October 11, 2015, Updated October 14, 2015

Barclays is the newest company to set up an accelerator in Israel. The global bank has announced that it will open a Tel Aviv branch of its Rise accelerator program in March 2016.

 

This past July, Barclays introduced Rise — a network of physical spaces and a virtual global community designed to pioneer the future of financial technology (fintech). The company says Rise Tel Aviv will provide a physical site and co-working environment for innovative fintech companies, and will also house Israel’s first Barclays Accelerator, a 13-week program for fintech and cybersecurity startups, run in partnership with Techstars.

“At Barclays we are actively embracing the opportunities and expertise of the startup ecosystem. With Rise and our Accelerator program we are able to help translate emerging technologies into what could be the future of financial services. We’re excited about the prospect of tapping into Tel Aviv’s hot-bed of innovation, connecting some of the world’s most active innovators.” said Derek White, Barclays Chief Design and Digital Officer.

“As the leading investment bank in Israel, we are extremely happy about launching Rise in Israel,” said Len Rosen, Barclays Israel’s CEO. “We are highly focused on the Israeli technology investment banking opportunity, and Rise will give us the opportunity to leverage our relationships and experience to contribute to the growth of early stage fintech and cyber companies and to expand the Israeli technology ecosystem.”

The Barclays Accelerator in Tel Aviv will give 10 fintech and cybersecurity companies access to intensive networking, mentoring and development, with the option of spending part of the program at other Barclays Accelerator global sites.

Barclays is the latest international company to set up an Israeli accelerator, following in the footsteps of Samsung, GE, Intel, and Yahoo!.

According to the IVC Research Center there are currently 207 accelerators for startups in Israel.

Photo of Barclays by Shutterstock

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