My appointment as CEO in 2017 came with two core purposes: to establish a management team, and to define a strategic focus which would further the spirit of the Botnar family toward improving the lives of children worldwide. As we prepare to close the doors on 2018, I’m thrilled to now be looking ahead with our new team in place and a clear plan of action: to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people through AI and digital technology, and through leveraging partnerships with real purpose. But first, a quick look back on our achievements…
- We welcomed new members to the Board, bringing with them strong expertise in our core areas of work and look forward to greatly benefiting from their insights.
- We supported the Botnar Research Centre for Child Health (BRCCH), co-founded by the University of Basel and ETH Zurich, and launched a call for research on adolescent health and wellbeing.
- We partnered with Ada Health to co-create a program that brings AI-powered healthcare to East Africa and Romania, and provided funding to D-Tree International to roll out a national digital community health system in Zanzibar.
- We launched the first #TheBotnarChallenge, a search for young entrepreneurs with solutions to the most pressing health and wellbeing challenges in Tanzania, in order to help develop and scale their concepts.
Crucially, the recruitment of the new management team has been the biggest milestone of this year. Without them, these highlights would have not been possible! We had a vision to bring in minds that would mobilise and equip the foundation to take large strides, and I am excited to have witnessed exceptional alignment in focus, clarity and energy for the road ahead.
Of course, there are many goals yet to be accomplished. This is only the beginning of our journey, and one that we are embarking on with a clear vision: the future now, for children worldwide. I would like to thank you all for supporting us as we embarked on these first steps. Next year will no doubt bring new challenges, but importantly, it will bring new opportunities for collaboration, and leveraging the unique value of digital solutions for health and wellbeing as we work together to achieve more.
Stefan Germann,
CEO Fondation Botnar