In the Innovators for Children program we started working together with 12 Romanian startups in health & wellbeing for children in Spring 2019. After 3 months of intense support, training, mentoring and exposure, 4 teams have been selected to continue for another 6 months in the program and get funded with a total of 100.000 EUR.

Part of the 6-month incubation stage, we have designed a one week learning trip in Basel, with two main objectives.

The first objective was to facilitate the interaction of the Romanian delegation with the important players of the health ecosystem in Switzerland.

Opening the week with a visit at our partners, Fondation Botnar, was the best way to connect to the core of the impact we are having with the Innovators for Children program. Seeing their motivation and their drive to make a positive change in the world was extremely inspiring for all of us.

Big part of the agenda consisted in meetings with institutions, companies and organizations that work everyday to improve the quality of life of Swiss people. The entrepreneurs had the chance to meet and learn from representatives of the Department of Health, Basel-Stadt, with the Basel Spital AI team, with Sympany (Insurance Innovation) and Medgate (Telemedicine Clinic).

Another benefit of the visit was understanding the type of support and opportunities a startup can find in Basel, when meeting potential investors from MTIP and organizers of the DayOne accelerator.

The second objective was to showcase the incredible potential and power of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Romania.

We designed contexts in which the 4 startups could present their business idea and highlight the innovation that they are bringing in the Romanian market, while having a major impact in children’s health and wellbeing. Starting with an important visit at the Romanian Embassy in Bern, where the entrepreneurs met several representatives of business, academic and social field. Continuing with a public event in Basel, where they shared their experience as innovators and entrepreneurs with people who were interested in understanding the Romanian reality and opportunities and get inspired by the startups in taking an active role in the business environment.

The Swiss experience would have not been full without chocolate, fondue, walks by the Rhine, visiting the bears in Bern and enjoying the Basler Herbstmesse.