Swiss startups transforming healthcare and societies on the winners’ podium

Three startups that are tackling global societal and environmental challenges have been recognised in this year’s IC Award, organized by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation to recognise and celebrate Swiss organisations, SMEs, and start-ups that excel in the field of international cooperation. Zurich-based MPower Ventures AG is one of such companies and has been awarded first place. The startup brings solar energy to off-grid communities, powering public services and local businesses. The jury valued their innovative approach strengthening both public services and private businesses, and the creation of local job opportunities.
The second place went to Adaire, a born-global company dedicated to educating Africa’s next tech leaders with an innovative financing model. The jury praised the scalability and the alignment of business success with student outcomes. Cotierra, which aims to reduce CO₂ emissions in coffee production while boosting smallholder farmers' incomes, scored third place. The jury loved that the project aims to tackle both climate change and poverty at the same time, the strong tech and promising multi-stream business model.

Alivion awarded at World Mobile Congress
The annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is currently in full swing and Swiss startups are already making headlines. Alivion won the Tech&Planet Award 2025 presented by the Madrid Business School EAE, standing out among 54 startups from four continents. The startup develops Nutrion, a precise breath analyzer to measure the current status of fat burning. With a simple breath, the device analyses specific biomarkers in the breath and provides accurate metabolic data within two minutes. The science-based solution was specifically designed to help people better understand and optimize their fat-burning.

Tech Tour Growth Award Winners - Onward Medical & Ecorobotix
Two startups have made it to this year’s winner's podium of the Tech Tour Growth Award, which showcases Europe’s most ambitious and transformative growth-stage tech companies. Selected from the Tech Tour Growth 50 Europe List, the companies are redefining the future across Digital, Health, and Sustainability. ONWARD Medical won the award category Health. The Swiss-Netherland-based company is revolutionizing mobility for people with spinal cord injuries through ARC Therapy. The company has already obtained 10 FDA Breakthrough Device Designations and a presence on Euronext Paris, Brussels & Amsterdam. Ecorobotix was one of the two winners of the category Sustainability. The Agri-tech scaleup is transforming agriculture with AI-powered ultra-precise spraying, reducing chemical usage and cutting CO₂ footprints in farming.

(RAN)