GSMA Announces Israel Tournament of the 2010 Mobile Innovation Grand Prix Competition

LONDON -

- Open call for entries for Israel round of the global innovation competition culminating in awards on September 15 2009

The GSMA, which represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry, today announced that the Israel Tournament of its 2010 Mobile Innovation Grand Prix competition is now open for entry. The GSMA has partnered with Carmel Ventures, a leading venture capital firm, to host this leg of the global competition at the 13th Annual Journey Conference, a leading technology event held by Ernst & Young, in Tel Aviv on September 15 2009. At the conference, GSMA Mobile Innovation will take centre stage as a full-day, dedicated track focused on mobile and will feature a strong line-up of industry experts speaking and debating a number of current industry issues. The event will culminate in a Mobile Innovation award ceremony at a cocktail reception at the Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv where the Journey Conference is taking place.

“Innovation has long been at the heart of the mobile industry, and this event will provide a valuable opportunity for companies from Israel and beyond to pitch new mobile technology, service and business propositions to senior executives from operator and VC communities,” said Bill Gajda, Chief Commercial Officer at the GSMA. “Further, the GSMA actively fosters innovation through its Mobile Innovation initiative and Mobile Innovation Exchange, an online hub and community for young, small and medium-sized players to connect with the broader mobile ecosystem.”

“Carmel Ventures is proud to be the GSMA’s partner in initiating and organising this tournament for the second year in a row,” said Rina Shainski, General Partner at Carmel Ventures. “Today, more than ever, the worlds of online and mobile continue to converge and start-ups have a unique opportunity to reach millions of users by partnering with carriers, handset and platform vendors. We encourage any start-up with innovative mobile products and solutions to enrol and compete in the GSMA’s Mobile Innovation Grand Prix competition.”

The Mobile Innovation Grand Prix competition was created by the GSMA with the primary goal of showcasing promising entrepreneurs from small and medium-sized companies introducing innovative new products and services to market. For the Israel leg, companies can enter using the code GSMAISRAEL09 to participate for free. In order to qualify, entrants must be paid members of the Mobile Innovation Exchange (MIX) community. During the event, entrants will be reviewed by a judging panel comprised of senior executives from mobile operators and VC firms. Up to ten companies will be selected to present and two overall winners will win a trip to compete for the Mobile Innovation Grand Prix title, part of the GSMA’s Global Mobile Awards, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2010.

The Israel Tournament of the 2010 Mobile Innovation Grand Prix competition is sponsored by Pelephone, Carmel Ventures, Pitango and Magma. Affiliate Partners include the Israel Mobile and Communications Association (IMA) and Mobile Monday Tel Aviv. The Mobile Innovation track will be broadcast live on www.mobileinnovation.org/events/israel.

For more information on the GSMA’s Mobile Innovation Grand Prix competition, and the Mobile Innovation Exchange community, please visit: www.mobileinnovation.org

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile communications industry.

For more information, please visit www.gsmworld.com.

Source: GSMA

Daniel Lowther of GSMA, +44-7747-636-687, press at gsm.org