Amb Sanjeev Singla delivered his opening remarks in a webinar "The Indian Economy: The Union Budget 2021-22 A Catalyst" organized by State Bank of India, India-Israel Chamber of Commerce & The Manufacturers Association of Israel.

2 March

The kickoff meeting of iCreate and SNC first accelerator (Access India Accelerator) was held on 22^nd February, 2021 virtually.  Ambassador Shri Sanjeev Singla gave his opening remarks. On 22 September, iCreate and Startup Nation Central (SNC), signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in making the Indian market accessible to Israeli companies through collaborations.  As a part of the MoU, six Israeli tech start-ups were chosen to work with Indian corporations in the areas of electric powertrain, water desalination, laboratory analytical instruments (safe and cost-effective use of Hydrogen in Gas Chromatography applications), AI/ML based solutions for driver safety and Data Centre Management. During the six-week program, these start-ups would be provided a comprehensive understanding of the Indian ecosystem through group mentoring sessions, workshops and one-to-one interactions with the subject matter experts, successful Indian entrepreneurs, government functionaries and business leaders to work on the product-market fit and localize their business model for Indian customers. The program would conclude with a demo-day wherein the start-ups would present their business plans to the Indian corporations, investors and other interested stakeholders for Paid Pilots, Go-to Market Opportunities, Collaborative Research and Development projects etc. The ultimate objective would be to achieve the full adaptation of technologies and collaborative business models that will form the basis of long term, sustainable collaboration between not only start-ups from both nations, but also their innovation and start-up ecosystems.

The programme will help the Israeli companies with: (i) Increased understanding of Indian culture and how to effectively do business in India; (ii) Facilitating access to professional networks - i.e Mentors, Domain experts from Industry, Suppliers, R&D organization; (iii) Assess attractiveness of their value proposition in Indian markets; (iv) Localization of Business Models; (v) Determining the tangible next steps for building roadmap for expansion; and (vi) Opportunity to showcase their solution to interested stakeholders from Corporate, Government, and potential Investors.

22 February