50 SMEs, 20 million euros: the impact of the SME Call

Entrepreneurs at the helm

The added value of the SME Call lies in the targeted support of innovative industrial research through close collaboration between research organizations and SMEs. Health Holland covers a substantial portion of project costs, such as personnel, pilot setups, and specialist analyses, allowing R&D teams to get to work without financial barriers. In these collaborative projects, entrepreneurs act as the lead applicants and work closely with public partners such as university medical centers, universities, and universities of applied sciences. With this grant, Health Holland helps SMEs transform their innovative research into tangible, industrially applicable solutions.

“The SME Call shows that there is a great need for research that is directly applicable. Entrepreneurs with guts and a clear vision use this grant to develop new therapies, products, and services together with research organizations. The SME Call is therefore more than just a grant instrument: it is a catalyst for translating knowledge into applications that truly add value.” – Sten Heck, Program Coordinator, Health Holland

Results in numbers

The success of this approach is evident in the results of the past three years. A total of 49 collaborative projects have been launched, with 50 SMEs already receiving direct support! Over 20 million euros in grants have been awarded in total. These figures underscore the confidence in the scheme and the broad support among entrepreneurs. The involvement of public partners is also significant: 63 different collaborative partners are now connected to the SME Call, including university medical centers, universities, and universities of applied sciences.

The stories behind the numbers

The true value of the SME Call is revealed in the stories of the entrepreneurs themselves: For instance, Levels Diagnostics used the grant to validate a clinical prototype at leading healthcare institutions. Surfix optimized its production line with the support of a knowledge partner. These cases demonstrate how the scheme enables SME entrepreneurs to take major steps with limited risk.

“The SME Call allowed us as a start-up to collaborate with the NKI: a unique opportunity,” says Jos Lunenberg of Surfix. “We tested our point-of-care platform with real patient material and scaled up production. That forced us to take a critical look at internal processes, from data processing to traceability. The collaboration strengthened not only our technology but also our market position. For us, this collaborative project and the PPP funding is not just an accelerator, but a catalyst for further growth.”

Levels Diagnostics also describes it as a breakthrough: “Thanks to the Health Holland SME Call, Levels Diagnostics has not only discovered crucial biomarkers but also built a strong academic partnership that paves the way for further innovation.”

Continuous development through dialogue

A key strength of the SME Call is the ongoing dialogue between Health Holland and entrepreneurs. Feedback is actively collected during each round and translated into concrete improvements. This has resulted in a user-friendly application form, shorter questionnaires, more flexible IP agreements in consortia, and accelerated decision-making. The average lead time has now been reduced from eleven to five months, allowing projects to start significantly faster.

Built on need and policy

The rationale for the SME Call aligns seamlessly with the Parliamentary letter of November 2022, which advocates for more room for innovative SMEs, stronger earning capacity, and a future-proof Dutch LSH sector. With this vision in mind, Health Holland introduced the SME Call three years ago to accelerate the translation from concept to (semi-)industrial application. Ernst Nagel, Operations Director at Health Holland, noted that this need is also strongly felt among entrepreneurs during his visit to HMC Medical: “As an SME, you want to move quickly, but sometimes you lack the resources to set up an industrial R&D trajectory. The SME Call meets exactly that need.” Hollandbio and its members have been closely involved in the development of the call from the very beginning, ensuring that all conditions and assessment criteria are directly aligned with the practices and wishes of LSH entrepreneurs.

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