Mahindra group to invest in Finnish start-up Medixine

Mahindra group  on Thursday said it will invest €200,000 (about Rs 1.51 crore) in a Finnish startup, Medixine, as it taps into the start-up eco-system of the Nordic country for future innovation programme.

The group had conducted Avatar Hunt, a search for the next big idea in Finland. From that seven entrepreneurs from a variety of industries, including education, healthcare, analytics, finance, IoT and mobility, were shortlisted.

"Mahindra will invest Euro 200,000 in the winning start- up, Medixine, which will enable it to achieve its business vision," the group said in a statement. Medixine has a suite of cloud software programmes that provide e-services to their patients and help them become active players in their own care instead of being passive targets, it added.

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said: "A combination of public R&D funding and focus on skill development has resulted in Finland's consistently high rankings in global innovation surveys."

He further said, "Our intent is to leverage the strengths of this unique eco-system to help us discover the next big ideas and business models which will help us leverage the forces of disruption to create new opportunities for the Group in the future."

The group had held its annual senior leaders conference in Helsinki. It currently has three businesses in Finland: combine harvester manufacturer, Sampo Rosenlew; Holiday Club Resorts Oy and IT services company, Tech Mahindra. It employs over 1,400 people.