Tech-Tour sets second date

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Nicky Blackburn Feb. 17, 2004
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After a postponement of five months due to security considerations, the
European Tech Tour (ETT) conference is finally to go ahead in Israel on
March 28-30.

Already 41 out of 60 of the invited international investors have registered
to take part in the conference, which is to be held at various locations
across Israel. The delegates include senior executives from Nokia, Siemens,
AXA, Logitech, Marubeni, Infineon, Vertex, Galileo, Highland Capital
Partner, SPEF, Auriga, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Index, and Iris Capital
(formerly Partcom).

This is the first time that the ETT, an independent, non-profit
organization, will hold a conference out of Europe. Sven Lingjaerde, the
president and founder of the ETT, said Israel was an obvious choice to visit
because of the high quality of technology on offer in the country.

The first Tech Tour to Israel was scheduled to take place in November last
year, but was postponed in October because an insufficient number of
delegates committed themselves to the event, citing fears of the security
situation.

"It was a combination of factors," says Dr. Tamara Genosar, the president of
the Israeli Tech Tour. "Not many people registered for the event, and the
mood in the industry was not particularly positive."

Six months on, she says, the atmosphere has changed dramatically and
interest in the event is running high. "Politically, the situation is
calmer, and economically the mood is good. The VCs have woken up. They have
money and they need to invest, but they realize there are not many
interesting technology start ups in Europe these days. They know that they
can find good technologies in Israel and that's why they are coming," says
Genosar, the director of the international department at hi-tech recruitment
firm, Nisha Group.

"The Israeli Tech Tour offers delegates first-hand insight into leading
Israel technologies and a unique opportunity to network with international
and local industry leaders," she adds.

Many of the delegates to the Tech Tour conference will be first time
visitors to Israel.

The Israeli event starts with an opening gala dinner for participants and
key players in the local industry, and features a keynote speech by Dov
Moran, founder and CEO of M-Systems, and a welcome address by Erel Margalit
of JVP.

The two-day Tech Tour agenda will include presentations of 25 Israeli
technology companies, which have not yet been named.

Global sponsors of the event include Microsoft, Oracle, Tornado Insider,
Fortune, Vision Capital and PwC, while local sponsors include Giza Venture
Capital, Walden, Israel Seed Partners, Elron, Gemini and JVP.

The ETT was founded in Geneva in 1998 as a means of introducing investors
and strategic partners to emerging technology companies in Europe. Since the
tours began, 400 delegates have taken part, and more than 300 companies have
been highlighted.

"The Tech Tour is a unique platform to gain first-hand knowledge of a
selection of Israel's most advanced high-technology companies," says Rudolf
Hamann of Siemens, who will be taking part in the March conference. "The
breadth of topics covered, and the caliber of the participants make this
conference one of the most unique events in the industry."


Doron Rosenbaum
Information Manager
IVC Research Center

Ramat Aviv Tower
5th floor, 40 Einstein St.
POB 17672, Tel Aviv 61172
Phone: 972-3-640-2358
Fax:    972-3-640-2351
Email:doron@ivc-online.com
Website: www.ivc-online.com