Wichita entrepreneurial organization NXTUS Inc. has secured more funding that it will use to bring back one of its pilot competitions for a second year.
The organization has received $240,000 from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas that will allow it to continue its NXTSTAGE Community Health and Vibrancy Competition.
BCBSK was the presenting sponsor of that contest in 2021, which led to five pilots being implemented with organizations across the state since last August.
“This competition matches new technology with real issues faced by our communities,” Virginia Barnes, director of Blue Health Initiatives for the organization, said in a press release. “We look forward to seeing the partnerships formed to solve health disparities.”
The entrepreneurial contest last year drew 126 competitors from 28 states and 15 countries.
Applications for this year’s competition are now being accepted online.
The 2022 contest will include five pilot partners looking for new ideas that can make a beneficial impact in their respective communities.
Those partners are Healthy Bourbon County, Hodgeman County Economic Development, LiveWell Northwest Kansas, Scott City Economic Development Committee and Thrive Allen County.
“Our goal is to connect Kansas’ forward-thinking organizations with tools that are helping communities elsewhere get stronger and healthier,” said Mary Beth Jarvis, executive director at NXTUS. “We think our state can be a great proving ground for game-changing technologies, and this competition offers a triple win: we grow young companies, we build up the state’s innovation culture, and we address high-priority challenges to improve the health of Kansans and their communities.”
The BCBSK sponsorship follows on the heels of nearly $1 million in grant funding secured by NXTUS to bolster its entrepreneurial work over the next three years.
That will also help support the NXSTAGE contests, which have also including pitch competitions for financial technology startups.
