Innovative Milestones in Turkish Insurance Industry
HackZone by Allianz Turkey has successfully wrapped up its 5th term, continuing its mission to foster and enhance innovation within the insurance sector. As the first of its kind in Turkey, HackZone by Allianz empowers start-ups focusing on crucial areas like artificial intelligence, digital health, and climate change. The program culminated in the HackZone by Allianz Demo Day event, where participating start-ups showcased their cutting-edge projects. Remarkably, these initiatives have collectively attracted over $15.5 million in external funding from investors.
Driving Innovation through Start-up Collaboration
Allianz Turkey has been championing innovation since 2020 with HackZone, a program that evaluates over 590 start-ups, selecting 46 for inclusion and collaborating with 34 to accelerate their projects. This year’s participants—Alon Health, Branchsight, Ingosa, Prowth, Text2Test, and Werover—worked on solutions addressing AI, ML, climate crisis, and digital health, the main themes of the year.
At the Demo Day, these start-ups had the opportunity to present their projects to investors, top innovation leaders, and Allianz Turkey’s executive board, including Onur Kırcı, Fahri Kaan Toker, and Evren Ayorak.
A Commitment to Sector Innovation
Onur Kırcı, Deputy General Manager of Marketing and Digital Insurance at Allianz Turkey, emphasized: “Our journey towards becoming a leader in next-generation insurance sees us valuing collaborations with start-ups. HackZone, running continuously for five years, aims to advance the insurance industry through innovative collaborations leveraging AI and ML. Over 50 expert mentors from Allianz support this process, helping start-ups adapt to the insurance sector and develop solutions for real-world needs.”
First-time Collaborations and Open Insurance
As the pioneer of open insurance in Turkey, Allianz Turkey facilitated the first-time collaboration of 26 start-ups with the insurance industry. Many of these start-ups have provided innovative solutions within the regulated and complex insurance sector. HackZone not only drives technology development but also enhances customer experience, operational excellence, and the digital transformation of business partners. With over 5,000 developers registered in our open APIs, our goal is to expand this ecosystem further.
Panel Discussion on Insurtech Ecosystem
The event also featured a panel on “The future and opportunities of the Insurtech ecosystem,” moderated by Serkan Ünsal, founder of Startups Watch, with insights from Arın Özkula, e2VC partner, Hasan Emre Özgür, General Manager of Netmera, and Fahri Kaan Toker, Deputy General Manager of Operations at Allianz Turkey.
Participants of HackZone 5th Term Demo Day
- Alon Health: Offers secure biometric data integration with a B2B annual licensing model.
- Branchsight: A digital platform enhancing physical visits via regional digital advertisements.
- Ingosa: Revolutionizes digital advertising with AI, actively expanding globally, aiming to boost customer interaction with Allianz Turkey.
- Prowth: Provides a platform for CRM teams to transform data into actionable strategies without coding.
- Text2Test: Converts natural language scenarios into comprehensive, automated tests.
- Werover: Offers an AI-based system for wind turbine blade health monitoring, with installations across Turkey, the UK, and Europe.
