Call for entries: Startup Tel Aviv South Africa contest

The ambassador of Israel, Arthur Lenk, says: "We have been impressed by past South African winners of our contest and are excited to help impact local innovation by sharing Israel's success."

The competition is hosted by the Embassy of Israel in cooperation with Microsoft South Africa and EL AL Airlines, Israel's national airline, established in 1948.

Theme and requirements

The theme for this year is “making the world a better place”. The competition is looking for passionate entrepreneurs between the ages of 25 and 37.

Startup Tel Aviv South Africa is searching for entries from novel companies that fall into the theme of “making the world a better place”. The company's products or services should aid in the improvement of quality of life, social entrepreneurship, organic and urban renewal, ITC technologies or tech startups.

Startups entering should still be in an early seed stage and the winner must be CEO or senior manager of the company.

Judging and prizes

Entries will be processed by a panel of expert judges, with the top entries selected to pitch their companies to the panel of judges in Johannesburg in late June. Six finalists will be invited to a gala final event in mid-July 2017, where the winner will be announced.

The grand prize will include an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel for one week to take part in the DLD Tel Aviv Innovation Festival in September 2017. The South African winner, along with winners from 20 other countries will take part in this festival, meet potential angel investors, startup leaders and be exposed to the Israeli startup environment.

This is a unique opportunity for South African startups who are seeking growth platforms and to learn from a startup nation.

For more information and to enter the contest go to www.startuptelavivsouthafrica.com or alternatively email li.vog.afm.airoterp@rp.

Closing dates for entries: 15 June 2017