Manulife and World Economic Forum Announce Winners in 'Prospering in Longevity Challenge' to Drive Health and Financial Resiliency 

Manulife gives half a million dollars in prize money to challenge winners to help accelerate their mission to enable people to live healthier, more prosperous lives 

BOSTON, Oct. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - Manulife today announced the winners of the Prospering in Longevity Challenge, through UpLink, the World Economic Forum's open innovation platform, and the Forum's Centre for Financial and Monetary Systems. Together, Manulife and the Forum have chosen ten winning global start-ups that have innovative approaches to preventative health care and strengthening financial wellness over longer lives. 

The winners of the Prospering in Longevity Challenge are: 

• Addition Wealth, a holistic financial wellness platform that partners with companies to offer customized financial wellness solutions 
• Boldin (formerly NewRetirement), a dynamic platform designed to revolutionize retirement planning by integrating technology with personalized financial advice 
• Conquest, a comprehensive financial planning tool designed to help advisers expand their practice and provide clients with robust financial advice 
• GetSetUp, an innovative educational platform tailored specifically for older adults, empowering them through live, interactive classes
• Givers, a startup supporting family caregivers by helping them access state programs that provide financial compensation, coaching and training 
• juli, a startup leveraging artificial intelligence to revolutionize chronic condition management 
• Smplicare, an AI-driven coaching platform focused on promoting healthy ageing 
• TELL, a pioneering health-tech company specializing in neurocognitive health assessment through innovative voice analysis technology
• Waterlily, a startup utilizing AI to revolutionize planning and insurance for long-term care 
• Zencey, a health-care startup leveraging AI and telemedicine to provide accessible and personalized care 

By 2050, the global population over 65 is expected to double to 1.6 billion¹, bringing significant health and wealth challenges for our planet. Manulife partnered with the World Economic Forum and UpLink on this challenge because of a shared sense of urgency to find accessible solutions to help people worldwide live longer, healthier, and better lives.  

Manulife President and CEO Roy Gori will share more details about the winners today at the Longer. Healthier. Better. Longevity Symposium in Boston, which was hosted for the first time in 2023. The winning startups will each receive C$50,000 in prize money alongside access to UpLink's Innovation Ecosystem. The ecosystem is a network of innovators, investors, experts, and partner organizations that can help them make a deeper impact. 

"The world urgently needs solutions to address the longevity crisis. People are living longer, but not necessarily healthier lives. Many people cannot fund these extra years within the existing social and financial system," said Sarah Chapman, Global Chief Sustainability Officer for Manulife. "The winners of this challenge are leveraging technology to create innovative solutions to these issues. Now more than ever, we need strategic collaboration like this to help people live longer, healthier, better lives." 

Earlier this year, the multi-year partnership between Manulife and UpLink was announced at the Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos and the Prospering in Longevity Challenge is the first of three innovation challenges designed to help shape the future of, and investment in, the longevity economy. New thematic focus areas will be picked for the next two challenges in 2025 and 2026. 

"Through the multi-year partnership with Manulife and the World Economic Forum's Longevity Economy Initiative, UpLink is accelerating longevity innovation to empower people from all backgrounds to lead healthier, more financially resilient and fulfilling lives," said John Dutton, Head of UpLink, World Economic Forum. "The first of three innovation challenges, Prospering in Longevity, attracted innovative solutions from around the world, with a focus on preventative healthcare and financial resilience across generations. We look forward to continuing our work with Manulife to source and scale start-ups in the longevity space, promoting resilient and prosperous lives for individuals, communities, and society as a whole." 

To learn more about Manulife's Impact Agenda, and to track progress against its goals, visit manulife.com/impact.  

About Manulife  
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we provide financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Through Manulife Investment Management, the global brand for our Global Wealth and Asset Management segment, we serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2022, we had more than 40,000 employees, over 116,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 34 million customers. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.   

Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.   

About UpLink  
UpLink is the open innovation platform of the World Economic Forum, designed to unlock an 'entrepreneur revolution' for people and planet by supporting start-ups with innovative solutions for the world's most pressing issues, as outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).   

Launched at the World Economic Forum's 2020 Annual Meeting in Davos in partnership with Deloitte and Salesforce, UpLink is building an innovation ecosystem for entrepreneurs, investors, experts and partners, helping to scale early-stage ventures sourced through a competition framework known as innovation challenges. UpLink has now run more than 50 challenges and identified over 500 entrepreneurs with innovative solutions across critical SDG areas including health, food, freshwater, ocean, plastics, education, climate and more. For more information, visit https://uplink.weforum.org.   

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¹ World Economic Forum – Longevity Economy Principles: The Foundations for a Financially Resilient Future

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation

Media Contacts:  Emily English, [email protected], [phone]