Implementation counts

Dear reader 

The conditions for founders in Switzerland are generally good; however, some areas are in need of improvement. This has generally been known for a long time, but real change in the start-up environment requires staying power and a lot of work on the details. A good example is the recruitment of graduates from Swiss universities who come originally from third countries (outside the EU and EFTA). The National Council recently approved an amendment to the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act, and our article explains how this could make recruitment easier in practice by as early as next year.

Another well-known problem is the low proportion of female start-up founders, but in order to remedy this reliable figures are required. A new study now provides these figures for university spin-offs. The report found that women accounted for only 17% of the founded spin-offs in 2021, and relates this number to the proportion of female university members and female patent applicants. The study also contains specific suggestions for improvement.

Switzerland’s relationship with the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon Europe is also complicated. The current non-association with the programme spurred Innosuisse into launching the Swiss Accelerator. Not least due to this additional support for start-ups resulted in the Federal Council giving Innosuisse good marks for the past year.

However, companies are taking advantage of the opportunities that still exist. For example, Ticino photovoltaic start-up iWin is involved in two Horizon Europe projects that will help it to progress its innovative solar-powered window technology towards early customer adoption. This article is the first by Luca Calderara, who will report for us from Ticino in future.

This week we reported on nine investments. Most were seed rounds, which shows that money can still be found for this particularly risky phase. A later stage start-up, Distalmotion, also received funding: the surgical robot company announced the first closing of a USD 150 million round.

Next week you can meet me on Monday in Basel at the Swiss Biotech Day, where incidentally the recent winners of the Venture Leaders Biotech programme will be presented. On Thursday, I will be at the Startup Champions Seed Night at EPFL. The event season is in full swing, have a look at our calendar to learn more. 

I would also like to point out the deadline – 29 April – for the pitching battle at Startup Days in Bern. The application phase for the Boldbrain Accelerator programme has started, and the next deadline for the First Ventures programme is 1 May.

Have a good weekend.
Stefan Kyora

Editor in Chief, Startupticker.ch