The IsraelDev Network is supported by the Pears Innovation for International Development Program at Tel Aviv University. Visit our new Facebook page and give us a like!

12-17 October, Opportunity Collaboration, Ixtapa, Mexico:

Join a global network of leaders dedicated to building sustainable solutions to poverty.

As a social entrepreneur, you can learn from your peers, reignite your passion, and connect to the advisors, investors, and operating partners you need to scale your social solutions.

Visit the website to enroll. For questions about travel, contact Tracie Hudgins: thudgins@opportunitycollaboration.net

20-21 October: Global African Investment Summit, London, England

The inaugural Global African Investment Summit is run in partnership with 5 African state houses and is the only platform that brings together the public and private sectors to discuss specific transactions, access to finance, and over 30 bankable projects in Sub-Saharan Africa requiring investment and technology transfer.

The goal is to stimulate global private sector investment into African energy, mining, agriculture and infrastructure projects.

The event provides a unique opportunity for companies to improve their brand awareness, better understand bankable projects to date, network with investors, and secure more market share in some of the most exciting economies in Africa.

If you would like to know more about gaining access to this unique event please call Paul Sinclair, on +44 (0)20 3615 2853 or email paul.sinclair@tgais.com

11-13 November: Africacom, CTICC Cape Town, South Africa

AfricaCom is the largest annual tech event in Africa that gathers together senior decision-makers from the entire digital ecosystem.

If you are involved in the digital economy in Africa then this is the event for you:

Check here to see if you are eligible for a free pass, or register as a delegate here.

Tzameret Fuerst, a serial social entrepreneur, delivered an inspiring TEDMED talk this month titled “Innovate Where it Hurts”. You can view the talk here.

Drawing on her experiences as a co-founder and former CEO of Circ MedTech, Tzameret discussed her entrepreneurial journey in Africa to develop and launch PrePex, an FDA-cleared and globally-acclaimed medical device for HIV prevention, currently being rolled out in sub-Saharan Africa. The device was publicly endorsed by philanthropist Bill Gates multiple times and hailed by the head of UNAIDS as “a revolution in HIV prevention”. Tzameret encouraged others to see Africa as a viable and exciting market for groundbreaking medical innovation.

Tzameret is a global lecturer about innovation with over two decades of experience in the business and non-profit sectors. She is particularly passionate about for-profit businesses with broad and sustainable social impact.

Hope for clean economy as $20 billion in green bonds are issued in 2014

It’s now clearer than ever that green bonds, which provide capital for clean energy projects with a promised return on investment, make good business sense. Investors are buying up green bonds at a blistering pace. More than $20 billion in green bonds have been issued in 2014 and the Climate Bond Initiative, an investor-focused nonprofit group, expects the market will hit $40 billion by year’s end. That’s a 20-fold jump from the $2 billion of green bonds issued in 2012. (Read more)

USAID is incubating start-ups to tackle poverty problems

With his nifty PowerPoint slides and carefully crafted pitch, Yashraj Khaitan might be mistaken for any other fast-talking, code-savvy Bay Area millennial boasting that he has hit on the idea to solve a vexing world problem.Yet, in Khaitan's case, some very influential people in Washington think he may be right.

The federal government agency charged with easing world hunger and poverty has bet a million dollars on Khaitan's tiny start-up. It is among a handful of companies that the US Agency for International Development is looking to as it seeks to upend the way aid agencies go about trying to improve living conditions in some of the world's most deeply impoverished places. (Read more)

Here's what 'Shark Tank' looks like in 9 different countries

Reality pitch show "Shark Tank," perhaps unusual for its focus on businesses seeking investment rather than on the drama or personal lives of cast members, has something of a cult following in the United States.

But it didn't get its start there. In fact, the U.S. was actually rather late to the game. The original version of the show aired more than a decade ago in Japan. It was then licensed by a production company in the United Kingdom and turned into a popular British version called "Dragon's Den."

Now, there are versions all over the world, and the look and feel of the show varies dramatically by location and country, as does what the investors expect when they put money into a company.

Innovation Prize for Africa will award $150,000 USD to support innovations for Africans, by Africans, Oct. 31

The Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) is an award founded by the African Innovation Foundation. It mobilizes African innovators and entrepreneurs by providing a total of $150,000 USD to winners who deliver market-oriented solutions for African-led development. The IPA honours and encourages innovative achievements that contribute toward developing new products, increasing efficiency or cost savings in Africa. For more information and additional media background visit the website, and follow the IPA on Twitter and Facebook.

Applications for the prize are open now and close October 31st end of August with the selected participants being announced in May 2015.

Genesis Generation Challenge is seeking big ideas to better the world, register by Sept. 30

Are you passionate about solving a communal or global problem? Have you wondered how you could make your dream job a reality and do what you love? The Genesis Generation Challenge will turn passion into reality for ten winning teams, through grants of $100,000 (USD) each, connections to mentors, and opportunities to convene and learn from one another.

The Genesis Generation Challenge welcomes multi-disciplinary teams of approximately 10 young adults above the age of 18 and must designate a team leader between the ages of 20-36. Teams must register by September 30th and will have until October 28th to submit their full application. Visit the website for more information.

Demand Solutions: Ideas for Improving Quality of Life, Dec. 2 2014

The Inter American Development Bank (IADB) is hosting in Washington DC an event Demand Solutions: Ideas for Improving Quality of Life, a one-day event on Dec. 2 2014, where innovator and entrepreneurs will come together to discuss and share innovative solutions that address development issues in Latin America and the Caribbean. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from and meet the innovators as well as interact with some of the solutions being presented.

The event is also an opportunity to network with entrepreneurs, development professionals, and other like-minded individuals.
Conference organizers are open to the possibility of financing the arrival entrepreneurs from Israel with particularly promising initiatives.

For more information, please contact us.