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Hubvantage – A personalised support programme for HealthTech startup founders

SmartSME competitiveness
By project NOTRE
Publication Published on 19 March 2025
Location
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Romania
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About this good practice

Hubvantage is a personalized support program launched in 2022 to enhance the innovation capacity of healthcare providers and HealthTech startups. It addresses the need for healthcare innovation by providing tailored support to startups, helping them navigate healthcare systems and align their solutions with real-world needs. While healthcare providers are open to innovation, startups face challenges integrating their products into these systems. Hubvantage was created to help startups scale and build connections within the healthcare ecosystem.
The nine-month program includes one-on-one mentoring, needs assessments, and connections within the healthcare system. It starts with an evaluation of each startup’s challenges, followed by a tailored approach addressing medical, legal, financial, and marketing needs. Hubvantage also creates networking opportunities through exclusive events and collaborations with healthcare professionals, helping startups refine their solutions and expand locally and internationally.
Key stakeholders include startups, mentors, healthcare providers, and partners like Freshblood HealthTech, UBB’s HIVE Health Innovation Centre, and Activize, with support from EIT Health. Beneficiaries include startup founders receiving support to scale their products and healthcare providers accessing innovative solutions. The program also impacts senior healthcare by enabling solutions for elderly care, improving mobility, communication, and autonomy for seniors.

Expert opinion

Hubvantage demonstrates a versatile acceleration model by delivering a nine-month, tailor-made roadmap that diagnoses each startup’s regulatory, clinical, financial and market barriers before aligning support to address them—avoiding generic “one-size-fits-all” schemes critical for efficient public investment. Its collaborative architecture brings together entrepreneurs, medical experts, legal and business advisors, economic development agencies and end-users via bespoke mentoring and exclusive networking events. This ecosystem convening not only fast-tracks pilot projects in healthcare but also forges durable connections that smooth procurement and scaling pathways—an approach readily adaptable to other technology or industrial sectors where integration hurdles and stakeholder coordination are common. With three cohorts completing over 100 mentorship sessions, 10+ matchmaking events and 37 startups supported on a modest €50 000 annual budget, Hubvantage illustrates how focused public-private co-funding can yield measurable innovation uptake while leveraging existing partner capacities. Regions seeking to bolster competitiveness can replicate this blueprint by anchoring partnerships in universities, clusters and investor networks, committing seed funding to orchestrate targeted acceleration and enabling diverse startups to thrive.

Resources needed

Hubvantage is organized by EIT Health RIS HUB Romania - Freshblood HealthTech, UBB’s HIVE Health Innovation Centre, and Activize. An annual budget of €50,000, mainly allocated by EIT Health, supports mentoring, events, needs assessments, and connections to ensure the program’s success.

Evidence of success

Hubvantage is considered a successful practice due to its impactful results. In its three editions so far, the program has supported 37 startups, conducted over 100 mentoring sessions, and organized more than 10 events connecting startups with healthcare professionals. These efforts have fostered valuable collaborations, helping startups refine their innovations to better meet the needs of the healthcare sector.

Potential for learning or transfer

Hubvantage offers a valuable model for other regions, connecting HealthTech startups with healthcare professionals and organizations to foster a collaborative ecosystem. This model aligns innovation with real-world healthcare needs, ensuring practical and scalable solutions. Key success factors include personalized mentoring, networking opportunities, and support from diverse stakeholders like mentors, healthcare providers, and economic representatives. This multi-sectoral collaboration accelerates the development of effective healthcare solutions.
For regions adopting this model, success depends on building strong partnerships between startups, healthcare professionals, and support networks. Challenges may arise in adapting solutions to local healthcare contexts and ensuring effective collaboration across regional players. While no official transfer has yet occurred, the potential for adoption in emerging HealthTech ecosystems is significant.

Further information

Website

https://freshblood.ro/hubvantage/

Good practice owner

You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.

Organisation
Contact
Tags
Health
Healthcare
Startups
Medical
Entrepreneurship