DigitalWell Arena's investment in innovation support in the corona crisis has attracted almost 30 companies and entrepreneurs. "We are impressed by the power of innovation and the will to develop under the new conditions," says Lina Svensberg.
It was at the end of March that DigitalWell Arena went out with a targeted offer for innovation that can support society due to the corona crisis. Two million kroner was highlighted to help companies and entrepreneurs who have ideas, products and services that can solve the challenges that have been made clear. Support can also be given if you have a product or service that can be adapted and given a new area of use.
Now, barely two months later, 29 companies and entrepreneurs have turned to DigitalWell's Innovation Support.
Broad spectrum
The list of digital - and socially useful - services and products that have been received is long. It is about homework help for home studies, everyday exercise, suicide prevention and tools to identify the risk of ill-health both at school and at workplaces to give a few examples.
- Those who have received greater support have a direct connection to the corona crisis. The changed circumstances may have changed their market, and created new opportunities, and we support them to adjust and scale up. The most common is that the corona crisis has made clear a need that will remain in society even when the crisis is over, says Lina Svensberg, responsible for commercialization and entrepreneurship in DigitalWell Arena.
A majority of the proposals received have been approved with some form of support. In cases where it was not a matter of a concrete support service through Innovationssupporten, applicants were forwarded to other parties, for example Almi, for more general business advice.
Accelerating digitization
Many point to the corona crisis as a catalyst for digitalisation. Within SKR, Sweden's Municipalities and Regions, for example, interest in digital care services has increased sharply during the corona crisis.
- In a few weeks, the use of the regions' digital healthcare services has increased by up to a thousand percent and the number of connected businesses has doubled, says Patrik Sundström, program manager for e-health at Sweden's Municipalities and Regions, SKR.
In the same way, Lina Svensberg also believes that the power of innovation has gained momentum. The acceleration of digital development has also affected the content of Innovation Support.
- The entrepreneurs almost always have a clear idea of what they want, often it is about help with development of beta version, or further development of beta version or finished product. But when we dig a little deeper in the company, we often find other areas where they need support, which they themselves may not have always been aware of, but which are a prerequisite for success in scaling up, says Lina Svensberg.
Creates two new services
The last two services are examples of such services, which have been developed together with experts in the network, based on the needs of the entrepreneurs.
One is the "investor readiness assessment" in collaboration with Xplorico, which is aimed at companies that have already developed a beta version and need to review how to attract new capital to scale up. The second concerns legal support in establishing agreements between the innovator and the developing company, as there is often ambiguity regarding the ownership of the intellectual property rights
- There are still funds left to apply.
Here you can read more about the type of support we can offer and which criteria you need to meet in order to receive support.
