Helping the social reinsertion of offenders
09.12.2014
Geosatis brings to the market a highly secure electronic ankle bracelet allowing the virtual monitoring of non-violent offenders outside of prison walls. Geosatis’ objective is to reduce overcrowding in prisons as well as lowering the cost of social reintegration, while increasing its chances of success.
 Reshad Moussa (Geosatis) avec Stefan Kuentz (Swisscom Ventures) ©Lucien Christen
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And it is a promising market: penal codes are being modified in many countries and a new generation of judges, much more sensitive to the benefits of such methods, is entering the scene. In Europe for example, 800'000 people are in prison and many could benefit from simplified procedures: “About 30% of them are not a danger to society anymore” estimates Geosatis CEO José Demetrio. In 2014, the company closed a contract in South Africa and started to negotiate a pilot project with the San Francisco probation authorities.
The idea of Geosatis first came to José Demetrio’s mind in 2006 during a discussion with the staff of a Swiss prison. In 2009, he thought about it again while studying at the HEG in Yverdon-les-Bains and decided to launch his startup. After a few months on the EPFL Scientific Park, he and his team moved to the Canton Jura to benefit from the region’s expertise in micromechanics, and kept an office on the campus. A sure bet: Geosatis is the only European manufacturer of electronic monitoring and can count on its Swiss-made quality label to differentiate its business. The innovative GPS technology registers and detects any attack or tentative to alter its operation mode, and can only be removed by members of the police or assigned authorities: “Our bracelets are more ergonomic and much more difficult to cut by an offender than the ones of our competitors”, explains Demetrio. The company is now in an acceleration phase, one year after winning the venture kick final.
"The fact that we won venture kick shows that our product is convincing respected financial experts. This award allows us to accelerate our commercial activities in Switzerland and around the world.”
A financial partnership with Swisscom
In 2014, Geosatis won the CHF 100’000 W.A. de Vigier Foundation prize and closed its first financing round. In August, the company was selected among the finalists of the Swisscom StartUp Challenge in Silicon Valley and came back with the financial support from the Telecom operator: “We had approached Swisscom as a potential investor before leaving and our objective was to complete the transaction during the trip: It worked!” says Demetrio. Swisscom Ventures will support Geosatis to strengthen and grow in Switzerland and internationally. The deal will also allow Geosatis to hire more people.
Regarding the future, José Demetrio wants to develop his system into a tool that could monitor the daily activities of offenders and report which persons to put more surveillance on: “When offenders lack sleep for example, they are more likely to offend again”, concludes Demetrio.
The idea of Geosatis first came to José Demetrio’s mind in 2006 during a discussion with the staff of a Swiss prison. In 2009, he thought about it again while studying at the HEG in Yverdon-les-Bains and decided to launch his startup. After a few months on the EPFL Scientific Park, he and his team moved to the Canton Jura to benefit from the region’s expertise in micromechanics, and kept an office on the campus. A sure bet: Geosatis is the only European manufacturer of electronic monitoring and can count on its Swiss-made quality label to differentiate its business. The innovative GPS technology registers and detects any attack or tentative to alter its operation mode, and can only be removed by members of the police or assigned authorities: “Our bracelets are more ergonomic and much more difficult to cut by an offender than the ones of our competitors”, explains Demetrio. The company is now in an acceleration phase, one year after winning the venture kick final.
"The fact that we won venture kick shows that our product is convincing respected financial experts. This award allows us to accelerate our commercial activities in Switzerland and around the world.”
A financial partnership with Swisscom
In 2014, Geosatis won the CHF 100’000 W.A. de Vigier Foundation prize and closed its first financing round. In August, the company was selected among the finalists of the Swisscom StartUp Challenge in Silicon Valley and came back with the financial support from the Telecom operator: “We had approached Swisscom as a potential investor before leaving and our objective was to complete the transaction during the trip: It worked!” says Demetrio. Swisscom Ventures will support Geosatis to strengthen and grow in Switzerland and internationally. The deal will also allow Geosatis to hire more people.
Regarding the future, José Demetrio wants to develop his system into a tool that could monitor the daily activities of offenders and report which persons to put more surveillance on: “When offenders lack sleep for example, they are more likely to offend again”, concludes Demetrio.