This marks the fifth annual competition where 32 leading startups from around the world are brought together to take part in an intense, five-day startup experience in Tel Aviv, recently ranked #1 ecosystem outside of the United States.Start Tel Aviv is a global competition held by The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality.This year the competition celebrates women entrepreneurship around the world, and all the participants are women. This highlights another important aspect of Tel Aviv’s startup scene: the city’s ecosystem is a leader in gender equality and has been ranked #1 hub for women entrepreneurs outside the United States. According to the Compass report, Tel Aviv has 20 per cent women founders in startups, while the European average is 17 per cent.The competition took place in 31 countries, with winners from Astonia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kenya, Latvia, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Poland, Peru, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, United States, United States, Uruguay and Vietnam.During their first day, the winners were welcomed by Mayor Ron Huldai at an initial networking event followed by workshops on the Israeli tech scene, visits at co-working spaces in Tel Aviv and the Mayor's cocktail reception. Along the next days, the entrepreneurs will get an inside view of startups within the heart of Tel Aviv, as well as join meetups with highly respected high-tech professional and visit some of Israel's top Venture Capital companies that lie in the center of this growing tech-hub.Start Tel Aviv is happening taking place during the DLD Tel Aviv Innovation Festival and the participants will have the opportunity to meet some of the world’s leading companies, techies, startups, designers, artists, scientists, investors, and culture creators from Israel and abroad. The Festival is comprised of a long list of events, conferences, meet-ups, mingles and gatherings, all focusing on different sides of digital, technological, social, and urban innovation.

Source: The Nation Bangkok September 26, 2016 03:45 UTC