Hollard-backed Kanopi has won the Australian round of Zurich’s global Innovation Championship.

Kanopi will now present to Zurich executives in Switzerland alongside other national winners.

The overall global winner will then enter a four-month accelerator program to test their solution, receiving up to $US100,000 ($149,548) in funding and up to $US120,000 ($179,458) for software and cloud support services.

“We are incredibly excited to win the Australian round ... and at the prospect of Zurich’s support to really scale our product offering to the next level,” Kanopi CEO and Founder Nigel Fellowes-Freeman said.

Melbourne-based Kanopi’s data-driven platform uses modular, low code software to help insurers create, manage, distribute, embed and scale new products to customers.

Hollard invested in Kanopi during a $4 million fund raising in 2021 as the insurtech planned expansion in the US and Canada. Previous backers include Folklore Ventures and Asia-Pacific head at BCG Digital Ventures Paul Hunyor.

Founded in 2016, Kanopi says its platform intelligently anticipates consumer needs to provide them with insurance within minutes, and its mission is to transform the industry by working with insurance and marketplaces to create one common ecosystem that simplifies insurance.

The Zurich Innovation Championship attracted a record 3500 applicants and 100 Australian entries. In its fourth year, the 2023 Championship seeks solutions to challenges related to customer experience, commercial insurance, distribution partnerships, digital enablement and sustainability.

Zurich Australia & New Zealand Head of Retail Jacqui Lennon says it propels fresh ideas to market.