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    Zurich Innovation Championship goes live

    February 3, 20233 Mins Read
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    Zurich
    Ericson Chan, Group Chief Information & Digital Officer, says the company is looking for new solutions in the insurance field.
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    The fourth edition of the Zurich Innovation Championship aims to attract startups looking to collaborate with Zurich on the future of insurance.

    Zurich Insurance Group, the global insurance giant, has launched the fourth edition of the Zurich Innovation Championship – the largest global open innovation contest for startups in the insurance sector.

    Zurich: Seeking tech-driven solutions

    Zurich is inviting startups to compete for the opportunity to collaborate on solutions tailored to the needs of customers and the insurance industry. “The Innovation Championship fosters a new way of thinking and allows us to get access to ideas and solutions we may not yet have ourselves,” said Ericson Chan, Group Chief Information & Digital Officer. “For the participants, it is an opportunity to grow their business and pitch technology-driven solutions that can help meet emerging and evolving customer needs.”

    Startups from the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain

    According to Mufazzal Kajiji, Chief Executive Officer of Zurich International Life, in the UAE, Zurich aims to encourage homegrown startups to apply by presenting this “opportunity to grow their business, pitch technology-driven solutions and actualize society-impacting ideas.” According to Mufazzal, this competition ties in well with the month-long UAE Innovates 2023 initiative and is expected to contribute to its objective by inspiring and nurturing startups to ultimately become successful organizations in the long run. Participation from startups based in Qatar and Bahrain is also being encouraged.

    “Previous championships have shown that the most value comes from startups with ideas to disrupt single parts of the value chain, or enablers, rather than challengers looking to disrupt the whole industry,” said Paolo Mantero, Group Chief Strategy Officer. 

    Five categories

    Startups can register in one of five categories: Customer Experience, Commercial Insurance, Distribution Partnerships, Digital Enablement and Sustainability.

    The startups will then be asked to solve five challenges:

    • Customer experience: How might Zurich provide customers with solutions and experiences that are as sophisticated and customized as the best-in-class?
    • Commercial insurance: How might Zurich deliver innovative, tailored insurance solutions and risk services as risks evolve and secure the trust of its clients?
    • Distribution partnerships: How might Zurich elevate its partnerships and attract new distribution partners and ecosystems to meet changing customer needs?
    • Digital enablement: How might Zurich use technology to achieve greater agility and efficiency and underpin the right customer and employee experience?
    • Sustainability: How might Zurich help society transition to a more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable world?

    Up to USD 100,000 in funding

    Ten members of Zurich’s global leadership team will pick 2-3 winning initiatives per category by end-April. In the subsequent accelerator phase, stretching four months from end-May to end-September, project funding of up to USD 100,000 will be provided for each of the winning startups, together with mentorship from Zurich leaders and external experts. This will allow the startups, working closely with Zurich’s leaders and businesses, to validate how their joint solution can meet evolving customer needs and prepare an operational business plan to adopt across the Group. By end-December 2023, the proven initiatives will have kicked off, bringing to life the joint proposition.

    Submissions are currently open and run until February 27.

    More details can be found here.

    For more stories on the regional startup scene, click here.

    Bahrain qatar Startups UAE Zurich Zurich Innovation Championship
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