July 5, 2013
App developers make a splash
Dear reader
This coming weekend, Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann is likely to sign the free trade agreement with China as part of his trip to Asia. A historic step, and one that is also important for start-ups. Mila, the young company from Aargau, earlier this week officially unveiled its mobile marketplace for local services in Shanghai.
The focus of the offer by Mila is an app, and the company from north-west Switzerland is not the only app developer that has made the headlines this week. The shopping app Bring! is growing rapidly in German-speaking regions, we have already featured Newscron as winner of the WA de Vigier Foundation prize, and Uepaa! has just launched its rescue app for walkers, climbers and mountain bikers in Switzerland.
App developer BROTSEITEN is also among the five winners of the seif Awards for Social Entrepreneurship. At the awards ceremony last Wednesday, visitors and members of the jury were particularly impressed by SwissLeg, winner of the main prize. With its low-cost prosthetic legs, the company helps people in developing countries to improve their prospects. In addition, this week the founders of the Ticino start-up also won Phase III of Venture Kick, worth CHF100,000 .
Given these dynamic start-ups, it is not surprising that young Swiss companies represent the country’s strength in the newly released Global Innovation Index. But even though Switzerland is in first place in this year’s index, there is still room for improvement. In terms of venture capital, Switzerland lags behind not only the US and UK but also Israel and the Scandinavian countries.
To solve this problem, SECA, the Swiss private equity and corporate finance association, in collaboration with the investor association CTI Invest, is now planning to implement the Swiss Investment Fund, which will be worth CHF500 million.
The fund, which will allow for larger financing rounds, will also be an ideal addition to the currently active Swiss business angel scene. Just this week, a group of business angels joined Medical Insights; among the investors are former Swisscom top executive Adrian Bult and Karl Landert, former CIO of Credit Suisse.
Have a sunny weekend.
Stefan Kyora
Managing Editor, startupticker.ch