It was a huge effort to get from 128 entries through to 22 selected teams and one that would not have been possible without the assistance of 20 highly skilled judges especially selected from the New Zealand healthcare and innovation community.
The semi-finalists will go through a 6-week pre-accelerator programme where they will be guided by experts from the Ara Institute of Canterbury-based startup incubator, Te Ōhaka, and ThincLab, the Founder Incubator based out of University of Canterbury’s Centre for Entrepreneurship. Over the 6 week programme, the semi-finalists will work through key development phases for their venture including market validation, product development, business models, investment, and more.
“Based on the amazing range and quality of ideas submitted into this programme, the next few weeks are set to be incredibly exciting as we support these teams through the pre-accelerator programme. The Kiwi entrepreneurial spirit is most definitely alive and well!”, says Rick Davies, Head of Technology and Innovation at Ryman Healthcare.
After completing this programme, eight out of the twenty-two finalists will then be invited to pitch in front of an expert panel of judges at the final Demo and Awards evening on 22 October at Manawa in the heart of the Te Papa Hauora Health Precinct in Christchurch.