Every company strives for new opportunities of growth. Many times, the competitive edge and growth comes from expanding business in other geographies. Such International expansion is all about pushing out of your comfort zone, be it meeting new people, culture, and even a different business model! But the journey is easier when you walk the path with someone who has done this before.
India Israel Innovation Accelerator (i3A), conceptualized jointly by SNC, Israel and iCreate, India is a one-of-its-kind bilateral acceleration programme aimed at adaptation of technologies and business models, to create sustainable collaboration between the innovation and start-up ecosystems of the two countries. The program has been designed specifically to match-up the technology providers in Israel with the requirements of Indian Corporations and provide them with mentorship and know-how on development of business plans for India.
Over six weeks, the first cohort of i3A prepared the participating Israeli innovators for the challenges and opportunities offered by the Indian market. This resulted in an average of 5 Indian Corporate connections getting established per Israel team, and a total of 20 meetings to explore synergies between them. At the conclusion of this program, four of the Israeli companies have signed NDAs and reached an advanced stage of signing a commercial agreement with the Indian partners.
During the program, tech companies from Israel would be provided mentoring by Subject Matter Experts, 1-0-1 discussion with prospective partners in India and participation in roundtables, thematic workshops and opportunities to develop their business network. These interactions with our team of mentors and the industry experts are aimed at providing an increased understanding of how to run a business effectively in India. From reassessing your value proposition, to identifying the target market, determining the product market fit, and refining the business model specifically for the Indian market, iCreate will walk every step of the journey with the participating teams.
The participating teams would also be provided support to research the Indian markets and apply their learnings from the program to develop their business plan for India.
Along the way, iCreate will provide them with an opportunity to showcase their technologies to stakeholders from Corporate, Government and potential Investors, thus garnering interest from them. The program culminates with a demo day wherein the start-ups will have the opportunity to pitch their offering to Indian Corporates for possible commercialization.
The program offers Israeli innovators a trustworthy means to explore the challenges and opportunities offered by the Indian market. With personalised attention and deep local insights, mentors from iCreate and SNC help the participants understand Indian culture, get clarity on their product-market fit, and identify the right partners for collaboration.