Israel continues to be the start-up nation by leading the world with its compelling tech ecosystem. Many countries are seeking Israel’s help, to learn how they can build a similar model, so they too can succeed in their own tech arenas.

The Slovenian embassy in Israel, together with Spirit Slovenia and the Slovene Enterprise Fund, announced the launch of the first-of-its-kind accelerator in Israel, to be managed by Arieli Capital's ETC. The program seeks to connect selected Slovenian start-ups with Israeli high-tech companies, leading industry organizations, international corporations, investors, and academic institutions to advance the chosen start-up's proof-of-concept, IP research and development, and capital investments for entering the global markets. The program is expected to attract Slovenia's leading technology start-ups from a range of business sectors, including healthcare, agrotech, fintech, smart mobility, food tech, cleantech, and more.

"The Slovenian economy is growing fast thanks to excellent human capital, government-backed investments and cutting-edge research and academic institutions. We are certain that collaborating with Israel will help Slovenia's entrepreneurial and start-up industry thrive and help our talented start-ups expand to international markets," Andreja Purkart Martinez, Slovenia Ambassador to Israel.

Leading the Accelerator program is Arieli capital, a US holdings and investment company with offices in New York and Tel Aviv. Its global innovation arm leads and invests in innovation platforms, accelerators, IP commercialization, and academic research programs. For example, Arieli Government program led the Italian government's official start-up program in Israel together with top brands such as the largest banking group in Italy, Intesa Sanpaolo.

"We are excited to launch the Slovenia-Israel accelerator, which will reinforce the economic and social collaboration between the growing ecosystems of both countries. The accelerator offers Slovenian start-ups a unique opportunity to work in the heart of one of the world's primary high-tech hubs, the start-up nation of Israel," said Or Haviv, partner and head of global innovation at Arieli Capital.

The accelerator program, which is funded by the Slovenian government, will be held in Tel Aviv between February 13 and April 11, 2022.