A special edition of our Impact Investor Challenge, the new program aims to accelerate early-stage healthcare solutions and stimulate impact investing in inclusive healthcare innovation.
On a mission to accelerate investment in impact startups driving social, health, and environmental change to make the world a better place, Spring Activator launches the first-ever Health Impact Investor Challenge presented by TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good, set to run from March to May of 2022. As a healthcare-focused edition of Spring’s regular Impact Investor Challenge programming, this challenge will emphasize measurable, beneficial impacts in healthcare alongside a financial return for investors while empowering early-stage startups in the industry across Canada.
As one of the world’s largest corporate impact funds, the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good is working to empower the boldest and brightest ideas by for-profit startups, including organizations that are transforming healthcare and enabling equitable access for Canadians. By collaborating with the Pollinator Fund, the Spring Activator Challenge will enable more startups to drive change and create better health outcomes for those in need.
“Spring is thrilled to work with the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good to support the growing investor community in the country. Our hopes are that the Challenge will provide a stepping stone towards funding innovative businesses as key contributors to the local economy.”
The program takes a cohort-based approach to education and training with two intersecting streams, one geared towards investors looking to make early-stage investments into healthcare solutions and one designed for healthcare-focused startups looking to fundraise.
Applications for the entrepreneur cohort close on January 28, 2022, while investor applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until the cohort is filled. The education and training is interspersed with a series of pitch events, which culminate in the angel cohort awarding one startup an investment of up to $100,000.
About the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good
The $100 million TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good is one of the world’s largest corporate impact funds, and will focus its investment on for-profit companies and founders committed to driving social innovation. The TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good is an extension of TELUS’ long-standing commitment to leveraging the power of technology to drive positive social and environmental outcomes for all Canadians by funding the development of solutions for transforming healthcare, caring for our planet, supporting responsible agriculture, and enabling inclusive communities.
"We are excited to support Spring Activator for its first-ever Health Impact Investor Challenge which will assist entrepreneurs and new businesses to truly be investment-ready so they may grow and flourish as the next generation of healthcare leaders across Canada.”
Why Healthcare Solutions?
Advancement in our healthcare ecosystem is critical to the well-being of our citizens, especially in the face of an aging population, the COVID-19 pandemic, chronic disease, inequitable access, and a host of other challenges. Solutions are found in a number of sub-sectors, including care delivery, diagnostics services, medical equipment and devices, digital health or technology, and mental health. Alongside the public sector, private industry is a crucial source of innovation, delivery, and scale. Ideas and businesses are being born every day, and they need the support of early-stage capital to validate and grow them.
