The Healthcare Education, Research and Innovation Foundation and MATTER Launch Innovation Challenge to Advance Health Equity Solutions
Summary
Up to five finalists from the candidate pool will be selected and one winning solution will receive a $10,000 cash award.Healthcare remains one of the fastest-growing sectors, attracting college students and young professionals to pursue careers across the industry. Recent data spanning 2020-2021 shows health professions and related programs ranked among the top degrees conferred across postsecondary institutions in the United States.1 Despite this growth, a 2022 study conducted by McKinsey & Company found Black and Latino founders secured only 2.5 percent of US venture capital (VC) funding, while women-founded teams received just 1.9 percent. “The Future Health Tech Leaders Innovation Challenge supports them on their journeys to build businesses that will improve health and healthcare, and we’re thrilled to collaborate with HERIF on this effort.”For more information and to apply, please visit the challenge page Sources: NCES Annual Reports and Information Staff (Annual Reports) ,” National Center for Education Statistics, 2023. Underrepresented startup founders: The untapped opportunity ,” McKinsey & Company, 2023.About Healthcare Education, Research and Innovation Foundation (HERIF) The Healthcare Education, Research, and Innovation Foundation develops and supports high-impact programs that seek to transform person-centered care for individuals, families, and communities. The MATTER collaborative includes more than 1,000 current and alumni startups from around the world, working together with dozens of hospitals and health systems, universities and industry-leading companies to build the future of healthcare.