During the SocialTech Startup Network Series, companies presented their solutions to the question of how people can remain fully independent for longer. The six-week long program concluded with a final where the participants competed for the main prize: an exclusive collaboration with the municipality of The Hague. The big winner is MedAssist.online. Through MedAssist.online a specialist or informal caregiver can watch live from a distance and give instructions for care actions.

Aftermovie SocialTech Startup Network Series 2022

Digital technologies

Residents are getting older and the pressure on healthcare is increasing. Innovative solutions are used to investigate how people can remain in their own home situation for longer in a fully-fledged manner. Remko Huigen, one of the founders of MedAssist.online: “We very much appreciate the confidence of the jury and look forward to entering into a pilot with a healthcare institution in The Hague, in collaboration with other parties. We expect that the elderly of the future will be more familiar with digital technologies and that we will be able to help more and more elderly people with MedAssist Live. This is necessary given the increasing demand for care.”

SocialTech Startup Network Series

The SocialTech Startup Network Series is an initiative of the municipality of The Hague, Yes!Delft and Innovation Quarter to stimulate innovations in the social domain. Alderman for Economy, Saskia Bruines is enthusiastic about using the power of entrepreneurs to tackle social problems: “Entrepreneurs can make an important contribution to these kinds of issues with their creativity and innovative power. This initiative is a good example of how this can work.” The program connects the best startups in the country with partners, potential clients and knowledge institutions. Through workshops, masterclasses and speed dates, they get the opportunity to discover the municipal social domain at an early stage. This creates better products that can be implemented earlier in healthcare.

Attendees

From the nine participants, the professional jury MedAssist.online e voted the most innovative and promising startup within SocialTech and the social domain of the Municipality of The Hague. The jury sees many opportunities in the innovation for helping those in need of care and also a solution for the increasing labor shortage in the healthcare sector. Startup Ziggy won the incentive prize with a wheelchair attachment. This innovative solution makes it possible for wheelchair pushers not to walk behind the wheelchair, but next to it. This ensures better contact with the person sitting in the wheelchair.