Head of EIT Health-supported start-up wins EU Prize for Women Innovators

Karen Dolva co-founded No Isolation

Karen Dolva, the co-founder of No Isolation, a start-up supported by EIT Health, was named winner of the 2018 EU Prize for Women Innovators in the Rising Innovator Award category at a 21 June 2018 ceremony in Brussels, presided over by the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Carlos Moedas.

No Isolation, a start-up supported by the EIT Health Accelerator’s Product Market Fit Programme, builds communication tools designed to reduce involuntary loneliness and social isolation in vulnerable groups in society. Their first product is AV1, the world’s first communication robot tailored for children with long-term illnesses. Their second product is KOMP, the one-button communication device for seniors (75+ years). KOMP is tailored to its users’ needs and wishes, allowing seniors with little to no previous experience or knowledge of internet-based communication products to easily stay in touch with their next of kin.

EIT Health’s Product/Market Fit programme is intended to support European digital health and medtech start-ups that are ready to launch their solutions in European countries outside of their home market. If start-ups in the health sector are going to achieve meaningful growth, and if their innovations are going to benefit a wider audience, they will have to go abroad – which means understanding new regulations, a different culture and an unknown set of market realities. Product/Market Fit assists promising start-ups with this challenge. No Isolation was one of 16 companies announced as recipients of Product/Market Fit support on 1 June 2018.

Dolva will receive €20 000 in support for her award. Along with Dolva, three other women were named recipients of the EU Prize for Women Innovators. The goal of the award is to raise public awareness of the need for more innovation and more women entrepreneurs, to recognise the success of women in innovation and create strong role models.

A video about Karen Dolva produced for the EU Prize for Women Innovators