Inno-Negev is the newest technology accelerator to help Israeli startups and high-tech entrepreneurs increase viability and develop abilities to advance their ventures.
The first project of its kind in the Negev, Inno-Negev is a joint venture of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Bengis Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at BGU’s Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management, together with the University’s technology transfer company, BGN Technologies.
“Inno-Negev will fulfill a critical role in the Negev’s developing ecosystem of innovation and will contribute to the advancement of entrepreneurship as a force for progress and regional development,” says Yossi Shavit, Inno-Negev project manager and business consultant to the BGU Bengis Center.
Inno-Negev will provide professional services to startup teams with an emphasis on project development and education that will ensure the teams are well-equipped to present their projects before potential investors.
“This will be achieved by tapping into our proven abilities in promoting and supporting entrepreneurship, leveraging the resources of BGN Technologies with its commercialization expertise, as well as BGU’s history of innovative research and pioneering spirit,” Shavit says.
“With Inno-Negev, our main interest is to provide an additional component to the variety of outstanding services already provided by the Bengis Center. The accelerator offers entrepreneurs the opportunity for free services, including practical lectures and workshops by experienced mentors: experts in law, finance and marketing,” says Prof. Dafna Schwartz, director of the BGU Bengis Center.
Inno-Negev cycles will run six months each. The first ventures will be in the information and communications technology (ICT) field, including applications, cybersecurity and social networks.
“Inno-Negev will connect entrepreneurs, investors and global organizations in one of Israel’s most rapidly developing high-tech areas: the Negev,” says Netta Cohen, chief executive officer at BGN Technologies. “Israel’s Negev region offers a promising and active entrepreneurial community with BGU, leading high-tech companies, technology incubators, the Advanced Technologies Park, and the elite technology units of the Israel Defense Forces.”
