Multi-year partnership will source global
start-ups working to shape the future of longevity innovation and
build an enabling ecosystem to accelerate their growth
DAVOS,
Switzerland, Jan. 17,
2024 /CNW/ - Manulife today announced a new
multi-year partnership with UpLink, the World Economic Forum's
(WEF) open innovation platform, designed to help shape the future
of, and investment in, longevity innovation. The three-year
partnership will include annual Manulife powered Global Longevity
Innovation challenges, run by UpLink. Manulife will also support
WEF's broader efforts to address the demographic and financial
challenges of global ageing to help more people live longer,
healthier, and better lives.
"Around the world, people are living longer, but not necessarily
healthier," said Roy Gori, President
and CEO of Manulife. "One-fifth of an individual's life, on
average, is now expected to be lived with morbidity or in a state
of illness. Solving this longevity crisis will require a
comprehensive approach to promoting healthier lifestyles,
addressing socio-economic inequalities, and investing in new
research and technologies. By working across sectors and with
partners like the World Economic Forum, we can focus on driving the
longevity economy for the future of society's health and
well-being."
The Manulife powered UpLink challenges will support an ecosystem
of innovators who can help accelerate solutions in longevity
focused on finance, health, and well-being. Importantly, the
program will be activated across Manulife's global headquarters in
Canada, the U.S., and Asia, as the company works to drive global
change through place-based solutions.
"This collaboration will drive innovation in the retirement
ecosystem, offering financial solutions and policy recommendations
for a resilient, equitable, and sustainable extended life," said
Olivier Schwab, Managing Director,
World Economic Forum. "By combining Manulife's expertise, UpLink's
commitment to elevating early-stage impact entrepreneurs, and the
work of the Forum's Centre for Financial and Monetary Systems, this
initiative will play a pivotal role in promoting healthy aging and
enhanced living standards throughout the world."
This multi-year investment builds upon Manulife's 2023
partnership with WEF's UpLink to run innovation challenges to
spur nature-based solutions to climate change across two key areas.
The first focused on sourcing innovative solutions across the
entire sustainable forestry value chain, while the second surfaced
innovations aimed at improving the connection between planetary and
human health. In total, 21 ecopreneurial start-ups providing
innovative and scalable models for sustainable forest management
and more were selected as challenge winners. More information about
the program can be found here.
About Manulife
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international
financial services provider, helping people make their decisions
easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in
Toronto, Canada, we provide
financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across
Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the
United States. Through Manulife Investment Management, the
global brand for our Global Wealth and Asset Management segment, we
serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members
worldwide. At the end of 2022, we had more than 40,000 employees,
over 116,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners,
serving over 34 million customers. We trade as 'MFC' on the
Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges
and under '945' in Hong Kong.
Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For
additional information, please visit manulife.com.
About UpLink
UpLink is the open innovation platform of the World Economic
Forum, designed to unlock an 'entrepreneur revolution' for people
and planet by supporting start-ups with innovative solutions for
the world's most pressing issues, as outlined by the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Launched at the World Economic Forum's 2020 Annual Meeting in
Davos in partnership with Deloitte
and Salesforce, UpLink builds bridges between entrepreneurs and the
investors, experts and partners who can help scale their ventures.
UpLink crowdsources new innovations through a competition framework
known as innovation challenges. UpLink has now run more than 43
challenges and identified over 350 entrepreneurs with innovative
solutions across critical SDG areas including health, food,
freshwater, ocean, plastics, education, climate and more. For more
information, visit https://uplink.weforum.org.
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SOURCE Manulife