DigitalHealth.London Launches Inaugural Leap Programme: Championing Diversity in Digital Health
Despite the anticipated growth of the European digital health industry, valued at £38.1 billion in 2023, founders still face significant challenges in accessing funding.
In the UK, 80% of Venture Capitalist (VC) funding for AI has gone to all-male teams over the last decade, and less than 2% of VC start-up funding is allocated towards companies with founders who identify as being from an ethnic minority. For businesses founded by neurodiverse or disabled individuals, the outlook is even more concerning—a report from the Disability Policy Centre think tank estimates their ventures are 400 times less likely to succeed than their counterparts.
As the number of remarkable innovations from diverse founders continues to grow, addressing these disparities is crucial for fostering a more inclusive digital health ecosystem. Enter the inaugural DigitalHealth.London Leap programme —a pioneering initiative dedicated to championing inclusivity and providing tailored support to founders from diverse backgrounds in the digital health innovation space. Participants will benefit from coaching, peer support, mentoring, learning, networking and potential investment/funding support where appropriate.
In line with UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) guidelines, the definition of diverse backgrounds includes individuals who identify as being from Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic communities, the global majority, female, neurodiverse, and/or disabled. The DigitalHealth.London Leap programme is part of the Digital Health.London Business Support for London Project which has received £1,379,257.04 from the UK Government through UKSPF, underscoring a commitment to fueling innovation, inclusivity, and diversity within health and social care.
Sara Nelson, Programme Director of DigitalHealth.London, said: “Our Leap programme, designed specifically to support diverse founders, isn't just a programme; it's a commitment to change, through opportunities like coaching, mentoring, peer support, networking and targeting potential funding avenues, the DigitalHealth.London team is dedicated to supporting diverse founders in the digital health space. We are committed to embracing diversity, empowering innovators, and paving the way for a future in healthcare that's not just impactful but profoundly inclusive.”
Dr Mridula Pore, Co-Founder of Peppy and Member of the DigitalHealth.London Leap Programme Advisory Panel, said: “I'm delighted to see and support the launch of Leap, a new programme specifically dedicated to fostering inclusivity and providing tailored support to founders from diverse backgrounds in the digital health innovation space. Health innovation is a topic where diversity is not a nice to have. It is essential to meet the challenges arising from diverse needs and to devise equitable solutions.”
The DigitalHealth.London Leap programme will feature mentoring opportunities from a dedicated and diverse programme advisory panel consisting of subject matter experts in their respective fields, including Ronke Adejolu (Chief Clinical Information Officer at Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB and NHS South East Region), Aahuti Rai (Strategic Advisor in Healthcare Innovation at Four Points Consulting Ltd) and Barbara Domayne-Hayman (Entrepreneur-in-residence at The Francis Crick Institute).
Those selected to join the programme will engage in dynamic round table events and Action Learning Sets, cultivating a collaborative space for peer-to-peer support and knowledge exchange. Each founder will also benefit from personalised support through regular drop-in sessions with a dedicated digital health navigator.
Applications open on Monday 18 December 2023 and close at midnight on Sunday 14 January 2024.
For more information about the DigitalHealth.London Leap programme and to apply, please visit:
https://digitalhealth.london/programmes/leap
DigitalHealth.London Leap programme FAQs: