Victoria Ackerman

I did my internship in the Ministry of Trade and Labor, currently known as the Ministry of Economy. Upon completing IGF, I was contacted by the Israeli Embassy in Argentina with an offer to join the commercial department, which does exactly the type of work I had done on IGF. In that sense, IGF ‘paid off’ immediately – I arrived in Argentina with a job waiting for me. IGF was such a milestone for me, because I've stayed on that same path ever since, working in the entrepreneurship ecosystem and promoting innovation In Israel and in Argentina.

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After my time in the Embassy I went to work for the City of Buenos Aires, and continued to work on similar issues. When the Mayor of Buenos Aires became the President of Argentina, I moved into national government and continued to work with entrepreneurs. I left that position for one year as a consultant, and came back to do work that was more VC-oriented. Nowadays I work in an accelerator, working with startups and VCs. So from day 1 of IGF, everything stemmed from my work at the ministry.

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My mentor gave me a great deal of space and independence. By the end of my internship I was leading delegations of foreign investors on visits to innovative companies in Israel, and I was just an Argentinian girl who was new on the team. I had acted as the face of the Ministry. It was truly amazing. Another incredible aspect of IGF is the diversity – getting to meet and work with young Jewish people from all over the world, rather than sticking with peers from our own regions.

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I was already pretty involved in the Jewish community even before IGF. I led Taglit groups and was involved in youth movements, but IGF allowed me to develop my Jewish and Zionist professional identity. Wherever I go now, I'm not only the Jewish girl, I'm also the girl who understands Israel and it's government and innovation ecosystem. During my time at the ministry I got to meet Saul Singer, Chemi Peres, and so many more influential entrepreneurs and thinkers. In Israel, the hierarchies are flatter and people help you get to where you need to go.

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IGF changed my life. I can't imagine my life without this deeply influential experience. Without the support of different donors and scholarships, I could never have afforded it. When you invest in IGF, you invest in employment opportunities. You invest in those 10 months in Israel, but you also invest in the next 10, 15, 20 years of those fellows' lives. From day one of IGF, every connection I made opened up opportunities that are beneficial to this day, 14 years later. For a girl from South America, IGF was simply invaluable.