Unitus Seed Fund launches StartHealth Competition for India health-tech startups

BENGALURU: Impact investor Unitus Seed Fund announced StartHealth Competition, a nationwide challenge to identify promising early-stage health-tech startups focused on serving the underserved.

The winner will receive cash prize of Rs 10 lakh and get an opportunity to pitch for a direct entry to the StartHealth program which includes receiving up to Rs 50 lakhs of non-dilutive fund, support from StartHealth program partners Unitus, PATH, Pfizer, Manipal Hospitals and Narayana Health, and a potential seed investment of Rs 1 crore.

The competition calls for ideas across medical devices, diagnostics and therapeutics, mobile monitoring, online marketplaces, app-based services and enterprise management and healthcare service delivery, starting today. The deadline is June 17 of this year from which a pool of ten finalists will be selected to pitch to a jury on June 23. Winners will be announced on June 24, 2015.

“Technology innovation is a key factor to making better healthcare services accessible and affordable for the masses in India,” said Dave Richards, managing partner, Unitus Seed Fund in a statement shared exclusively with ET. “This competition is intended to help strengthen dozens of promising health-tech startups and to shine a spotlight on some of the best.”