Forty-one startups have been selected to participate in the H+ Digital Health Innovation Programme which starts on 16 September 2020.

The programme is jointly organised by the InsurTech Hub Munich and the dmac/Digital Health Hub Nuremberg/Erlangen.

During the "Business Development Weeks" the main focus will be on establishing business relationships and developing their own business model.

There will be a "Pitch Clinic" to provide in-depth entrepreneurship and industry knowledge.

In two review events, taking place at the end of September and October respectively, the field of participants will be filtered down to the most promising companies for investor meetings and "Demo Day" in November.

Due to the current COVID-19 situation, the H+ Programme will be fully accessible remotely. All participating startups can be found here.

WHY IT MATTERS

Over 2,000 founders worldwide were interviewed and screened as part of the selection process. At the end of this process, 41 startups were selected as participants.

The selected startups come from 17 different countries, more than 50 per cent are based outside Germany.

The organisers registered significantly more female participants compared to previous Innovation Programmes.

The category spread of the startups includes various topics of health such as prevention, diagnosis and rehabilitation, data analytics, IoT and AI.

THE LARGER TREND

Other programmes in search for talent in the digital health sphere have continued their search online despite the pandemic. In July, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Health Wild Card programme brought together 45 participants to find solutions in areas of high unmet need within women’s health and digital therapeutics. 

Earlier this year, a study carried out by Oxford University data visualisaiton spin-out, Zegami identified 34 European medtech COVID-19 projects from startups.

The HIMSS & Health 2.0 European Health Conference and Exhibition on September 7-11 will be showcasing the latest innovative apps and platforms for consumers at the AI Solutions for Consumers session. 

ON THE RECORD

Corine Ackermann, startup relations lead, InsurTech Hub Munich, said: “Internationality and diversity are essential to our Innovation Programmes. We are very proud to have a very strong group of female founders joining us.”

“Telehealth, mental health or elderly care address very timely challenges. But, as quaint as this may sound, remedies in dental health might also be a really disruptive idea in times when people are hesitant to visit a dentist’s office.”

Christian Gnam, acting managing director, InsurTech Hub Munich said: “Just as we were confirming that digital health would be our first focus vertical to build a programme upon, the Digital Healthcare Act (Digitales Versorgungsgesetz) was about to be passed by the German parliament. That was a key driver for our decision”

“Nobody could have foreseen what today’s major challenges would look like: the pandemic has massively accelerated the demand for digital and future-proof concepts both in the health and the insurance industry.”