Dr Julia Reichert and Katharina Jung were guests on the City of Heidelberg’s SPILLOVER-podcast.

Last year, the Heidelberg Start-up Award was announced for the first time. The company Onuava, founded by Dr Julia Reichert and Katharina Jung, won the prize in the “Courage” category.

Courage characterises them because they are tackling an absolutely taboo subject – “infertility” – that hardly anyone else talks about openly. With their start-up, they want to support companies and their employees on their individual path to their dream child. To this end, they offer
They offer employers in German-speaking countries services for employee benefits on this topic.

In this SAATKORN podcast episode, ONUAVA co-founder and CEO Dr Julia Reichert is our guest. We talk about Fertility & Family Building Benefits.
The topic has long been relevant in the USA and the UK, with the big tech companies all offering fertility and family building counselling services.
In the DACH region, the topic is not yet so widespread. However, it has a huge emotional and financial impact on the people affected if their desire to have children is not fulfilled.

1 in 6 people in Germany are affected by an unfulfilled desire to have children. The treatments are so expensive that they have so far only been available to a privileged minority. Dr Julia Reichert, co-founder of Onuava, has set out to change this. With Onuava, she has set out to bring fertility and family building benefits to German companies. From serious counselling and support for employees during the difficult phase of fertility treatment to financial support from employers.

The pharmaceutical company Merck is the first DAX-listed company in Germany to cover the costs of fertility treatments. Julia Reichert is convinced that many companies will follow suit and has already prepared for this with her own start-up. In July, she launched the Onuava platform, a service provider that can handle fertility benefits anonymously.

The Heidelberg-based start-up Onuava is bringing fertility and family planning benefits to the DACH region. What is almost the norm in the USA and the UK is still exotic in Germany, Austria and Switzerland: employers supporting their employees with family planning – with financial and counselling services.

The first companies in Germany are supporting employees in their desire to have children. They cover the costs of treatment or provide information about methods.

Even the initiators were surprised that more than 50 applications were received for the first Heidelberg start-up prize.
Codefy” and “Onuava” came out on top and will now each receive 10,000 euros.

When Julia Reichert decides to put all her eggs in one basket, the world is just coming apart at the seams. In March 2022, a few weeks after the outbreak of the Ukraine war, the management consultant founds her health start-up Onuava. She wants to develop a platform for companies to support employees financially, with information and advice, when it comes to fertility treatment. In German.

Because of the shortage of skilled workers, employers have to find new ways to remain attractive. One company is taking a special approach. In German.

Unfulfilled wishes for children can put a massive strain on employees. Employers who offer so-called fertility benefits clearly show their colours and strengthen their attractiveness as an employer. The entry point can already be very low-threshold and cost-effective, says Dr Julia Reichert, founder of Onuava. In German.