As technology, evolving consumer needs, and the pandemic landscape increase the pace of innovation across all sectors of the multitrillion-dollar wellness economy, the newly launched Wellness Innovation Initiative will put the spotlight on regional wellness innovation—with the 2021 focus on finding game-changing companies in the Middle East.

The nonprofit Global Wellness Institute (GWI), the leading research and educational resource for the global wellness industry, has launched a Wellness Innovation Initiative dedicated to identifying and supporting promising companies that sit at the intersection of wellness, innovation and technology.

The new Initiative takes a uniquely regional approach: Each year, it will focus on innovation in the host region of that year’s Global Wellness Summit (GWS) and will sponsor a regional competition prior to the conference, the Call for Wellness Innovation, judged by a global panel of wellness founders, experts and executives.

With the conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, from November 15–18, the Initiative’s focus for 2021 will be scouting the most game-changing wellness companies across the Middle East. The “Call for Wellness Innovation” competition opens on July 1, 2021.

Each year, the Initiative’s regional advisors will amplify the competition in their country, and after the judges have evaluated all the entries, there will be a Demo Day, showcasing the 10–20 most promising companies. Ultimately, the winners will gain global recognition, along with access to a network of experts for counsel in areas such as fundraising, branding and marketing, distribution, and supply chain. The winning company’s founder will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the Summit, where they’ll be interviewed on the Main Stage.

The Initiative is the brainchild of and chaired by Amir Alroy, founder of Israel’s Welltech Ventures, the first Israeli VC fund specializing in wellness-related technologies.

The Initiative is still welcoming advisors from the Middle East. If interested, contact Innovation@WelltechVentures.com

“This is the very first time that the Global Wellness Summit will take place in the Middle East, and I’m excited that Tel Aviv, Israel, famed ‘Start-up Nation,’ will play host,” said Alroy. “Through this dynamic competition, we’ll find the most disruptive and creative Middle Eastern companies in wellness and technology, and we’ll put the winners on a global stage.”

Alroy is joined by Vice Chair Alexia Brue, co-founder of Well+Good, leading American wellness media company, and Initiative advisors from Pepsico’s innovation team, Technogym’s leadership team, and UAE-based RAI Digital.

“Technology and other forms of innovation are transforming the wellness economy as never before, and we’re excited to launch an Initiative that has a more focused regional lens, allowing us to shine a spotlight on wellness innovation in a different global region every year,” said Nancy Davis, chief creative officer of the GWI and GWS. “This will help foster economic growth in the regions where our Summits take place—and both the GWI and GWS are uniquely capable of giving these companies a global audience.”

The GWI now supports 31 industry Initiatives that focus on developing projects, research and trend forecasts that impact wellness in a particular market segment or region of the world—all available free of charge.