Israeli high-tech firms raid Barcelona
Some 3,000 Israelis attending Mobile World Congress in Spain this week as part of fourth biggest delegation to prestigious event
According to estimates, a total of 3,000 Israelis are expected to attend the MWC this week. The Israeli "occupation" will be completed by hundreds of Israeli soccer fans, who will arrive in the Catalan capital on Tuesday for FC Barcelona's Spanish Cup semi-final second leg game against Real Madrid.
Some 150 companies will present their products during the event alongside 1,500 companies and 67,000 visitors from 205 countries.
Israel has sent the fourth largest delegation to the conference after the United States, the United Kingdom and France, and Israeli representatives have already scheduled some 3,000 business meetings.
In addition, four Israeli applications are nominated in the prestigious Global Mobile Awards competition which will be held during the event, including the Waze mobile navigation app which is competing in the main category, Judges Choice – Best Overall Mobile App.
More than 50 of the Israeli companies are displaying their products at the prestigious exhibition for the very first time. The entry fee to the exhibition is €700 ($923) per person.
The official Israeli pavilion is organized for the fourth year in a row by the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute (IEICI). It includes three display areas, a business meeting compound and an interactive application display, which includes dozens of Israeli-developed apps.
Name of the game: Business
IEICI workers will present the developments to the pavilion visitors and help create business contacts between visitors and developers.
The products presented in the pavilion include cloud storage solutions, mobile payments, online advertising, network optimization and expanding coverage, remote access, etc.
Some 50 companies will present their products in a second pavilion sponsored by the Israel Mobile Association (IMA), which enjoys the support of international communication giants.
"We are providing Israeli companies with the best platform to create strategic cooperation with key players in the global mobile market," says IEICI CEO Ofer Sachs.
According to IMA CEO Eyal Reshef, the level of interest in the Israeli companies is unprecedented. "I have hardly slept in the past two weeks," he says.
The Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry's commercial attachés around the world have also been recruited for the mission in the past year, helping develop direct channels between Israeli companies and executives of the world's leading communication operators.
