Salem Al Mannai, Group CEO of QIC Group
Doha: InsurHack MENA, the first InsurTech Hackathon in the region organised by Qatar Insurance Group (QIC Group), together with Deloitte, Google Cloud and QIC Digital Venture Partner (QIC DVP), the venture builder arm of QIC Group has gathered 137 participants from 33 countries in its one-month application phase that closed Friday. As many as 50 selected teams, mainly at seed stage but also at series A stage, start competing today in the two-day virtual hackathon.
The need for a hackathon to find insurance solutions in big tech analytics, AI/ML, behavioural economics and conversational AI has now and then been stressed by Salem Al Mannai, Group CEO of QIC Group.
“QIC Group and our partners with utmost zeal and a commitment to unlocking better customer experiences came together to organise the first InsurTech Hackathon in the region. We are committed to finding and supporting innovative insurance solutions and value propositions in the mobility and health insurance verticals. From AI Engine revolutionising healthcare to MC driver security, great quality startups are part of InsurHack,” Al Mannai said.
“We were pleased by the huge turnout among applicants validating the growing interest in HealthTech, Mobility tech and InsurTech topics in the region. I extend my best wishes to all participants,” he added.
Deliverables will be judged on the quality of the problem statement fit, the level of innovation, the solution feasibility in the Mena region, the co-building and investment potentials, and the team composition. The judging panel is composed of industry experts, technologists, Mena experts, entrepreneurs and executives from QIC, Deloitte, Google Cloud, Anthemis, Prifina among other organisations.
Following this two-day event, taking place virtually to give flexibility for the participants who are predominantly from Mena but also Europe, Southeast Asia and America, 15 participants will be shortlisted out of 50 and will proceed to a one-week mentorship phase. The final six “best” teams selected, will be invited to a demo day in Doha on June 23, during the InsurTech Summit in Doha.
The Top 3 solutions selected by the judges will be rewarded with an opportunity to co-build a solution in the Mena region with the support of regional market leaders such as QIC, Deloitte, Google Cloud and other key market players, and will secure a potential investment opportunity by QIC. The winner will also have the opportunity to attend the world’s leading InsurTech conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, with an exclusive pitch and investment opportunity to Anthemis, the world’s leading InsurTech Venture Capital.
The Hackathon is also organised in partnership with Anthemis - the world’s leading InsurTech Venture Capital, Prifina - a leading personal data platform in Silicon Valley and Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), the go-to commercial hub between East & West, and Plug and Play Middle East, the leading innovation platform in the Middle East.
It’s worth mentioning that last April, as part of its digital strategy QIC Group, announced the creation of Digital Venture Partners (QIC DVP) – a business unit that is quickly becoming the ecosystem orchestrator for InsurTech and the go-to-digital insurance partner in the Mena region. With InsurHack, QIC DVP aims to reshape the digital insurance landscape by building new digital ventures and strategically investing in high potential early-stage startups.
