Vaud / Health Tech

1st FemTech gas pedal in Switzerland: applications until March 31

by Alp ICT

EPFL Innovation Park and Groupe Mutuel join forces to launch Tech4Eva, Switzerland's first start-up acceleration program dedicated to women's health. The program will go mainly online in 2021, bringing together ecosystems from London, Asia and the USA.

Call for startups and projects until March 31, 2021. If you're developing innovative solutions to improve technologies related to women's health, apply here.

Fostering innovation for women's health

Women are an important pillar of our society. Their health and well-being are important, but studies show that just 4 percent of all health research is targeted at women's health, despite the fact that women in general spend around US$500 billion on medical costs per year.

On International Women's Day, March 8, 2021, EPFL Innovation Park in association with Groupe Mutuel is launching Tech4Eva, a joint program aimed at developing FemTech start-ups by leveraging the combined resources, ecosystems and networks of both organizations. The program aspires to create a community of students, researchers and innovators (women and men) working together to develop new ideas and technologies that improve women's health.

Women's health services, products and treatments continue to be severely underdeveloped, understudied and even considered taboo. As a result, there have been very few innovations or technological advances to address the painful, inconvenient or embarrassing everyday health problems that uniquely affect women, including menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. Only a handful of pharmaceutical and technology companies have explored solutions to women's health problems, leaving the FemTech field significantly underdeveloped.

Recruitment of Swiss and international start-ups and innovative projects

The Tech4Eva program is open to start-ups and innovators from Switzerland and around the world. The program seeks innovative solutions for all areas of women's health, including pregnancy, fertility, menstruation, menopause, mental health, family planning, breast cancer, cervical cancer and more. Solutions can be wide-ranging, including apps, exchange platforms, drugs or preventive medicine and diagnostic tools or therapeutic devices supported by artificial intelligence (AI).

Tech4Eva will begin in April 2021 for an initial 9-month series. 15 high-potential start-ups will be selected to participate and will undergo specialized workshops, one-to-one mentoring, tours of Switzerland, Japan, the UK and the US, and meetings with investors. The start-ups will also be introduced to leading companies in the healthcare sector.

The program also invites innovators and corporate innovation teams with early-stage ideas to apply and have the opportunity to receive tailored entrepreneurship training and support in bringing their solutions to market.

EPFL Innovation Park - Groupe Mutuel: a win-win partnership

Selected start-ups will benefit from one of the best healthcare ecosystems in Europe. Thanks to the recognized expertise and solid network of the EPFL Innovation Park and the surrounding "Health Valley", they will have access to international partnerships and investors. They will also be able to work on pilot projects within Groupe Mutuel and its client companies, and gain access to a dynamic market with one of Switzerland's leading healthcare insurers.

"Unfortunately, women's issues are too often overlooked in the development of health-related technology solutions. This partnership aims to bridge this gap in Switzerland," said Thomas Boyer, CEO of Groupe Mutuel.

"We are delighted to join forces with Groupe Mutuel and help advance the productivity and creativity of 50% of the population through this acceleration program for FemTech start-ups. Our solid network of companies and investors will contribute as much as our experience, which has already led over a hundred high-tech start-ups to success," concluded Jean-Philippe Lallement, General Manager of the EPFL Innovation Park.