InsurTech Hub Munich and dmac/Digital Health Hub Nuremberg/Erlangen launch new accelerator focused on digital health
InsurTech Hub Munich (ITHM) and dmac – Medical Valley Digital Health Application Center part of the Digital Health Hub Nuremberg/Erlangen announce a new cross-industry accelerator for the second half of 2020. The H+ Innovation Programme will focus on digital health solutions. Applications open April 21, startups are invited to apply until the end of May.
The H+ Innovation Programme will support digital health startups in developing their business as well as getting access to the digital health market in Germany. The programme provides a structured, modular curriculum along with individually tailored mentoring and networking activities. It stimulates interdisciplinary collaboration by connecting startups, corporations, SMEs, investors, universities, research institutes, and governmental as well as non-governmental organisations.
“Solutions for the insurance industry need not only come from startups bearing the label insurtech”, says Ben Shaw, ITHM’s Director Programmes & Strategy. “All of our earlier programmes have seen a number of teams specialising in digital health. And, vice versa, during the corona crisis we witness founders from completely different fields contribute to disease management topics”. Shaw remarks: “With H+ we put the spotlight on a field which not only is important to our partners that provide health or life insurance, but that is vital to any single one of us.”
“Innovation in the healthcare sector literally changes lives”, Marco Wendel, CEO of dmac, picks up the thread, “and that’s not only visible since the spread of COVID-19.” He fully embraces a cross-industry approach: “We highly welcome cooperation with neighbouring industries.” As a key player of the Medical Valley EMN, dmac, as well as ITHM, are part of the de:hub network; fostering innovation in different lines of business, supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Both hubs receive funding from the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energypromoting Bavaria as an attractive innovation and financial centre.
The H+ Innovation Programme is designed to profit from dmac’s and the Digital Health Hub’s expertise in the healthcare sector as well as ITHM’s proven track-record in scaling startups within the insurance industry. “A perfect match that will create a win-win situation for everyone involved”, Wendel comments. Participants in the programme will work on scaling their business and meet mentors, investors and industry representatives both in Munich and the Medical Valley region who will provide them with knowledge from years of experience to approach the healthcare market successfully.
Shaw holds the prospect of ITHM hosting programmes with focal points such as health in the near future. “The German government passed the bill for the ‘Digitale-Versorgung-Gesetz’ (Digital Healthcare Act) at the end of last year, which strengthened our decision to zoom in on health first”, Shaw says, punctuating that the cooperation between ITHM and dmac/Digital Health Hub has been on the way since long before the Sars-CoV-2 outbreak. More detailed info on the programme will be released in the coming weeks.
Applications for the H+ Innovation Programme are taken via f6s.
About dmac and the Digital Health Hub Nuremberg/Erlangen in the Medical Valley EMN
The Medical Valley Digital Health Application Center (dmac) cooperates with and supports corporations, SMEs, startups and researchers in the digital health field. dmac provides expertise on the German digital healthcare market, reimbursement pathways, health economic, clinical as well technical evaluations, certification processes and more areas that are relevant in the world of digital medicine.
In cooperation with the Digital Health Hub Nuremberg/Erlangen, one of twelve national hubs announced by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and as an essential part of the Medical Valley European Metropolitan Region Nuremberg, dmac builds on an excellent infrastructure and a strong ecosystem that connects important players from science, industry, politics and healthcare to support knowledge transfer and drive innovations in the field of medical technologies to shape the future of digital healthcare.
https://www.mv-dmac.com/
https://medical-valley-emn.de/
Download: H+ Press Release in German language
Text: Markus Walter