As part of the European HealthTech Valley project, Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT), Eurasanté and BioPark have mapped the funding and investment stakeholders in Flanders, Wallonia and Hauts-de-France. In total, 119 stakeholders and organisations have already been identified. This initial database is now being used to develop a tool designed to facilitate HealthTech companies’ search for funding.
Funding needs change significantly as a company develops. A company in the pre-seed or seed phase does not seek the same funding as a company preparing a new fundraising round, its industrialisation or its scale-up. Investors also do not position themselves in the same fields, whether biotechnology, medtech or digital health. By combining the knowledge and networks of the three regions, the project aims to provide companies with a broader view of the funding opportunities available within HealthTech Valley and to facilitate the identification of relevant stakeholders beyond their home market.
More than a simple investor directory, the tool is intended precisely to take these differences into account in order to direct companies towards funding stakeholders that match their profile. The search can be refined according to several criteria: geographical area, type of funding sought, field of activity, or level of maturity.
The tool will continue to evolve. It will be regularly enhanced in order to keep pace with changes in funding schemes and to take the ecosystem’s needs into account.
