On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Bessem Ayari, Head of Innovation Strategy & Scouting at ERGO Group AG, where he leads transformative initiatives that shape the future of the insurance industry. With a dynamic career dedicated to fostering innovation and collaboration, Bessem is a pivotal force in the InsurTech landscape.

Bessem shares insights on how the Ergo ScaleHub is redefining the innovation ecosystem & helping bold entrepreneurs scale new heights in the insurance sector.

KEY TAKEAWAYS                                                                                                            
In these times of rapid change & digital transformation, the insurance industry is compared to any other industry, everyone expects the same service & speed as Amazon, Netflix, etc. That’s what drives me. Innovation strategy is about a culture that we need to shape & create to be on a good path but also to provide the means & tools to do so.
We have a very broad & on point innovation portfolio where we are very near to the core, really trying to solve today’s challenges. Innovation is about delivering valuable impact & we can only do so by tackling the challenges we have today. In our portfolio we also have the ability to look into the future at the trends in the business & technology side so we can see very early where the market is evolving & where we should dig deeper.
We’re pretty good when it comes to tech incubation, we have scaled RA process mining, AI and GPT initiatives as well as metaverse, VR, etc. We’ve created competency centres internally for these.
I truly believe in physical collaboration, having physical touchpoints really helps to get a better understanding, to understand Ergo, the processes, the people behind it. At the end of the day it’s a people’s business & you need to build trust. Trust is built by having a proper conversation face-to-face or having dinner together, getting into a boardroom & cluttering the whole space with ideas and concepts to be worked out.



BEST MOMENTS

‘I’m passionate about innovation, driving meaningful impact at work & giving something back to our customers & employees.’
‘Innovation is about delivering valuable impact.’
‘You don’t learn a technology from Power Point, you need to get your hands dirty, try it out, make it tangible, test it & derive a decision out of it quickly.’
‘Getting direct connections to corporates is super valuable,  as a startup you need to understand how the corporate functions.’

ABOUT THE GUEST

Bessem Ayari is a dynamic leader specializing in innovation strategy & scouting. As the Head of Innovation Strategy & Scouting at ERGO Group AG, he leverages his extensive experience to drive forward-thinking initiatives & foster collaboration between startups & the corporate sector. His passion for mentorship & a keen eye for identifying emerging trends in InsurTech position him as a pivotal force in shaping the industry's future.

Known for his strategic vision, exceptional leadership, & commitment to nurturing innovative ideas, Bessem has consistently brought tangible value to his organization. His expertise spans innovation management, strategic leadership, & startup mentorship, making him an accomplished innovation strategist with a proven track record in fostering innovation & collaboration. At ERGO Group AG, he leads the innovation strategy & scouting efforts, identifying & integrating cutting-edge solutions to maintain the company’s competitive edge.

LinkedIn
Website

Make sure to check the ScaleHub site for more details

ABOUT THE HOST

Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, and commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers, accelerated over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor &  multi-award winner.



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On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Bessem Ayari, Head of Innovation Strategy &amp; Scouting at ERGO Group AG, where he leads transformative initiatives that shape the future of the insurance industry. With a dynamic career dedicated to fostering innovation and collaboration, Bessem is a pivotal force in the InsurTech landscape.
Bessem shares insights on how the Ergo ScaleHub is redefining the innovation ecosystem &amp; helping bold entrepreneurs scale new heights in the insurance sector.
KEY TAKEAWAYS                                                                                                            
<ul>
<li>In these times of rapid change &amp; digital transformation, the insurance industry is compared to any other industry, everyone expects the same service &amp; speed as Amazon, Netflix, etc. That’s what drives me. Innovation strategy is about a culture that we need to shape &amp; create to be on a good path but also to provide the means &amp; tools to do so.</li>
<li>We have a very broad &amp; on point innovation portfolio where we are very near to the core, really trying to solve today’s challenges. Innovation is about delivering valuable impact &amp; we can only do so by tackling the challenges we have today. In our portfolio we also have the ability to look into the future at the trends in the business &amp; technology side so we can see very early where the market is evolving &amp; where we should dig deeper.</li>
<li>We’re pretty good when it comes to tech incubation, we have scaled RA process mining, AI and GPT initiatives as well as metaverse, VR, etc. We’ve created competency centres internally for these.</li>
<li>I truly believe in physical collaboration, having physical touchpoints really helps to get a better understanding, to understand Ergo, the processes, the people behind it. At the end of the day it’s a people’s business &amp; you need to build trust. Trust is built by having a proper conversation face-to-face or having dinner together, getting into a boardroom &amp; cluttering the whole space with ideas and concepts to be worked out.</li>
</ul>
 
BEST MOMENTS
‘I’m passionate about innovation, driving meaningful impact at work &amp; giving something back to our customers &amp; employees.’ ‘Innovation is about delivering valuable impact.’ ‘You don’t learn a technology from Power Point, you need to get your hands dirty, try it out, make it tangible, test it &amp; derive a decision out of it quickly.’ ‘Getting direct connections to corporates is super valuable,  as a startup you need to understand how the corporate functions.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
Bessem Ayari is a dynamic leader specializing in innovation strategy &amp; scouting. As the Head of Innovation Strategy &amp; Scouting at ERGO Group AG, he leverages his extensive experience to drive forward-thinking initiatives &amp; foster collaboration between startups &amp; the corporate sector. His passion for mentorship &amp; a keen eye for identifying emerging trends in InsurTech position him as a pivotal force in shaping the industry's future.
Known for his strategic vision, exceptional leadership, &amp; commitment to nurturing innovative ideas, Bessem has consistently brought tangible value to his organization. His expertise spans innovation management, strategic leadership, &amp; startup mentorship, making him an accomplished innovation strategist with a proven track record in fostering innovation &amp; collaboration. At ERGO Group AG, he leads the innovation strategy &amp; scouting efforts, identifying &amp; integrating cutting-edge solutions to maintain the company’s competitive edge.
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bessem-ayari/">LinkedIn</a> <a href="https://scalehub.ergo.com/">Website</a>
Make sure to check the <a href="https://scalehub.ergo.com/">ScaleHub site</a> for more details
ABOUT THE HOST
Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, and commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers, accelerated over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor &amp;  multi-award winner.
 
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There are over 140,000 FinTech ventures out there, including FinTechs, InsurTechs, HealthTechs, and WealthTechs. And the number keeps on changing every month. One statistic remains the same: 25% of these ventures have received investment and support from the financing world. 75% of these businesses still seek financing support from institutional and corporate investors alongside value-creating commercial collaboration opportunities with Global Fortune 500.

Through this podcast series, I would like to demystify the world of corporate venturing, including how corporations collaborate with growth ventures, how venture capitalists and corporate venture capitalists make investment and collaboration choices in ventures and give tech founders and entrepreneurs, the strategies, tactics, tools, and techniques to build, grow and scale their business by understanding how those with financing power think. 

So, listen in, share and comment as you see fit.

There are over 140,000 FinTech ventures out there, including FinTechs, InsurTechs, HealthTechs, and WealthTechs. And the number keeps on changing every month. One statistic remains the same: 25% of these ventures have received investment and support from the financing world. 75% of these businesses still seek financing support from institutional and corporate investors alongside value-creating commercial collaboration opportunities with Global Fortune 500.
Through this podcast series, I would like to demystify the world of corporate venturing, including how corporations collaborate with growth ventures, how venture capitalists and corporate venture capitalists make investment and collaboration choices in ventures and give tech founders and entrepreneurs, the strategies, tactics, tools, and techniques to build, grow and scale their business by understanding how those with financing power think. 
So, listen in, share and comment as you see fit.

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