Thank you for being part of the IsraelDev community. Each month we bring you reviews of past and upcoming events, featured members, international development articles, opportunities to get involved and more. Feel free to contact us about anything you read below or to get involved.
We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events!
Upcoming Events
June 19th: Pears Challenge Final Pitch Night
Come watch the Pears Challenge's leading entrepreneurs pitch their ventures and compete for the Grand Prize! Hear about their business models designed to solve some of the developing world's most pressing problems!
With a Keynote by Zika Abzuk, Senior Manager of Business Development at Cisco and a prestigious judges panel comprising Andrea Wine, International Businesswoman, Investor, Chairman of Orpheus Medical; Harold Wiener, General Partner, Terra Venture Partners; Booky Oren, Chairman and CEO, Booky Oren Global Water Technologies; Elnor Rozenrot, Co-founder and CEO of Pingjam; Stephane Janson, Analyst, Ourcrowd Management; and Aliza Inbal, Director, Pears Innovation for International Development Program, Tel Aviv University, this is a night not to be missed!RSVP HERE!
When: June 19th 17:00-20:00
Where: Google Campus, 98 Yigal Alon St., Tel Aviv, Fl. 26
Hear representatives from some of the key organizations worldwide working on public private partnership for food security in developing countries. Register now!
Past Events
June 5th: Opportunities and Challenges in East Africa
Duncan Onyango, Director of Acumen East Africa shared his insights on social investment trends in the rapidly growing East African market based on his experience as manager of the company’s $35 million portfolio.
Acumen invests in early-stage companies providing scalable solutions to developing world challenges in fields such as water, agriculture, healthcare, housing and education.
May 29th: Pears Challenge 2014 Speed Mentoring Event
On May 29th, the 10 Pears Challenge ventures had the opportunity to take part in a "Speed Mentoring" evening to gain feedback from expert mentors and advisors within the community.
Many thanks to all who took part and shared their insights with the teams and to ERM Law Offices for the use of their beautiful rooftop venue!
May 25th: Microsoft Ventures Developing World Innovations Series
The Pears Innovation for International Development Program is working with Microsoft Ventures to provide a three part series on entrepreneurship and innovation in emerging market. The first session was successfully held on May 25th on Doing Business for the Base of the Pyramid with Leehe Skuler and Caylee Talpert. The next sessions will take place June 29 and July 13th. For more information, join the Microsoft Ventures Academy Meetup.
Five-Part Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets Course
StarTau, Tel Aviv University Entrepreneurship Center, Pears Innovation Program, and IsraelDev completed an exciting new 5 part course exploring the business opportunities in emerging markets as well as the necessary skills and practices to access them.
Guest speakers included representatives from HP Indigo, Cisco, Wix, Keepod, Innovation:Africa, Genome Compiler, and Nova-Lumos, among others. Thank you to all those who took the time to give back to our community!
Innovation for Development News
What Nonprofits Can Learn From Coca-Cola
Melinda Gates makes a case that nonprofits should take a cue from corporations such as Coca-Cola, whose global network of marketers and distributors ensures that every remote village wants — and can get — a Coke. Why shouldn’t this work for condoms, sanitation, vaccinations too? Watch the video and take a look at Coca Cola's new campaign for the BoP!
The Artificial Leaf that Could Power the World
It was a glass of tap water with a thumb-sized strip of silicon floating in it. When he held the glass up to the light, the strip began to gently bubble. It seemed to be splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. But this would mean you could take any tub of water and -- with no more than a few cheap materials and a little light from the sun -- produce two incredibly powerful fuels.
It couldn't be right. Professor Nocera went back and, for 8 months, tried to prove himself wrong but could not. Thanks to an artificial leaf, he's sure he has found the key to turning water and sunlight into high-power fuels, without high costs. Read the full article here.
Israeli Innovation for Development
MobileOCT is in the News (Again!)
Last month BBC News featured Israel's MobileOCT, the handheld smartphone device which could spot cancer. MobileOct also appeared in the news various times this year after recieving numerous awards and recognition. Visit their website to learn more.
IsraelDev Member of the Month
Liat Krawczyk Builds an Excellence Academy in Sierra Leone!
Five years ago, Liat Krawczyk co-founded The Jeneba Project, a non profit organization dedicated to expanding educational opportunities for Sierra Leonean youth after a civil war that left the country devastated.
Having raised enough money to finish the construction of a new school, she recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to build a well and buy equipment to open up the school to the public, with donations being matched generously by the Schusterman Foundation's ROI Community!
You are welcome to watch Liat's recent TEDx talk, which describes what her organization has done so far and why this work is important. To learn more, visit the campaign and spread the world!
Fun Feature
This Invention will Change the World, Just Watch: Solar Roadways - Let's put our Roads to Work!
It is estimated that if all the roads in the U.S. were converted into solar roadways, the country would generate 3 times as much energy as it currently uses. Clean, and renewable energy. Think about that!
Solar Roadways is a modular paving system of solar panels that can withstand the heaviest of trucks (250,000 pounds). These Solar Road Panels can be installed on roads, parking lots, driveways, sidewalks, bike paths, playgrounds - literally any surface under the sun. They pay for themselves primarily through the generation of electricity, which can power homes and businesses connected via driveways and parking lots. To learn more, watch this fun video!
Opportunities
Jobs
The Israel-Asia Center is seeking a part-time communications coordinator to work in their dynamic Jerusalem office. Start date: July/August. For further details or to apply, please send your resume and cover letter in English to: contact@israelasiacenter.org.
Competition
CleanTech Open is a green technology competition and is held as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Registration for the 2014 competition is now open. Participants must first present their ideas in a national competition. The winner will then represent Israel at the international competition in San Jose, California in November. For more information please visit the site and to register click here!
Fellowship
Applications are now open for the 2014-15 Israel-Asia Leaders Fellowship!
Are you an Asian student studying in Israel over 2014-2015? Are you passionate about building Israel-Asia relations in your field of interest? Apply now for this fellowship and meet Israeli & Asian leaders in business, diplomacy and technology, while developing projects to promote Israel Asia relations. For more info or to apply, please click here.
Recommended Reading
Please see the IsraelDev website for a full list of our latest June recommended reads on International Development.
Farewell!
This month we say goodbye to amazing people who have been at the heart of the Pears Program and IsraelDev Community. After 5 years helping to build the Pears Program Daniel Ben Yehuda will be moving on to an exciting new role as Director of Business Development at Nova Lumus. Liat Krawczyk, who has helped us make the Pears Challenge a reality, will be moving on to explore opportunities in Africa. They will be deeply missed but we wish them the best of luck with their next endeavours!
