Manulife and UpLink Announce Winners of the 'Innovating for Asia's Demographic Future Challenge'

Rhea-AI Summary

Manulife (NYSE:MFC) and UpLink, the World Economic Forum's innovation initiative, have announced the winners of their 'Innovating for Asia's Demographic Future Challenge'. The competition, which received over 85 submissions, selected 10 innovative ventures focused on supporting financial resilience, healthy aging, and lifelong fulfillment across Asia.

Three top innovators will share a CAD $200,000 prize fund. The winning solutions range from AI-powered healthcare platforms to financial management tools, addressing critical challenges in Asia's aging demographics. Winners include ventures like Agewhale's Care Compass app for elderly care, AqlCare's cognitive screening technology, and DoctorTool's AI-powered healthcare digitization platform.

This challenge is the second in a three-part longevity-focused innovation series, with the final challenge scheduled for 2026. The initiative addresses Asia's demographic transformation, where one in four people will be over 60 by 2050.

Positive

• Partnership with World Economic Forum's UpLink platform provides winners with networking and strategic partnership opportunities
• CAD $200,000 in prize funding allocated to support top innovators
• Strong participation with over 85 submissions demonstrates significant interest in longevity innovation
• Selected ventures address critical demographic challenges across multiple Asian markets

Negative

• None.

Challenge is second of three in a multiyear partnership to help shape the future of longevity innovation

C$ unless otherwise stated                                            

TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC     SEHK: 945

HONG KONG, Sept. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife, in collaboration with UpLink, the World Economic Forum's early-stage innovation initiative, and the Forum's Centre for Financial and Monetary Systems, is proud to announce the winners of the Innovating for Asia's Demographic Future Challenge. This initiative, the second in a three-part longevity-focused innovation series, sought bold, scalable solutions to support financial resilience, healthy aging, and lifelong fulfillment across Asia's rapidly evolving demographic landscape.

From over 85 submissions, ten standout ventures were selected for their transformative potential. Winners will also gain access to exclusive networking opportunities, strategic partnerships, and global visibility through the UpLink ecosystem. Of these, three top innovators will receive a combined CAD $200,000 in prize funding to accelerate their impact.

The winners are:

• Agewhale (Hong Kong) empowers elderly individuals and caregivers in Hong Kong to age safely at home through its Care Compass app, bridging digital and gerontech divides for improved home safety and care management
• AqlCare (Abu Dhabi) transforms routine caregiver-patient video calls into structured, continuous cognitive screenings, enabling early detection of dementia and cognitive decline with high compliance and accessibility
• DoctorTool (Jakarta) is revolutionizing primary care in Indonesia by digitizing clinics with AI-powered SaaS, eHealth apps, and IoMT, improving access, efficiency, and quality for vulnerable communities
• Happy60plus (Bengaluru) offers holistic, tech-enabled wellness programs for seniors, fostering engagement, independence, and joy through virtual classes and community-building activities
• Infiheal (Pune) offers hyper-personalized, AI-powered mental and sexual health support, making therapy accessible, affordable, and stigma-free for underserved populations
• Kinexcs (Singapore) develops AI-driven wearable rehabilitation platforms, enabling home-based, personalized recovery for patients after joint surgeries, reducing healthcare system burden and improving outcomes
• PINTAR's (Singapore) Berkala program supports Asia's returnee migrant workers with lifelong learning, reintegration, and social connection, leveraging digital and offline tools to foster economic and emotional resilience
• Sav (Dubai) is an AI-powered autonomous finance platform that transforms fragmented financial behavior into intelligent, outcome-driven money actions, helping users optimize savings, investments, and debt management
• Xandar Kardian (Toronto) enables proactive, preventive healthcare for seniors aging in place using passive radar sensors for continuous, compliance free health monitoring, reducing hospitalizations and improving peace of mind
• YoungHappy (Bangkok) is a hybrid community platform in Thailand empowering urban seniors to age with dignity, fun, and self-reliance through digital and offline engagement, learning, and work opportunities

"Manulife is proud to lead this initiative in partnership with UpLink, supporting innovative winners who are driving meaningful change across Asia to address the region's demographic transformation," said Sarah Chapman, Global Chief Sustainability Officer at Manulife. "These startups are helping people live better for longer, including addressing financial security, physical wellbeing, and personal fulfillment and we're proud to support their missions."

By 2050, one in four people in Asia will be over the age of 60ⁱ. This profound demographic shift is driven by longer life expectancies and declining fertility rates. As countries in Asia adapt to these changes, people may no longer follow the traditional 'school, work, retirement' paradigmⁱⁱ. Instead, they transition more frequently between learning, working, caring, and recreationⁱⁱⁱ. In addition, recent data from Manulife's Asia Care Survey showed physical well-being is central to both financial and mental well-being for people across Asia, and that rising health-care costs are a major concern, fueling anxiety about insufficient savings. The challenge aimed to address these issues by focusing on three key areas: Multigenerational Financial Resilience, Equitable Healthy Aging, and Lifelong Fulfillment.

"Early-stage innovation is vital to turning the challenges that come with Asia's demographic shifts into meaningful opportunities for communities across the region," said John Dutton, Head of UpLink, World Economic Forum. "Through the Global Longevity Innovation Initiative, we are proud to partner with Manulife and the Forum's Centre for Financial and Monetary Systems to build an innovation ecosystem that promotes healthier, more financially resilient and fulfilled lives for all generations."

The third and final challenge in this series will launch in 2026 with a new thematic focus. Manulife's multiyear partnership with UpLink is part of their global Impact Agenda, which aims to empower sustained health and well-being, drive inclusive economic opportunity, and accelerate a sustainable future. To learn more about Manulife's Impact Agenda, visit manulife.com/impact.

About Manulife 
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping our customers make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we operate as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, providing financial advice and insurance for individuals, groups and businesses. Through Manulife Wealth & Asset Management, we offer global investment, financial advice, and retirement plan services to individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2024, we had more than 37,000 employees, over 109,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 36 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 a World Economic Forum initiative, founded in collaboration with Deloitte and Salesforce, designed to unlock the power of entrepreneurship to tackle the world's most urgent challenges. UpLink builds ecosystems that enable purpose-driven, early-stage entrepreneurs to scale their businesses for the markets and economies that are essential to a net-zero, nature-positive and equitable future. For further information, click here.

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i ADP: Adapting to Aging Asia and the Pacific
ii Stanford Center on Longevity
iii The New Long Life: A Framework for Flourishing in a Changing World

Media Contact:

Gina Simonis
617-840-4794
GSimonis@manulife.com

Carl Wong
852 2510 3180
carl_kk_wong@manulifeam.com 

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SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation

FAQ

What are the winners of Manulife's 2025 Innovating for Asia's Demographic Future Challenge?

The winners include 10 innovative ventures such as Agewhale (Hong Kong), AqlCare (Abu Dhabi), DoctorTool (Jakarta), Happy60plus (Bengaluru), and Infiheal (Pune), among others. Three top innovators will share CAD $200,000 in prize funding.

How much funding did Manulife (MFC) provide for the Asia Demographic Challenge winners?

Manulife is providing CAD $200,000 in combined prize funding to be shared among the three top innovators of the challenge.

What is the focus of Manulife's partnership with UpLink?

The partnership focuses on three key areas: Multigenerational Financial Resilience, Equitable Healthy Aging, and Lifelong Fulfillment, addressing Asia's demographic transformation through innovation.

When will Manulife launch the next UpLink innovation challenge?

The third and final challenge in the series will launch in 2026 with a new thematic focus.

What demographic challenge is Manulife addressing in Asia through this initiative?

Manulife is addressing Asia's aging population challenge, where one in four people will be over 60 by 2050, focusing on financial security, physical wellbeing, and personal fulfillment.