Tech It Forward Hosts First Cartier Women’s Initiative Impact Event in Israel

TEL AVIV, Israel, March 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Tech It Forward, the Israeli innovation hub and partner of Cartier Women’s Initiative (CWI), hosted the first CWI Impact event in Israel. The event brought together women impact entrepreneurs, experienced professionals, and investors for a morning of networking, pitching, and collaboration.

Moderated by Shoshanna Solomon, a journalist and tech speaker who has covered the Israeli economic scene for over 30 years, the event kicked off with introductions by Jessica Rosner and Jennifer Elias, founders of Tech It Forward, and Wingee Sampaio, the Cartier Women’s global program director, and Maeva Mendy, Community engagement manager.

Founders of Tech It Forward, Jessica Rosner and Jennifer Elias, shared their excitement about the partnership, saying, “We have been working with Cartier Women’s Initiative for a year now, and we are happy to drive change together and help the women impact community here in Israel. We are already seeing the benefits from their program, with women impact entrepreneurs reaching out to us, asking questions, and seeking support to be part of the next batch. The existence of this amazing program helps women in impact feel important, heard, and drives their ventures forward.”

The Cartier Women’s Initiative team was led by Wingee Sampaio, the global program director, and Maeva Mendy, Community engagement manager. Wingee shared the guiding principles of CWI’s mission, saying that “women can be extraordinary social change agents and that businesses can be leveraged as a force for good.” She added that CWI believes in creating opportunities for everyone, saying that “Talent is universal, but opportunities are not.”

After the introduction of the CWI program and their collaboration with Tech It Forward, five startups pitched their innovative ideas. Anydish, Michal Kahan, the VP of business development, talked about AI-based personalized menus, MeNow presented by CEO and co-founder Hilla Arbel, uses AI and chemoinformatics to predict the effect of cosmetics on users’ skin. Galsbio presented by Hilla Shaviv, CEO, developed a vaginal device for health screening and monitoring, Fabumin, a plant-based egg substitute presented by Adi Yehezkely, and Pika, a maker of reusable, sustainable cloth diapers, was presented by co-founder Maytal Amir. A panel of high-level and specialized experts, including Sandrine Monstma, Managing Director at Bridges Israel, Anna Moshe, Cecile Blilious, Head of Impact and Sustainability at Pitango, Dalia Black founder and CEO of Weave Impact, and Keren Primor-Cohen, CEO of Ramot, Tel Aviv University Technology Transfer, gave their feedback.

The event also included a first-of-its-kind Reciprocity Ring Workshop in Israel, an interactive and patented networking workshop that encourages people to “give and take.” Participants shared their resources, skills, and connections with the community, contributing to each other’s success.

Anna Moshe, Partner at Pearl Cohen, who hosted the event, joked while quoting Madeleine Albright, saying, “there is a special place in hell for women not helping other women!”. She emphasized the importance of women helping each other and how it has always been crucial to her.

Tech It Forward and CWI’s collaboration in Israel aims to continue providing women impact entrepreneurs with the support, resources, and opportunities to succeed. “We are honored to have had the opportunity to bring the Cartier Women’s Initiative team to Israel for the first time and to work alongside them in supporting women impact entrepreneurs. The event was a tremendous success, providing a platform for innovative startups to pitch their ideas and connect with experienced professionals in the industry”, Jessica Rosner concluded.

SOURCE Tech It Forward