South African logistics startup Cloudline has been chosen to take part in the MassChallenge Israel 2019 accelerator cohort, with the chance of securing up to ILS500,000 (US$140,000) in zero-equity funding.
MassChallenge Israel is part of the global MassChallenge network of zero-equity startup accelerators, and has seen 155 alumni companies raise over US$155 million to date, while creating 7,000 jobs globally.
It has announced the 52 startups that will take part in its 2019 cohort, selected from nearly 500 candidates in Israel and more than 40 countries around the world. The only African participant is South Africa’s Cloudline, which reaches people that lack access to paved roads and runways with autonomous airships that carry essential goods.
The startups were selected by panels made up of leading experts from over 20 Israeli and global organisations, like Accenture, Google, BCG, Kimberly-Clark, Elta IAI, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Gett, and will now benefit from connections to MassChallenge’s professional partners in Israel and around the world.
Selected companies will access one of the deepest and largest active mentor networks in Israel, and have access to a dynamic workspace. The programme will conclude with a pitch day in July, when 10 winners will secure prizes such as all-expenses-paid business trips to Boston and New York, as well as up to ILS500,000 (US$140,000) in zero-equity cash prizes.
“MassChallenge Israel accelerated startups are creating meaningful solutions for real challenges across industries,” said Yonit Golub Serkin, managing director of MassChallenge Israel. “We recognise that globally impactful ideas know no borders, gender or nationality, and we are proud to attract and accelerate groundbreaking ideas from a diversity of founders.”
