4th Batch of Bayer G4A Welcomes Innovators in Healthcare and Environment

March 17, 2021

Bayer G4A Meetup was held on March 9. Meetup started with the opening speech of Kaan Akın, Hackquarters CEO and Founder. 


Kaan Akın stressed the goal of the program. “G4A is an acceleration program for HealthTech and AgriTech startups supported by Bayer globally.  The goal of the program is for the next 100 days to grow business collaborating with startups. This year it is the 4th Batch of the Program which collected 540+ startup applications with 60 startups in pipeline. As many startups continue to grow after the program with company valuation reaching $15 Million; major value proposed by Hackquarters is bringing startups at one platform with Turkish and global investors and VC. For the last 3 years Bayer has granted more than 2 Million TL for accelerating startups, investing in startup business training and mentorship by expertise field leaders.’’

Kartal Yağız Akdil, Bayer’s Pharma Division mentioned the department's engagement with startups, focusing on Women Health. “We communicate with startups and discuss how we can evolve our business model and piloting new products. There are many different industries open to further developments and we are trying to come up with new ideas and eager to support innovative ideas regarding the fields to improve. Bayer is certainly desired to lead this innovation path, with the ambition to become a leader in the industry.”

Songül Dicleli, Bayer’s Consumer Health Division, underlined the importance of the ‘Wellness’ concept. “Wellness is not only the condition of not getting sick but also improved mental and physical condition of a person. As Bayer we work on food supplements that became much famous during pandemic, aiming to ensure our consumers sustainable and active life both physically and mentally. Consumers will not change their online shopping habits so we need to adjust ourselves to this trend, providing them safe and reliable products via online platforms.”


Hasan Oğuz Sipahi, Bayer’s Radiology Division, mentioned ongoing interest in radiology, with its advanced technology and digitized medical equipment. “Artificial intelligence softwares is very useful in diagnosis and case analysis, hence we expect startups and entrepreneurs in this field to come up with more innovative ideas and projects, since it is a necessity for us and for the medicine industry to collaborate with technology and innovation.”

Eda Benli, Bayer’s Crop Science, emphasized on the rise of agricultural technology and applicability of new technology in conventional agriculture. “Agriculture is moving towards more sustainability. Interdisciplinary initiatives are subject to biology, chemistry and technology, need more innovation and new solution methods within the digitalized world and nanotechnology.”

Serdar Aziret, Bayer’s Environmental Health Division, mentioned how the team is working on preservation of environment and environmental health at Bayer. “Disinfestation processes within living and public spaces are the areas that are looking for innovative ideas and projects. Drone technology is being used more often during disinfestation and watering processes.”

To share the journey during and after G4A Turkey Serdar Gemici, Co-founder at Albert Health, joined Success Story Fireside moderated by Kaan Akin. Albert Health provides online visual and audio connection between medical doctors and patients. “ Albert Health has accelerated much after Covid-19. Bayer G4A Program was a breaking point for us. During the program, Albert Health started collaborating with Bayer’s Women Health Division in order to create a platform for women connecting with their doctors. Telemedicine solutions grew rapidly during pandemia when people were unable to visit doctors physically reaching 1.000 women.”

In first edition of the program, in 2018, 122 startups applied for the Bayer G4A Program. In categories, 24 of them were operating in the pharma & medicine sector whereas 29 were operating in consumer health, 36 firms in corporate solutions and 33 in other subjects. With the attendance of more than 30 trainers and mentors and more than 25 hours of training, 22 startups pipelined and 6 startups among them were selected.

In 2019, the Program doubled the number of applicators which was 215. Most of the startups applied were operating in the consumer health sector. After 25 hours of training and 100 hours of mentorship, 4 startups were selected among 21 startups that was pipelined. 

Last year in the Bayer G4A Program, the crop science category was the runner up with 47 companies, followed by Pharma & medicine with 46 companies. 23 startups were pipelined among 206 applications and 9 of them graduated, after all training and mentorship progress of the program had finished.

So far in the 3 batches of Bayer Grants4Apps Acceleration Program, the startups have had opportunities to develop new business models in the partnership with Bayer, reached a wide variety of customers and improved their products at considerable levels. Some of our alumni went global thanks to their participation in the program and closed new investment rounds. We get pleasure to benefit from the experiences of our alumni so that they can share their know-how and visions with new participants. We really appreciate our startups turning into our mentors. All our alumni have been satisfied with the support of mentors from Bayer Team. If you want to be a part of this fruitful program, don’t forget to apply before 21st of March. Check the website to learn more about Bayer Grants4Apps and fill the application form.

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