Announcing the timeline, Zurich said: “Ten (10) members of Zurich’s global leadership team will select two to three winning initiatives per category by the end of April. In the subsequent accelerator phase, spanning four months from the end of May to the end of September, project funding of up to $100,000 will be provided to each of the winning startups, along with mentoring from Zurich leaders and external experts.
“This will enable the startups, working closely with Zurich’s leaders and businesses, to validate how their joint solution can meet changing customer needs and prepare an operational business plan for adoption across the group. By the end of December 2023, the proven initiatives will have kicked off, bringing the joint proposal to life.”
Currently working with 30 startups from previous years, Zurich will accept 2023 submissions until February 27. Over the past three editions, there have been more than 4,500 submissions, involving more than 30 countries.
“Previous championships have shown that the most value comes from start-ups with ideas to disrupt some parts of the value chain, or enablers, rather than challengers looking to disrupt the entire industry,” said Paolo Mantero, group’s chief strategy officer.
“Our goal is to work together and bring together the best of what we and the startups have to offer. This is where innovation can make a real difference.”
For Ericson Chan, group chief information and digital officer, the competition fosters a new way of thinking.
“[It] allow us to access ideas and solutions that we might not have ourselves yet,” said Chan. “For the participants, this is an opportunity to grow their business and offer technology-driven solutions that can help meet emerging and evolving customer needs.”
Further details on competition structure, intellectual property, terms and conditions, etc., can be found here.
