Founded in Luxembourg with the support of the European Europe4StartUps programme, Ignilife chose to open its offices in Nice in 2014 to take advantage of the optimal environment within the Espace Paillon for the development of its e-health business. The young company has now launched a crowdfunding campaign on Wellfundr.
Céline Jacquet, Head of Health at Team Cote d’Azur, asked Fabrice Pakin, CEO of Ignilife, to answer these questions.
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Can you tell us about IGNILIFE?
Ignilife is a start-up which has positioned itself around the innovation in the field of e-health. Our first product is a web and mobile application dedicated to prevention and well-being. We started with a simple observation. Chronic diseases account for almost 75% of health expenditure. At the same time, nearly 80% of these pathologies can be prevented through a healthy lifestyle and early detection of risk factors. One of the ways in which to relieve a struggling health system is to provide access to low-cost personalised prevention. This is what our platform offers.
The Ignilife experience is fun, social, engaging and gratifying so that it facilitates our objective to generate healthier lifestyles. It is also holistic, since we are proposing action on health, physical activity, nutrition and emotional health.
We market the platform to complementary healthcare services or companies seeking innovation and wanting to create a differentiating service offer. Our leading client is a major Swiss insurer with whom we have signed a contract for a 50,000-user pilot and deployment in the form of licences to all their members in four languages. Our business model is therefore validated and we are in the process of negotiating agreements with clients in France.
What differentiates your offer on the market?
I would quote four key elements:
- The proprietary programmes and content based solely on scientific evidence and developed by an association of doctors and specialists;
- The proprietary algorithms that enable genuine personalisation of the content depending on the user’s profile, desires or background;
- The integration of a health record making it possible to develop the platform towards secondary and tertiary prevention;
- Easy integration with our clients’ systems with inexpensive scalability
How did you arrive on the Cote d’Azur?
We were looking for somewhere to establish our R&D and development teams and we were unable to decide between Lyon, Geneva and Nice. Team Cote d’Azur was able to convince us with a total, attractive and effective support proposal. The package was comprehensive.
Firstly, the proposal to set up our offices in the new Le Paillon building dedicated to health innovation. Based at the centre of a health ecosystem with the Pasteur 2 hospital and the faculty of medicine, the Le Paillon gives Ignilife great visibility. Secondly, practical support for our initiatives from the Nice Cote d’Azur Economic Department, enhancing our work in the region and offering a very business-friendly approach. Finally, incubation within the business incubator has enabled us to take advantage of valuable expertise and a dense network.
Why this crowdfunding campaign on WellFundr?
This campaign is a commitment to get closer to our users, those for whom we have worked for two years in order to offer them a new, user-friendly health experience. This is one way for us to work on our reputation but also to demonstrate public interest in prevention and e-coaching. The health professionals with whom we work constantly express their frustration at not being able to support their patients more. Their work remains curative but they know that a healthy lifestyle is essential. The individual himself is first person to be affected by health and he needs to be guided and motivated to adopt the right habits on a daily basis. This campaign is a way to disclose our philosophy and benefit from the support of our users.
For more information: [>] Ignilife.com [>] The Ignilife App on Play Store.
