ELY Israel (LTD) and Israel Firstfruits Center for economic advancement (RA), (hereinafter IFC) are delighted to announce the 2021 Business Plan Competition and invite you to participate in it.

Through the competition, we hope to encourage and advance entrepreneurship among the local believers in the land as well as create opportunities for investments.

The competition is intended for local entrepreneurs who are members of the Body of Messiah (within Israel and the PA).

• The business plans could be for existing businesses as well as ideas for new businesses and startups that are for-profit.
• Submitted plans should include an executive summary, a written business plan. The plans will be assessed by a panel of judges.
• The 8 best plans will qualify to the finals. The finalists will have the chance to present their business plans before the audience at an event of the Messianic Business Fellowship that will be take place on June 18, 2021.

Financial Awards:

• First place – ₪ 25,000
• Second place – ₪ 15,000
• Third place – ₪ 5,000

Benefits of Participation

• All participants in the Business Plan Competition will be given feedback on their business idea and written business plan.
• Open sessions, according to pre coordinated appointments, will be available at no extra cost to allow participants to meet with administrators and judges. These sessions will provide valuable time to better understand the requirements of a business plan and the competition. The sessions will take place at ELY offices in Jerusalem or IFC office in Tiberias.
• Finalists will be able to present their business idea in front of a panel of judges and the public at the event of the Messianic Business Fellowship.
• In addition, ELY Israel and IFC will examine the business plans to check their readiness for receiving investments or being part of a business incubator. All of that is subject to earlier agreement.

Eligibility

• All participants of the Business Course are eligible to participate at no extra cost. They may submit the business plan they are developing through the course or partner with others and submit an alternate business plan.
• Individuals or teams outside of the Business Course are eligible to apply at the cost of ₪300 per person. Acceptance will be determined by a panel based on the registration form and executive summary.
• Participation in the competition is subject to the exclusive decision of the managing committee. The committee has the right to reject any applicant/contestant for any reason at their sole discretion. By applying to participate, competition applicants/contestants waive any and all right to appeal such a decision
• Entries that have already secured financing or other funding must disclose the amount and source of funding in the entry forms.

Requirements

• There is no limitation regarding the number of team members participating, however, we recommend a team of 2 – 4 members. A team that gets to the finals should have at least one English speaking member that needs to verbally present the business plan In Hebrew before the judges and the audience.
• Each participant should submit an executive summary and a business according to the schedule below.
• The executive summary should be 1 page in length and the business plan should not exceed 20 pages in length.
• Attached are general guidelines with the information that should be included in each document.

Judging

• A panel of judges which may include working professionals, successful entrepreneurs and legal professionals will review and evaluate the Business Plans.
• The judging will be primarily based on the business potential and viability of the Business idea as presented in the executive summary, business plan and finalists’ presentations.
• A feedback will be given to each participant.
• All decisions by the judging panel are final and are not negotiable.

Confidentiality

• As is standard practice for business plan competitions there will not be confidentiality agreements signed.
• ELY Israel and Firstfruits will take efforts to ensure that all written submissions and information stays private and only administrative staff and judges will be privy to it.
• Finalists will present their business ideas in front of a public audience and it is their responsibility to ensure that all material presented is appropriate to the public and does not pose a threat to any unpatented intellectual property.

Submission Dates and Standards

1. The Business Plan Competition Registration Form and 1-page Executive Summary are due March 14^th along with the ₪ 300 per person fee for participants not enrolled in the Business Course. Forms & payment (via credit-card) can be submitted online at: http://israelbusinessforum.com/business-plan-competition
2. Each team must have a primary contact person and provide the following information: Name, e-mail address, mailing address and phone number. Each team submission must list all team members in the registration form and their email addresses.
3. Participation fees are nonrefundable at any case. The fees are to cover the expenses of dealing with the registration. The fees are per plan per participant. The fees cannot be forwarded to other participants.
4. All business ideas must represent realistic and marketable ideas. All ideas must be original work from the team or be a substantial improvement on an existing business. All written documents and presentations must be done by members of the team only.
5. Selection of individuals and teams to the competition as well as selection of finalists will be done by a panel of judges. There is no limitation to how may business plans can be entered into the business plan competition.
6. Written business plans must be submitted by April 25^th to competition@israelfirstfruits.org.
7. All participants will be notified by May 25^th if they have been selected to be among the top 8 finalists to present in the competition’s final stage, which will take place on June 18^th.
8. The top three winners will be evaluated and awarded based upon the business content and presentation’s quality by a panel of judges. The awards will be presented at the event on June 18^th
9. Prize money will be divided among team members equally and payments made to each individually. The prize is intended to further the pursuits of entrepreneurship by the participants.
10. The rules to this competition may change without prior notice to participants. We will undertake all reasonable efforts to provide notice to all submission teams; however it is ultimately the responsibility of the teams to make themselves aware of any changes in these rules. Any submission reasonable deemed, in the sole discretion of the administrators of this competition, to be contrary to the spirit of this competition shall render a participant ineligible.

Timeline

Sponsors:

ELY Israel Is a company for the benefit of the public that works with local believers in the areas of humanitarian aid, education and economic advancement. The goal and the hope of ELY is to strengthen and bless the local body so that in when the time comes, the local believers will be able to bless the community in which they live. The vision of ELY is to see salvation, feed the hungry, to fulfill the needs of the needy, help establish business and strengthen the spiritual state, physical and economic status of the body in the country. ELY Israel is an extension of the CBN in Israel in all that is related to humanitarian aid and development

Israel Firstfuits center for economic advancement,

Our vision is to see the Body of Messiah in Israel flourish and prosper, fulfilling its mandate to disciple Israeli society and the nations through God-honoring professionals, Thriving “kingdom businesses” and economic transformation.

Our mission is to empower the Body of Messiah in Israel economically by: Equipping people to be fruitful stewards of their gifts and effective influencers in the marketplace, encouraging business formation and growth and providing an incubation framework for national projects.

Contact details:

ELY Israel Ltd: 02-6516955

Israel Firstfruits center for economic advancement:  info@israelFirstfruits.org