Innovators wanted for the third digitalswitzerland challenge

Digitalswitzerland has launched its challenge for the third time. The challenge is a platform organised by digitalswitzerland to promote key digitalisation projects. The programme is helping large companies, SMEs, start-ups, research and politics to join forces. The challenge is organised as a competition of “bets” to create a climate in which the participating projects give each other a productive push and set a rapid pace.

At the moment, ideas for new bets are published on the challenge platform. Start-ups can select bets to which they can contribute. Team member are selected by the project leader, the “bet captain”. The goal is to build cross-industry teams working jointly on new challenges. Project members should introduce their own specialized knowledge to the project and not just provide already existing solutions.

Several start-ups were already involved in bets of the first and second challenge edition. Proxeus for example teamed up with IBM Switzerland, Swisscom, the Canton of Zug and other partners. The project proved that the entire process for registering a Swiss startup in the commercial register can be completed in a fraction of the previous time required. This speed record-setting achievement is a Swiss - and likely world’s - first, and was done by means of combining a digital workflow and Hyperledger Blockchain with the existing IT systems of the bank and the commercial registry.

The Bets organize the financing of their project themselves. They are supported by digitalswitzerland in terms of content and by the network of digitalswitzerland. Start-ups can benefit not only from the project itself but also from strengthening the network to other important players in their field of expertise.

The registration phase runs to 15 February 2019. After that date the most promising Bets are selected and digitalswitzerland starts connecting the dots to set up strong teams and build support for the final shortlisted Bets. The selected Bets with the strongest team and support will get invited on stage on 15 April 2019 for the official launch of the digitalswitzerland Innovation Challenge 2019.