UniCredit To Lead Bootcamp In Israel For Italian Female Entrepreneurs

UniCredit Start Lab, the business platform for Italian global financial services company UniCredit dedicated to innovative businesses, is set to partner with Israel’s leading entrepreneurs and innovators for a bootcamp focused on female Italian entrepreneurs.

A team of leading Tel Aviv-based entrepreneurs led by Yossi Dan, CEO and co-founder at TrekFounders, an accelerator for entrepreneurs, will be tasked with training Italian tech startups on innovation and business practices the Israeli way, according to the announcement.

The three-day virtual bootcamp runs from November 2 to November 4 and will work with 20 Italian startups, chosen after a rigorous UniCredit Start Lab selection process. All of the Italian startups were established and managed by female entrepreneurs. Their businesses span the areas of life sciences, cleantech, and digital services.

During the bootcamp, teams will hear from select speakers and mentors who will work with the 20 teams. Talks will explore the Israeli growth mindset, IDF-inspired leadership, funding strategies, building strong foundations, and how to scale the Israeli way.

A pitch event will take place at the end of the bootcamp and will target investors and business partners from Israel and abroad.

The team of mentors hand-picked to address the Italian audience includes Cecile Blilious, head of impact and sustainability at Pitango Venture Capital; Inna Braverman, co-founder and CEO at EcoWave Power; Nadav Kidron, CEO of Oramed Pharmaceuticals and board member at Israel Advanced Technology Industries (IATI); Noga Kap, managing partner at i3 Equity Partners; and Uri Weinheber, VC investor, a committee member at IBI Tech Fund and author.

“The UniCredit Bootcamp Tel Aviv initiative combines two topics which are of strategic importance for UniCredit,” said Francesco Giordano, co-CEO Commercial Banking Western Europe at UniCredit. “On one hand, equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion, which are key values for our Group… On the other hand, innovation, which is among the most effective growth vectors both for the economy and companies as well as being a pillar of UniCredit’s actions…,” said Giordano.

Dan said he and the team were delighted by the Italian-Israeli partnership.

“We understand the Israeli startup ecosystem and will impart our deep-rooted knowledge to the 20 chosen Italian startups,” he added. “Our initial aim was to fly the teams to Tel Aviv and run the bootcamp from Israel like we did for many years, but COVID-19 changed our initial plans. As a result, we’ve redesigned the bootcamp to fit the online format and anticipate this will be exceptionally successful.”