“The Chinese are enamored with Israeli start-ups.”
By ARIEL SHAPIRAWriting on a computer keyboard [Illustrative](photo credit: INGIMAGE)
A delegation of Chinese high-tech investors has arrived in Israel in search of local tourism start-ups that they can acquire. They will also be attending the world’s most influential global mobile Internet conference, which is opening in Tel Aviv on March 22. At the conference, the delegation with meet with a team of Israeli entrepreneurs led by Matan Vilnai, the former ambassador to China.Among the Israeli ventures presenting their technology is CNature, which helps people locate information about plants and animals while they’re out on nature trips.This platform enables curious hikers to learn about the world around them while they’re out enjoying themselves. All you have to do is confirm your location and send a picture of the flower or fauna in question and you receive information straight to your device.If you’re having trouble taking a picture (of a moving animal, for example), you can also pick out an image from an image bank made available to you.Another Israeli tourism startup vying for Chinese attention is Sidekix, which makes navigating through the city fun. With Sidekix, you can plan your walk through a city according to what type of attractions you’re interested in. The information is garnered from blogs created by tourists and local residents.“The Chinese are enamored with Israeli start-ups,” says Nir Dashti, the organizer of the conference, “because they say that Israeli entrepreneurs are not afraid to make a mistake, unlike people from most other countries. They also love how Israelis are able to improvise, are intuitive, and can make changes quickly whenever the need arises.”CodeMonkey CodeMonkey’s Code Rush is a nationwide competition for teams of students in 3rd to 8th grade. Solve as many CodeMonkey challenges as you can, earn stars and collect bananas. Maybe your team will be one of the 20 lucky teams who will win prizes for their school or library! The competition will begin on April 3 and end on May 1. Participation cost is $49.95 per team.CodeMonkey is a digital learning platform that enables students from the age of 8 to learn the basics of computer programming through game-based learning. In the Code Rush competition, school teams will compete against other teams by coding in the CoffeeScript language.As is typical of any CodeMonkey endeavor, team leaders and young participants are not required to have any prior programming experience. They will all be provided with basic training, management and reporting tools, and scores are given automatically.
Each team will consist of 8-10 participants, and there will be two separate age groups.The ten teams in each age group that receive the highest scores will receive a free annual subscription to CodeMonkey, as well as a set of coding books for children from DK Books worth $115.“Today, anyone can learn to program code,” says Yonatan Shor, co-founder and CEO of CodeMonkey. “Being able to program is one of the best skills to have in the 21st century, in addition to math and English. Of course, people also need to have excellent interpersonal skills and developed problem-solving capacities, too. The Code Rush competition helps kids learn a new programming language in a fun way.”Blender Blender, an international consumer electronic lending platform, has garnered a new license to operate as a financial institution in the European Union – the license recognizes Blender as an “E-Money Institution,” which includes a range of banking activities for the group, per a company statement.In particular, Blender can now grant loans, transfer funds between customers and service the platform to other companies. Moreover, the licensing agreement also allows for the execution of most banking activities, except leveraging deposits.The license represents a significant stroke for Blender as it looks to solidify its presence in the EU. The group will now be able to offer end-to-end solutions to third parties, also providing a multitude of new financial products that includes platform services to companies, money transfers, and various investments. Blender is currently active across Italy, Israel, and the Baltic Region.According to Gal Aviv, CEO and co-founder of Blender, in a statement on the license: “The license will enable lenders from around the world, including the UK, to be lenders in countries we are currently operating in, and in additional countries we tend to operate in, in the future.”“By using Blender, lenders can enjoy higher yields than most financial instruments available in the market today in a liquid alternative asset class. Lenders that will invest in the platform, will be able to enjoy interest rates of approximately 8%-10% annually. This license is part of our international expansion strategy.”“Being eligible for this license requires compliance with the highest regulation standards, including strict internal controls.This is an important milestone when working with international financial institutions,” he added.Information taken from: www.financemagnates.com.Translated by Hannah Hochner.