Digital health startups across Europe have access to a growing number of accelerator programmes designed to nurture innovation and prepare companies for investment. These accelerators provide mentorship, networks of clinicians and payers, and often small amounts of funding in exchange for equity. We count more than twenty such initiatives, from pan‑European platforms like EIT Health and Startupbootcamp Digital Health to national programmes such as Bayer’s Grants4Apps in Berlin and InnoStars in Hungary.
Although Europe’s accelerator landscape has expanded significantly since the mid‑2010s, founders should recognise that each programme has a different focus. Some emphasise regulatory coaching and clinical validation, while others concentrate on business model design or access to hospital testbeds. Before applying, entrepreneurs should align the stage and needs of their company with the mentors and markets a programme serves.
Cross‑border collaboration remains a key theme across our posts. As we argued in our examination of why saving lives is not enough in Europe’s digital health ecosystem and the main drivers of digitalisation in health care, companies must demonstrate commercial value as well as clinical impact. For founders dreaming of unicorn status, our analysis of whether Europe is ready for a digital health unicorn shows that patient adoption, payer reimbursement and investor appetite still vary widely across the continent. Accelerators can help navigate these challenges, but realistic expectations and a long‑term vision are essential.
He has invested in startups including American Well, Neuronation, Mimi, and most notably mySugr – which was recently acquired by Roche. Min-Sung is also a contributing writer for mediums including TechCrunch and Tech.EU and studied Business Economics at Witten/Herdecke, Harvard, St.Gallen, and in Seoul.