European innovation performance continues to increase, yet inequalities, particularly in access to investment, are still noteworthy. There is a need to close the performance gaps, which are still visible between Strong Innovators (North and West EU) and Moderate and Emerging Innovators (South and East EU mostly). A major asset to successful and sustainable business growth relies upon awareness and strong communication between innovative sectors and investors on available resources, their access and interventions by public/private funders. Improving networking between innovation ecosystems is key to the success of growing businesses and driving continued economic development. HER FUND’s ambition is to foster knowledge-sharing and synergies between innovation actors, existing initiatives/projects in order to support the next generation of startups, with an emphasis on women-led companies and gender-conscious investors. These interactions will notably lead to best practices’ identification, capacity-building activities and guidelines. Strengthening and broadening an interregional collaboration hub will promote a more competitive EU and a more sustainable, inclusive, diverse and resilient world. This will be done in a community-driven, cross-functional, cross-sectoral, multiplier based way, with partners bringing together communities of experts from different deep-tech sectors from around Europe and beyond. HER FUND will 1) transform less connected territories into recognized and attractive innovation valleys that pool and reward investments, 2) create bridges between EU innovation ecosystems increasing access to capital and investment in less connected innovation ecosystems and allowing local start-ups benefiting from foreign investments, 3) raise the number of gender conscious investors in Europe for support to women-led companies, 4) boost women entrepreneurship, especially in Moderate and Emerging Innovators offering them access to more funding opportunities

Smart Health is EU Strategic Value Chain that contributes to growth, jobs and competitiveness. Health Data is the main enabler for the value chain, but it also depends on cutting edge technologies - AI, cloud computing, IoT, to integrate the dispersed knowledge and support innovative healthcare solutions and services. EC sets the creation of a European Health Data Space as a main priority, to promote better exchange and access to health data. On a regional level, the RIS3 strategies of the involved widening countries - Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Cyprus emphasize the need for based on Big Data, AI and IoT digitalized healthcare, to enable personalized medicine, informed decisions, and improved disease prediction. RIS3 strategies also outline the need for more funding for R&I, policy coherence and development of territorially join innovation strategies. A cross country coordinated approach is needed to align the separate endeavours towards an Excellent South-East Europe Smart Health Innovation Ecosystem enabled by a Regional Smart Health Data Space. VELES raises the level of innovation excellence in the South-East EU through creating a sustainable place-based innovation ecosystem, enabled by Regional Smart Health Data Space, including novel transformational framework, R&I and investment strategy and action plan for research, development and adoption of innovative and secure digital solutions that underpin the delivery of sustainable healthcare services. The Regional Smart Health Data Space will be demonstrated through the design of 4 interrelated pilots on Cancer treatment (Greece); Personalised/precision medicine of Alzheimer (Bulgaria); Cerebral tumours (Romania) and Dementia (Cyprus). The aim of VELES is to foster health data sharing regional and national strategies, to secure improved clinical practice, to preserve patient’s privacy and to empower citizens’ smart healthcare through access to innovative, cyber secure and data driven digital health services.

SCALE'HER aims to strenghten women-led start-ups in strategic digital and deep tech markets across Europe. It emphasises growth, leadership development, market validation, and networking to enhance their market footprint and strengthen connections with relevant ecosystems and potential new markets. Prioritising startups with market-product fit or financing, especially from LCIEs, SCALE'HER provides support services for women-led startups. Through innovative cross-border activities like blind audition competitions, and an individually tailored acceleration programme, it fosters connections between startups and ecosystems including matchmaking with investors and business opportunities. The project also includes initiatives such as "Mission innovation" to strenghten the connection within and between the stakeholders and ecosystems in Europe, or the "Women Entrepreneur Roadshow" to showcase startups to investors, expanding their presence in key areas like AI and cybersecurity. Ultimately, SCALE'HER will foster the growth of women-led scale-ups, promote diversity, and advance strategic digital technologies across Europe while creating solid bridges between European innovation ecosystems in Europe.