Getting people moving, the playful way.
Swiss Challenge takes an idea that works in the United States and rebuilds it for Swiss law and the country’s three main languages, with health insurers built into the model as partners.
The losers pay the winners
Money from the very first challenge
- Beta: points
- V1: sponsors
- V2: a 10 CHF entry-fee race
- V3: health insurers
The problem
Walking more is the simplest health advice there is, and the hardest to stick to. In Switzerland, one adult in four falls short of the recommended level of physical activity. Among people who only completed compulsory schooling, the figure is four in ten (Obsan, 2022).
The first few thousand steps matter most: 7,000 steps a day are associated with 47% lower mortality than 2,000 steps (meta-analysis of 57 studies, Lancet Public Health, 2025).
The starting point
In the United States, the Steppa app, launched in December 2025, claims over 60,000 players and 2 million dollars paid out. Players commit money to a step challenge, and those who complete it share the money of those who give up.
The effect of this financial incentive has been measured. Among 72,974 players of a similar app, daily steps rose from 7,774 to 10,197 during challenges (de Buisonjé et al., 2023). In a Penn Medicine trial, the fear of losing money raised the share of successful days from 30% to 45% (Annals of Internal Medicine, 2016).
Why the model can’t simply be copied in Switzerland
Five obstacles, each one resolved by a decision in the project.
From the American model to a Swiss version
| Topic | American model | Swiss Challenge |
|---|---|---|
| What players commit | Money, from the very first challenge. | Points during the beta; money from V2 onwards, under race rules. |
| Who rewards finishers | The players who give up. | Non-finishers’ points (beta), sponsors (V1), non-finishers’ entry fees (V2), health insurers (V3). |
| Data | Hosted in the United States. | One step total per day, hosted in Geneva. |
| Insurers | Not part of the model. | A bonus on supplementary insurance for successful weeks (V3). |
| Audience | Adults who want a financial incentive. | Everyone, from 3,000 steps a day in Solo mode; the paid challenge remains an option for adults. |
The model, stage by stage
Each stage adds a revenue stream on top of the previous ones. The order comes from a prioritisation table that weighs, for each stage, the number of people reached, the expected impact, our confidence in the estimates and the effort required.
- Beta
The points challenge
A Ranked challenge every week, plus Solo challenges and challenges with friends. No money and no sponsors, on iPhone.
No revenue: the beta builds the audience and gathers data.
- V1
Sponsored challenges
Free challenges branded by an insurance agency, a municipality or a local business. iPhone and Android.
Commission on sponsor packages.
- V2
The entry-fee challenge
10 CHF entry fee plus a 1 CHF organisation fee per week. Finishers share the entry fees of non-finishers.
1 CHF organisation fee per entrant per week.
- V3
Health insurers
An annual fee opens the app to an insurer’s policyholders, and a monthly certificate of successful weeks unlocks a bonus on supplementary insurance.
An annual fee per insurer.
Why now
- People in Switzerland walk with a phone in their pocket: 58% own an iPhone, and two thirds use Twint.
- Health insurers already pay their active policyholders as much as 300 to 400 CHF a year through their own apps. Several large insurers have no step programme at all, and Swiss Challenge saves them from building one.
- A national cycle-to-work campaign brings together over 100,000 participants every year on the same principle: a time-limited challenge taken on together.
What sets Swiss Challenge apart
A real commitment
Points from the beta onwards, then a paid challenge run under race rules: loss aversion gets people walking 31% more during challenges.
Built for Switzerland
Company and management in Valais, a server in Geneva, an app in German, French and Italian, and rules written for Swiss law.
Insurers in the loop
A model ready for health insurers that have no step app of their own: they pay an annual fee and, with the policyholder’s explicit consent, receive a certificate that unlocks a bonus on supplementary insurance.
As little data as possible
One step total per day. Sponsors receive aggregated figures for groups of 10 or more; individual data is only shared with explicit consent.
An incubator, investor or public body?
The presentation pack and the feasibility study are available on request.
Sources
- Obsan (Swiss Health Observatory), physical activity of adults in Switzerland, 2022.
- Ding et al., Lancet Public Health, 2025: meta-analysis of 57 studies on daily step counts.
- de Buisonjé et al., Internet Interventions, 2023: 72,974 players of a step challenge app with financial incentives, 2015 to 2020.
- Patel et al., Annals of Internal Medicine, 2016: Penn Medicine randomised trial with 281 employees.
- Steppa, App Store listing, accessed October 2026.