a mutually beneficial association”.

In Focus

The delegates on this visit focused on IoT, security tech and innovation sectors of Israel with an aim to strike mutually beneficial collaborations in the coming months.

Israel has seen the maximum growth in its startup ecosystem in the recent years and has achieved this spot due to very favorable geographic and cultural factors along with absolutely encouraging government support.

Have a look at some of the most successful and innovative Israeli startups of the recent years.

• Mapme– A unique online app that combines text, videos, images and maps to present personal stories, adventures and events in your life. Eating pizza with friends? Click, record, type and share. With the inbuilt map feature, you could even pin-point every ingredient on the pizza base in photo. Crazy stuff!
• Campaigngo– With features like managing sales promotions and handling best offers, it is a unique online platform that helps eBay sellers sell better and provide better service to customers to ensure repeat buyers.
• Warranteer– Tired of managing all those warranty cards that keep going missing when you require them? Warranteer is a digital platform for activating, storing and managing all your warranty cards along with using complementary warranty services. Now this is one much-needed app.
• Riskified– It deals in identifying legit credit card details so that e-commerce service providers don’t become victims of credit card scams.
• Fairfly– No more hassles of tracking best deals on air fares. Simply use Fairfly that automatically informs you about the best deals on your ticket and rebooks them for you even after you have booked them.

If this visit by NASSCOM delegation becomes a success, Indian companies will get a good chance at networking and understand, first-hand, the innovative environment of Israel.

Takeaways:-

• A 14-member NASSCOM delegation visited Israel for possible future collaborations to boost startup ecosystem.
• The main focus was on security, IoT and tech related startups.
• Israeli government grants 80% funding to their startups.
• Israel is the second largest base of NASDAQ listed companies.