Ljubljana - In cooperation with the Slovenian Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Slovenian Entrepreneurship Fund (SPS), the SPIRIT Slovenija agency for the promotion of entrepreneurship and investment will launch in February the first start-up accelerator in Israel, dedicated to Slovenian start-ups.

The SPIRIT Slovenija agency announced that six to twelve of the best Slovenian start-ups that submit their applications by 16 January will get the chance to go to Israel.

The accelerator programme will take place in Tel Aviv between 13 February and 11 April and aim to connect selected Slovenian start-ups with Israeli high-tech companies, industrial organisations, international corporations, investors and academic institutions, the SPIRIT business portal wrote.

The programme, which will be led by Arieli Capital's subsidiary ETC, will be aimed at technology start-ups in a variety of sectors, including health, agriculture, fintech, smart mobility, food technology, clean tech and others.

SPIRIT believes that it will help start-ups to secure a competitive advantage in the phases of business and market validation, initial customer acquisition, initial investor acquisition, business development and global market expansion.

Companies can apply online until 16 January 2022, or until the available places are filled, subject to certain conditions: the company must be registered in Slovenia, have a well-established team, and a working product, including a prototype.

Preference will be given to companies with validated technology, initial positive feedback from first users and customers, and a completed first investment phase, said the SPIRIT agency.

SPIRIT and SPS will finance the entire training programme for the selected participating companies, the space and equipment for all workshops and events, and accommodation for one member of each selected Slovenian start-up company, they added.