The entrepreneur behind hospital communications software that allocates overtime shifts has been named the winner of the 2018 Bolton Trust / PwC Innovation Awards.
Aimée Madden, a recent graduate of the DIT/IADT New Frontiers Programme, has received a prize of €10,000 after convincing the judging panel that her software company, Clinishift, represented the strongest potential for global expansion and return-on-investment.
Under the Clinishift app and portal, hospital managers can communicate with internal staff and rapidly fill overtime shifts when vacancies appear in rosters.
The Dublin-based start-up, which Ms Madden founded in 2015, says this reduces the risk of over-reliance on external agencies, and also streamlines processes within hospitals.
Already in use in Ireland, Clinishift is set to launch pilot deployments in US and UK hospitals, where it hopes to see steady growth in the next two years.
The Clinishift chief executive has worked in the healthcare sector since 2006, having previously been general manager of the private Whitfield Clinic in Waterford and run the Ireland and UK office for Dutch IT healthcare company Performation.
Awards evening
Ms Madden received her award at an event in PwC’s Dublin offices on Wednesday evening. She was one of four finalists selected on the basis of business plans submitted in January and was then named as the winner after a seven-minute presentation to an audience of 150 investors, entrepreneurs and advisers, followed by a further question and answer session with the judges.
The judging panel was chaired by Sarah-Jane Larkin, director-general of the Irish Venture Capital Association.
Since 2012, the DIT/IADT New Frontiers Programme, which is backed by Enterprise Ireland, has provided finance, training and workspace to 160 start-ups, which have gone on to secure more than €14 million in equity investment, creating more than 600 jobs.
The Bolton Trust was established by staff members of Dublin Institute of Technology in 1987 with the aim of assisting entrepreneurs to create sustainable businesses in Ireland. The award won this year by Ms Madden was previously known as the Docklands Innovation Enterprise Awards.
