| News
DayOne Accelerator finalizes participants
20.11.2019
BaselArea.swiss manages the DayOne initiative, which is now organizing the second round of the DayOne Accelerator. The participants are Digital Health startups promoting the health of children and young people.
DayOne Conference 2019
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.”