Facebook's FbStart Tel Aviv, the company's first Israeli developers conference, was set to be launched Tuesday in Tel Aviv. The event, aimed at boosting local startups that focus on mobile applications, is part of the internet giant's effort to use its operations in Israel as a means of advancing Israel's high tech industry and serving as a local accelerator. Facebook opened its offices in Israel just over two years ago. "This free half-day event will bring together the Facebook team, industry experts, and a great community of startups to learn from one another," the company said on its website. "The event will provide direct access to mentorship from Facebook engineers, product managers, and partners, as well as an opportunity to mix and mingle with other startups in Israel." "This event will be most relevant for companies who currently have or are building a native mobile app. We will cover both technical content, as well as marketing and user growth strategies," it continued. Ime Archibong, director of strategic partnerships at Facebook, told Israel Hayom that the company is helping some 9,000 startups from 140 countries, of which 70% lie outside the U.S. and over 150 are from Israel.
