Geneva Foundation for Technology Innovation

Acronym: FONGIT

Established: 1991

Address: Route de la Galaise 34, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland

Stakeholder group: Business

Created in 1991, Fongit serves as an innovation hub dedicated to supporting innovative tech ventures in the Geneva region. The Foundation empowers innovative companies to successfully transform technology through innovation into a growing sustainable business, delivering economic and social value. Fongit is supported by the State of Geneva.

Contents

Digital activities

Fongit’s mission is to transform technological innovation into social and economic value. In doing so, the Foundation assists innovative companies in the digital economy, by providing them with access to offices and labs; administrative, governance, and legal support; and access to financing.

Digital policy issues

Digital economy

Through its activities dedicated to supporting innovative tech start-ups, Fongit contributes to the growth of the digital economy. Over the years, entrepreneurs supported by the Foundation have developed companies in areas such as information and communications technology (ICT), engineering, and life sciences.

Fongit’s Incubator Program assists start-ups in transforming ideas and technologies into viable products, by helping them prepare to fundraise and facilitating connections with angel investors, institutional funds, and corporate venture capitalists. After the three-year incubation period, start-ups tend to remain engaged with the ecosystem, sharing their experiences, insights, and best practices. The programme accepts applications from all over the globe.

The Foundation also offers financing tools – through the Fongit Innovation Fund (FIF)– to support innovation processes within Geneva-based universities, research institutes, and technology companies. The Fund is supported by the Republic and Canton of Geneva, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of Geneva, the International Trade Centre (ITC), and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

Sustainable development

All Fongit-supported startups are required to ensure that they directly or indirectly contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) through their work. Fongit works closely with UNEP and ITC to identify the contribution by its startups towards the SDGs.

Interdisciplinary approaches

Fongit, as an innovation leader, recognised the increasing integration of seemingly unrelated technologies, prompting a move towards tech convergence. This trend is notably advanced in the life sciences domain, where addressing medical challenges involves multidisciplinary interactions across technologies like ICT, hardware, physics, and medical expertise. The acceleration in Geneva’s innovation landscape occurred when life sciences projects from the Eclosion Foundation were integrated into Fongit. The positive outcomes include enhanced collaboration among entrepreneurs, facilitated by communal spaces, leading to the exchange of ideas benefitting various sectors. This tech convergence has driven further innovation at Fongit’s headquarters, with anticipation of future developments in their startup ecosystem.