Santander X Global Challenge | Innovation in Healthcare is aimed at startups and scaleups from 11 countries that provide solutions for caring for patients, reducing costs and improving the efficiency of healthcare.

The six winning projects will receive prizes worth €120,000, access to the Santander X 100 global community and connect to Fintech Station, Banco Santander's open innovation area.

Applications will remain open until 11 July at Santander X.

Madrid, 27 May 2024.
Banco Santander and the Oxentia Foundation are launching the Santander X Global Challenge | Innovation in Healthcare¸ a global challenge for startups and scaleups from 11 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Mexico, Portugal, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom, USA and Uruguay) that provide innovative solutions for caring for patients, reducing costs and improving the efficiency of healthcare. Applications will remain open until 11 July at Santander X.

The solutions of the candidate companies should focus on three key areas:

1. Technology and automation: Innovations that support the effectiveness and advances of health professionals like operational function systems that save costs, resources and reduce medical errors, development of medical devices, wearables, the use of robotics and virtual reality for medical training and remote surgical procedures.
2. Operational efficiency: Innovative solutions that track and analyze the healthcare industry and can help governments, companies and other stakeholders make strategic and operational decisions. Businesses that improve hospital operations, electronic record management systems for more efficient documentation and management, data analysis to optimize resource allocation and personnel planning.
3. Patient care: Solutions focused on patient-centered care to offer you a comfortable and efficient experience from start to finish. Solutions that allow better patient care from home diagnosis and monitoring to virtual appointments, autonomous medication dispensary, simplified treatment plans, personalized medicine.

Rafael Hernández, Director of Santander Universities, emphasised that “it is key for the well-being and progress of people and societies that our health systems keep up with the technological revolutions that are already happening in many areas. By doing so, we bolster our support for entrepreneurship as a driver of change and provide visibility to a sector where innovation has the capacity for profound transformation".

To select the six winning projects, an expert jury made up of executives from Banco Santander - including members of the CIB area - and other internationally renowned organisations, will assess, select and announce the six winners, who will receive €120,000 in prizes: €30,000 for the three winning start-ups (€10,000 each) and €90,000 for the three best scale-ups (€30,000 each). They will also have access to Santander X 100, the exclusive global community with Santander X's most outstanding companies, and will be able to connect with Fintech Station, the bank's Open Innovation area.

Steve Cleverley, CEO of Oxentia Foundation, observed that “the need for innovation in healthcare is crucial for improving patient outcomes, reducing costs, and advancing medical research. At Oxentia Foundation, we strive to empower entrepreneurs to address global challenges and support societal well-being. Through our work, we can help identify and support innovations in this important industry that will pave the way for ground-breaking treatments & technologies, ultimately leading to better, wider and more inclusive healthcare access”.

Banco Santander rolls out several initiatives to help people and businesses enhance their future prospects. Through Santander X, we support entrepreneurial projects, startups, scaleups and SMEs to create opportunities, consolidate and grow. We offer them the training, advice and resources needed to move forward and scale up their business.

Santander and its support for education, employability, and entrepreneurship

Banco Santander is firmly committed to progress and inclusive sustainable growth. It boasts a long-standing and groundbreaking 27 years commitment to education, employability, and entrepreneurship, which sets it apart from the world's other financial institutions. The bank has allocated more than 2.3 billion euros and supported more than 1.5 million people and companies through agreements with more than 1,200 universities.  It has also been recognised as one of the companies that is doing the most to contribute to changing the world for the better, according to the list in the magazine Fortune "Change the World" 2023 (www.santander.com/universities).

The Oxentia Foundation and its commitment to innovation and global entrepreneurship

Oxentia Foundation was created to support Oxentia's goal of tackling global inequalities through innovation and entrepreneurial activities. Oxentia has organised international entrepreneurial innovation competitions and awards, and has also provided advice to entrepreneurs to help bring science and technology projects to market, which contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Oxentia grew out of Oxford University's technology transfer company, Oxford University Innovation, and aims to provide specialised innovation management services to public and private sector customers across the world. Its approach is based on the company's solid legacy, built on over 30 years of experience supporting academic innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in more than 70 countries.