IMDA Spark: Propelling real-word impact in digital health

Amongst the many challenges that organisations face, a new one continues to grow – employee burnout, with increasing reports of declining mental and physical health. According to Deloitte’s 2024 Well-being at Work report, 78% of executives surveyed reported their employees affected by burnout and exhaustion, with an equal proportion highlighting an impact from mental well-being risks and 74% sharing a similar effect from physical well-being risks¹ . People, who drive overall value for business, are at the heart of many organisations today. Organisations are beginning to reorient their priorities to advance the social dimension of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) through human sustainability, defined as the degree to which the organisation creates value for people as human beings, leaving them with greater health and well-being amongst many other benefits².

Digital innovation can contribute to this development, as the demand for digital tools and technologies that can enhance the health and well-being of people grows. In Singapore, three health tech startups, Naluri, MindFi and Nervotec, are leading the charge by empowering organisations with the skills and tools needed for a healthy workforce. With the help of IMDA Spark, a programme aimed at supporting the growth of promising Singapore-based tech companies, these companies are finding success in addressing pain points for organisations hoping to achieve human sustainability.

The shift to holistic well-being at the workplace

Aidan Saheran, chief commercial officer of Naluri noted that traditionally, wellness programmes have frequently been seen as secondary to business priorities. “In the past, companies often responded to immediate concerns with one-off services like short workshops or wellness days, which lacked measurable health outcomes,” said Naluri’s Saheran. “Now, more organisations are investing in initiatives that prioritise prevention and sustainability.”

The reason is simple.

Not only that, the desire to invest in one’s own well-being, both mental and physical, is one that Jonathan Lau, founder of Nervotec has found to be universal. “Regardless of age or socioeconomic status or tech literacy, when given the tools, users actively want to monitor their own health and mental well-being and will make the necessary lifestyle adjustments for better quality of life,” he pointed out. “The common limiting factor is often the accessibility of such tools.”

Necessity, driven by an increasing focus on personal well-being, has brought about a sea of change in how companies approach their corporate wellness initiatives. There is now a greater focus on holistic well-being, not just mental health, with a growing preference towards long-term, sustainable health strategies.

However, improving overall well-being in any organisation requires a combination of employee support, resources, and leadership-led culture change. Leon CK Leong, co-founder and chief revenue officer of MindFi, noted that there are still gaps that need to be addressed between what corporations are offering and what employees need. Employers should not treat wellness programme roll-outs as a “tick the box” initiative, rather than a move to add real value to their workforce and the organisation at large. “A successful well-being programme requires organisations to work closely [with us] to ‘champion the cause’ and promote a culture of well-being in the organisation,” he said.

Furthermore, the sheer number of providers and solutions available can be difficult to navigate for companies looking to invest in more robust well-being programmes. This is coupled with balancing the need for health data security to protect employee privacy while collecting needed data points to better tailor support. For a new generation of health tech firms now making their mark, this has made convincing potential customers to buy in, an uphill task from day one. Like MindFi and Naluri, Nervotec shared a similar challenge of breaking into a market where providers are plentiful, and credibility is paramount. IMDA Spark has played a central role in enabling these companies to go further and help more organisations establish a culture of well-being.

IMDA Spark: Setting tech startups for success

With the advent and adoption of emerging technologies transforming businesses across the globe, IMDA Spark intentionally drives the digitalisation of Singapore by addressing key challenges of local Infocomm and Media (ICM) startups to support them in the digital economy.

Enrolled companies are provided a myriad of opportunities to uplift their capabilities and boost business growth, including full access to a network of industry mentors, community partners and peers, business grant tools, along with initial reference customers in Singapore through government demand.

These resources not only bolster participants’ growth trajectory but also enhance their collaboration and problem-solving skills. IMDA Spark startups then can scale and create meaningful impact through the digital solutions they offer, propelling the growth of Singapore’s ICM ecosystem.

For Naluri, being a part of the IMDA Spark programme has proven invaluable in reassuring potential customers that its capabilities are secure and sound. The digital therapeutics company offers personalised digital health coaching and guidance, by combining artificial intelligence (AI) and human experts to deliver coaching sessions, goal setting, and tracking tools for employees to improve chronic diseases and mental wellness.

After discussions with peers who had already benefitted from IMDA Spark, the Naluri team were motivated to join, recognising the clear value that the programme offers in terms of formal validation.

"IMDA Spark acted as a catalyst, opening up more opportunities for us in terms of market access and trust. As a result, we were able to secure major contracts, which have been pivotal in driving our growth and expanding our footprint."

MindFi also saw the benefits of IMDA Spark after learning of the programme via outreach efforts by IMDA, particularly in heightening the exposure of the company. “We had the opportunity to present our solution to a few government agencies,” shared Leong.

MindFi’s platform offers digital therapy and counselling services to employees alongside video masterclasses on various well-being topics – with Relationships, Emotional Regulation, and Anxiety being the most popular. In addition, its Well-being Analytics feature provides actionable insights for leadership teams to further refine wellness programme delivery over the long term.

Leong shared that 94% of employees on MindFi’s platform experienced improvements in their wellness, while 43% of employees also reported improvements in work engagement. In addition, therapy users experienced an average of 34% improvement in their well-being psychometric scores.

With healthcare expenditure in Singapore expected to triple to almost $60 billion a year by 2030, taking a proactive and preventative approach has become vital to keep healthcare affordable³.

Nervotec, a Singaporean predictive healthcare firm, is part of a new wave of companies focused on making healthcare tools accurate, affordable, and accessible. Interestingly, Nervotec’s roots are in the aviation industry. Former fighter pilot Lau initially wanted to address the disparity between the number of safety checks for aircrafts compared to pilots.

Nervotec’s solution detects a user’s vital signs by studying the way light reflects off a user’s face and how it changes as blood flows through the capillaries under the skin. In a proof-of-concept study with Lion Befrienders and as part of the HDB Queenstown District health initiative, the company deployed its solution to residents aged 65 years and over. The results in uptake were remarkable. “In our usability study, we found that despite the older age range, users were very forthcoming in using the scan daily with engagement rates peaking over 70% for daily scans,” shared Lau.

A key challenge Nervotec faced was expanding its customer base, restricted by a saturated market and insufficient credibility to access potential partners. As a B2B firm looking to enhance telehealth services and insurer-led wellness programmes with its precise health monitoring solution, this proved to be a hurdle in scaling its business.

Lau was introduced to IMDA Spark by an alumnus of the programme and decided to join to accelerate the company’s growth ambitions. “The connectivity to industry partners and government agencies has been the most standout benefit,” he added. Nervotec has since partnered with Prudential, integrating its solution with the insurance brand’s Pulse app to enable users to measure their vital signs, such as heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration rate, and oxygen saturation levels simply by scanning their face with a mobile phone. Known as "My Pulse Daily", the feature is available to help people better manage and monitor their health and stress levels daily.

Join the trajectory of growth

Through IMDA Spark, MindFi, Naluri, and Nervotec chart their pathways towards business growth, while creating real-world impact and enhancing well-being at the workplace. If you are a tech startup keen on doing the same and exploring how to do so – kickstart your journey with support from IMDA Spark.