On a growth course

Dear reader

The Swiss start-up scene is not only developing dynamically, but self-confidence is also growing. A good indicator of this is Startup Invest’s Startup DAYs. The event, which will take place on 25 and 26 September in Bern, offers space for even more participants and 1:1 meetings at the new venue. The occasion has also been opened up to foreign countries, and Swiss start-ups can compete with young companies from home and abroad in the CHF 100,000 pitching competition. Registration for the competition is open until the end of August and Early Bird tickets are also available until then.

Self-confidence also emanates from hystrix medical: the company will soon launch a digital B2B marketplace for medical devices, implants and services, and the experienced team is already planning to expand abroad in 2019.

A new continent has been targeted by Proton Technologies: the Geneva start-up wants to conquer Africa with its VPN services and has now installed the first servers in South Africa.

And in the home market, the crowdlending platform LEND is growing too. July and August saw a significant increase, thanks to a TV spot and a new range of SME loans. Currently, LEND handles 790 contracts with a volume of about CHF 25 million.

Expansion plans are also in the pipeline for eCarUp, the ‘AirBnB for electric charging stations’. With a loan guarantee from the Technology Fund, it aims to further increase the number of charging station owners using the start-up’s technology and platform to make their e-petrol station available to other drivers.

Medtech start-up Aspivix has also secured new investment: with a fresh CHF 1.8 million, the company intends to continue the development and clinical trials of its novel gynaecological device.

Although Swiss start-ups continue to invest in innovation, there are increasing signs of a slowdown in innovation throughout the Swiss economy, as shown by a new study. We talked to co-author Peter Seitz about this disturbing trend and what makes Singapore better than Switzerland.

In light of these results, the second Digital Day planned for October gains in importance even more. Compared with the first event, visitors will be able to experience more digitalisation and more dialogue on a variety of topics.

Start-ups should not miss the tender for the first Swiss Pavilion at the Consumer Technology Fair CES in Las Vegas. Registration is open until 31 August.

Next week you can meet me at Talk Plus in Technopark Luzern; the event will focus on female start-up founders.

Have a refreshing weekend.
Stefan Kyora

Editor in Chief, Startupticker.ch