DayOne Accelerator finalizes participants

The DayOne Accelerator has chosen six participants, of whom four will receive non-dilutive funding of 50,000 Swiss francs, announced a statement. All the participants will benefit from BaselArea.swiss, which is providing support by connecting them to a network of potential partners and customers, including the particularly distinguished University Children’s Hospital Basel (UKBB).

A total of 120 startups applied to the competition, and 14 were shortlisted. These companies worked in part with UKBB to develop their business ideas, before six were chosen by a panel of experts from the region to progress to the accelerator. One of the participants is the Basel company Nutrix, which is developing a nanosensor for glucose monitoring in saliva to prevent diabetes. Virtual Doctors is another – a telemedicine company that supports healthcare professionals who provide care in Zambia.

The four companies that will receive a place on the program and financial support include the Basel company Zoundream , whose goal is to help identify the messages and potential pathologies in babies’ crying. Another is Haako, also Basel-headquartered, which is helping parents of children with asthma to better manage their condition. Rekonas (e Tomo), a spinoff from the University of Basel, is working on improved bedside monitoring of epilepsy. Finally, Wello Health is a Romanian company that helps families with overweight children to improve nutrition.

During the six-month program, the participants will learn from the accelerator – but the organizers will in turn learn from the startups’ developments, according to Fabian Streiff, Director Healthcare Innovation – DayOne at BaselArea.swiss. He said: “We understand that the process of taking a venture from a good idea to a viable venture in digital health is challenging and that these entrepreneurs need support.”