Ecosystem Actors

Health-Trends was launched in 2016 with the ambition of tracking global trends in digital health and reflecting them against the backdrop of the market-specific characteristics of the Swiss healthcare system. Our motivation is to create more transparency about various trends and developments in the Swiss healthcare market and, in particular, to provide positive impetus for the development of startups and entrepreneurship in the healthcare sector. We run our activities as a hobby besides our professional engagement and provide most of the information for free. Health-Trends is not founded.

Our expertise is the conception and implementation of high-quality conferences and other event formats.

In a fast-moving society in which technological and economic change processes have become commonplace, we set ourselves the goal of creating “islands of attention” with our range of conferences.

Through innovative programs, we offer unique knowledge and networking platforms to the participants of our conferences. In this way, we want to stimulate the generation of ideas and offer orientation to decision-makers from the Swiss work and financial center.

As Finanz und Wirtschaft Forum, we stand for quality, reliability, commitment, flexibility and personal customer service.

Lauren Wildbolz is the founder of Future Cuisine and is dedicated to creating delicious, healthy, and sustainable food solutions. She works with food and food-tech companies globally, leveraging her expertise in plant-based nutrition and collaborating with scientists and startups to provide people with safe, affordable, and high-quality food.

Swiss Food Research, is the largest, independent and self-supporting network with more than 200 members for the promotion of agro-food innovation. For knowledge transfer and as a bridge builder between research and implementation, we offer consulting for Future Food Trends, Resilient Process Design, Innovation Strategy and Funding Strategy. In so-called innovation groups on the most urgent fields of action in the industry, e.g. alternative proteins, digitalization, mushroom systems and many more, Swiss Food Research offers the exchange of the latest research results and their implementation at the most diverse points of the system. We enable a holistic view and linking of important actors towards a sustainable food system.

Soil to Soul is an international movement that was born in 2021 in Switzerland and Portugal. Topics include soil conservation, regenerative agriculture and the context of a responsible, healthy and enjoyable diet. Soil to Soul develops initiatives, publishes and informs, organizes and networks. The highlight is the annual conference and public event in September in Zurich.

The Swiss InsurTech Hub is a non-profit association with the mission to build and grow the leading InsurTech Hub in Switzerland.

We create, nurture and foster an open, inclusive and collaborative ecosystem for InsurTech in Switzerland, creating a measurable impact for incumbents, start-ups, investors and public bodies.

We enable and foment the dialogue and exchange of the diverse participants of the ecosystem, including innovators, experts, partners, academics and diverse technologies, from Switzerland and around the world.

We drive thought leadership, innovation and transformation.

The Cleantech Hub Dietikon Limmattal is a regional business network of companies, educational and research institutions and the public sector. The aim is to promote innovation and cooperation (Open Innovation) in the areas of cleantech, digitization and sustainability.

Digital Health Nation is an NTN Innovation Booster powered by Innosuisse. We aim at transforming and improving the Swiss healthcare system, but more importantly, patients’ lives.

We help you with all the important aspects for the successful implementation of ideas right from the start: customer needs, feasibility and profitability.

With benefits such as personalised coaching, funding, visibility and access to our network you will be supported to transform your idea into a minimum viable product (MVP).

elleXX is a finance and media platform and aims to reduce financial inequality between women and men. With an inspiring and holistic platform, elleXX aims to empower women to master their finances and close financial gaps.

elleXX offers its users content and products tailored to women. This includes sustainable, women-friendly and simple financial solutions and future-proof digital applications. elleXX has already built the largest female community for finance in Switzerland in just five months.

The Swiss Green Fintech Network is a multi-stakeholder association dedicated to nurturing the green digital finance ecosystem in Switzerland. Guided by its ambition to position Switzerland as a global leader in green digital finance by 2030, the Network is devoted to facilitating optimal conditions for green fintechs and fostering innovative, sustainable solutions.

Switzerland’s leading digital finance (fintech, insurtech, crypto assets) conference and information platform.

As an independent knowledge hub, AGRIDEA has been proactively committed to sustainable, down-to-earth solutions in the Swiss agricultural and food sector since 1958. The association, with about 120 employees in Lindau, Lausanne and Cadenazzo, networks a wide range of actors through its agronomic methodological competencies and implements projects, courses, publications and software in strong partnerships.

As the Zurich health region, we contribute to everyone’s health: From prevention to necessary treatments, care and therapy through to palliative care.

Lifefair brings together decision-makers, implementers and innovators from business, politics, science and NGOs. Through critical-constructive dialog, we jointly advance sustainability: economically, socially, ecologically. Since 2011, Lifefair has stood for business and sustainability.

With 14,000 participants at Lifefair Forums and the Swiss Green Economy Symposium, Lifefair has become the most comprehensive dialogue and innovation platform for business and sustainability.

Around 1600 speakers share their expertise on topics including the world of work, digitization, energy, health, real estate, investing, climate, mobility, food, resources, smart city and tourism.

The Green Digital Finance Alliance (GDFA) is a catalyst and co-creator of global thought leadership, policy action, and innovation programs focused on market-led experimentation and development of next-generation green digital finance. A Swiss-based not-for-profit, GDFA was launched at the WEF in 2017 by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and Ant Financial. The GDFA team collaborates with a global ecosystem of experts and changemakers focused on redirecting financial flows to green assets and green digital finance innovations.

The Global Cyber Conference is a leading international event on cyber security, bringing together high-level stakeholders, decision-makers, authorities and academics from around the world. It provides a networking and learning platform for key decision makers to gain a shared understanding of what needs to be done to strengthen cyber resilience.

We help healthtech founders to build their company faster and more successfully. We do this with operational support in regulatory affairs, go-to-market, product development and other areas, and also with fundraising support.

We are an independent association of Swiss financial institutions committed to collaboration and digital innovation in the financial services industry.

Swiss Healthcare Startups is a non-profit organization that supports innovative startups that want to add value to the Swiss healthcare system. We support the startups by providing them with a meaningful platform and facilitating access to relevant stakeholders. As a neutral platform, we promote dialog, networking and exchange within our ecosystem.

The Life Science Zurich Business Network is an independent association with representatives from industry, academia, research, clinical and public sectors in the Zurich area. It advises and supports those who work at the interface between science and industry.
The Life Science Zurich Business Network is closely linked to Life Science Zurich (LSZ). LSZ is a joint venture initiated by the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich to promote Zurich as an international center for cutting-edge research, first-class education and economic innovation.

We make entrepreneurs!
genisuisse Zurich-Eastern Switzerland is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the the promotion of entrepreneurship in the Zurich-Eastern Switzerland region.
With our free, three-year coaching programme, we support ambitious founders with central questions about the startup world.
We have already coached over 80 start-ups and integrated them into our attractive genisuisse network.
If you are also interested in genisuisse coaching, we look forward to receiving your application via our homepage.

Blackbeard is a Zurich-based Venture Studio that propels entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs forward by turning groundbreaking ideas into scalable businesses. With a focus on collaboration and innovation, we provide the expertise, network, and resources necessary for testing, refining, and launching ventures in the digital age. Join Blackbeard in navigating the uncharted waters of entrepreneurship, where your vision becomes our shared adventure.

Keynotes, lectures, publications, consulting and leadership coaching in the context of digital transformation, platform business models and ecosystems.

Administrative units and bodies of the Canton of Zurich make data that is not required to be protected available in a machine-readable form and free of charge as open government data. Anyone and everyone can access them, share them and use them freely.

GreenBuzz Zurich is a non-profit organisation founded in 2010 with a focus on sustainable business. We have a very diverse, cross-sector, 3,500-strong network of business changemakers who drive sustainability in and with their organisations. We organise 20-30 networking and knowledge transfer events per year on the most relevant sustainability topics.

Axelra is a Zurich based Tech Venture Builder accelerating digital business models for corporates and startups with skin in the game. We are co-creating and shipping revenue-generating MVPs after 100 days since 2019. Our Services cover Product, Management Support, and Growth.

The CLAIRE initiative aims to strengthen European excellence in research and innovation. The network forms a pan-European alliance of artificial intelligence research laboratories in Europe.
Its members from research groups and institutions are working together to achieve CLAIRE’s vision: European excellence in all areas of AI, for all of Europe, with a human-centered focus.

Since 1989, the IFJ Institut für Jungunternehmen has accompanied 200,000 company founders on their way to independence. As a pioneer and industry leader, IFJ offers Switzerland’s most widely used digital services for incorporations, changes in the commercial register and trademark protection. Tools for developing your business plan, for accounting and administration as well as the fiduciary service make entrepreneurial work easier. The free webinars, courses and lecture events with active networking as well as checklists, legal support and comprehensive advice accompany founders before, during and after setting up a company.

The SWISS ENGINEERS International Association ( ISE STV) is the leading international association for engineers and architects in Switzerland. A total of approx. 900 members have been successfully attracted to ISE STV since its establishment in 2017. Its goal is to foster the exchange between members and to provide a discussion platform for topics related to international engineering, all by being a beacon of positive force nationally and internationally.

Membership in our association is open to all entrepreneurs, executives and employees of companies in all areas of the technology and engineering business in Switzerland and abroad. ISE STV serves as a bridge between local Swiss engineers, Swiss engineers working abroad and foreign engineers working in Switzerland. We join forces in local and international networks across linguistic and cultural boundaries, improve the exchange of knowledge and are a globally recognized Swiss engineering business association.

The added value for ISE STV members:

1. Access to the network of engineers and architects organized in ISE STV and external third parties
2. Free or discounted training, conferences and debates on international topics and national topics that have either an international impact or are relevant to our foreign engineers
3. Offers and discounts presented by companies or/ and organizations to ISE STV
4. Possibility to become active and a positive force in the ISE STV board, if desired
5. ISE STV representation in international and local events, when board members are not available
6. Possibility to work in projects and regional groups, when formed or requested
7. If desired, being in a talent pool for companies and/or projects looking for resources
8. Collaboration within association Swiss Engineering STV and its sections, professional groups and regions in line with international topics
9. Access to related engineering networks

The Venture Leaders – the members of the Swiss National Startup Team – have a clear-cut goal. They envision themselves as global players and want to take the first step to their global expansion. The investor and business development roadshows for Swiss startups are specifically structured to help them achieve this goal. For the past 15 years, the Swiss National Startup Team travelled to Boston to discover the exciting entrepreneurial scene of the United States of America. In 2014, we extended the Venture Leaders roadshow to China and New York and then added Silicon Valley in 2017 and Barcelona in 2019.

Only the 10 most promising Swiss startups per vertical will have the unique chance to join the Swiss National Startup Team every year and experience the intense international roadshow. It is a unique and exclusive opportunity to meet top international investors and industry leaders to build an exceptional business network. By interacting with peers and discussing their experience, the founders will benefit from a group learning environment. The entrepreneurs will share their challenges, develop ideas and motivate one another, and return to Switzerland with a new outlook and drive to succeed.

Go international! Join the Venture Leaders and travel to:

• Barcelona, Spain
• Boston, USA
• Munich, Germany
• London, UK
• Hong Kong
• China
• Silicon Valley, USA

As a member of the SWISS NATIONAL STARTUP TEAM

• Present your startup to international experts and pitch to selected startup investors
• Knowledge workshops with experts in business development, IP, corporate affairs etc.
• Advanced entrepreneurship training
• Hands on execution workshops focusing on developing your startup
• Group feedback sessions
• Multiple networking events with the local entrepreneurs’ scene
• Flexibility for personal business development activities during the whole stay

The startup.ch Zurich platform offers startup and investor profiles, news, investments and resources to help you discover investment opportunities. Your radar for Swiss startups to discover rising stars, track funding activities and innovation trends in Zurich and beyond.

We network SMEs. True to this motto, the Swiss Venture Club has been offering members, partners, and sponsors in all eight economic regions of Switzerland the opportunity to exchange ideas for many years. The SVC places itself at the service of small and medium-sized enterprises and today, with over 3,200 members from all industries and regions, offers one of the largest and most important networks for entrepreneurs in Switzerland. In the Zurich region, we hold the Prix SVC Wirtschaftsraum Zürich every two years.

The aim of the Digitization Initiative (DIZH) is to promote cooperation between Zurich’s universities in the field of digitization and thus strengthen Zurich as a location for research and business. The University of Zurich (UZH), the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and the Zurich University of Teacher Education (PHZH) are systematically networking in DIZH to specifically drive research and innovation in topics related to digitization using interdisciplinary approaches.

The Professional in Residence program (PiR) offers experienced professionals the opportunity to gain practical and positive experience in the world of startups and to contribute their expertise and project experience.

The program begins with an intensive course, which can be attended either compactly over four weeks or part-time over three months. Participants will be introduced to the latest innovation techniques, agile project management methods, and startup tools and apps.

After completing the course, the newly accredited “Professionals in Residence” have the opportunity to apply for one or more mandates at startups via the PiR matching platform, where they can fully immerse themselves in the culture and gain a very practical understanding of startups and their agile working methods.

The Entrepreneur Club Winterthur is the driver of Winterthur’s innovation ecosystem. We have our roots at the ZHAW. Today, we are a group of students, start-up founders and many others. What we have in common: We volunteer and are passionate about the innovation ecosystem and the jobs of the future in Winterthur.