Health Holland

What Health Holland does

Health~Holland is the designated Top Sector organization for the Dutch Life Sciences & Health (LSH) sector, operating under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) within the Netherlands' mission-driven innovation framework. Founded in 2011/2012 and headquartered in The Hague, it functions as a coordinating body that connects science, entrepreneurship, policy, and society (the "quadruple helix") to accelerate health innovation with economic and societal impact. From 2024 onwards, Health~Holland executes the PPP Innovation Subsidy, the primary funding mechanism for public-private research collaboration in the LSH sector, administering a share of the €5.7B Knowledge and Innovation Covenant 2024-2027 (€4.3B public, €1.4B private).

Its product portfolio is organized around four pillars: (1) funding programs including the PPP Innovation Subsidy and targeted calls (Science for Industry, Organ-on-Chip, Eureka biotech, SME Call); (2) startup and SME support through the LifeSciences@Work ecosystem with Venture Challenge, Expert Classes, and Mentor Matching; (3) the Zorginnovatie.nl healthcare innovation platform; and (4) internationalization services including trade missions, Nordic Life Science Days participation, and country-specific market intelligence. Operational subsidiaries include LifeSciences@Work and Zorginnovatie.nl. Health~Holland is a government state entity — not a commercially revenue-generating company — with 11-50 employees, GDPR-compliant data handling, and a designated Impact Officer role. Its central societal mission targets all Dutch citizens living at least five years longer in good health by 2040, with a 30% reduction in health disparities.

Name

Health Holland

Legal name

Health~Holland

Website

https://health-holland.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Health~Holland is the Dutch Top Sector organization for Life Sciences & Health, coordinating public-private research funding (€5.7B under KIC 2024-2027), startup support via LifeSciences@Work and Zorginnovatie.nl, and internationalization for universities, startups, SMEs, and corporates in the Netherlands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Sector Life Sciences Funding

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) for Global Health (HLAJAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Global Health Research, Clinical Trials & Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) (HLAJAOAM), Health Systems Strengthening & Global Health Technical Assistance (BPADAEAH), International & Global Public Health Aid Administration (Government Donors) (HLAJALAO)

Keywords

• Public health funding
• Life sciences innovation
• Startup incubation programs
• Research subsidies
• Healthcare partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

The Hague

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. PPP Innovation Subsidy: Health~Holland executes the PPP Innovation Subsidy from 2024 onwards, stimulating public private cooperation for research that creates economic and societal impact. They manage subsidy programs for the Life Sciences & Health sector.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Health~Holland is the Dutch Top Sector organization for Life Sciences & Health, executing the PPP Innovation Subsidy from 2024 onwards and coordinating public-private partnerships to stimulate research that creates economic and societal impact. The organization funds and supports companies, knowledge institutions, startups, and SMEs in the Dutch LSH sector, and operates the LifeSciences@Work startup support program and the Zorginnovatie.nl healthcare innovation platform.

Product overview

Health~Holland is the Dutch Top Sector organization for Life Sciences & Health, functioning as a coordinating and funding body rather than a traditional software product company. The organization operates a platform of interconnected programs and services centered around the PPP Innovation Subsidy for public-private research funding. The core portfolio includes LifeSciences@Work (a comprehensive startup support ecosystem offering Venture Challenge competitions, Expert Classes, and Mentor Matching), the Zorginnovatie.nl online innovation platform, Innovation Broker advisory services, and various specialized funding calls (Science for Industry, Organ-on-Chip, SME Call). These offerings are supported by internationalization activities and network-building initiatives, all oriented toward accelerating innovation in Dutch health and care.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LifeSciences@Work: Startup and entrepreneurship support program for the Life Sciences & Health sector, offering Venture Challenge, Expert Classes, and Mentor Matching programs
• Zorginnovatie.nl
• PPP Innovation Subsidy

Products and services

• PPP Innovation Subsidy A subsidy program that stimulates public-private cooperation for research that creates economic and societal impact in the Life Sciences & Health sector, executed from 2024 onwards.
• LifeSciences@Work A comprehensive startup support program that helps entrepreneurs, scientists, and researchers convert innovative ideas into successful businesses in the Life Sciences & Health sector through Venture Challenge, Expert Classes, and Mentor Matching.
• Zorginnovatie.nl

Quantifiable outcome

• €5.7 billion available for innovation stimulation across missions and key technologies under KIC 2024-2027
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Leiden University Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2025Health~Holland awarded a grant to Leiden University Medical Center in partnership with Acurx Pharmaceuticals for DNA Pol IIIC inhibitor research targeting multidrug-resistant bacteria including MRSA. This represents a strategic academic-industry collaboration.
• Acurx PharmaceuticalscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiopharmaceutical company collaborating with Leiden University Medical Center on novel antibiotic development through Health~Holland grant funding.
• WorkTech PPP ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare innovation program involving six public-private partnerships working on labor-saving innovations in health, well-being, and care. The program examines how PPPs can address complex health challenges.
• Knowledge and Innovation Covenant (KIC) PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompanies, knowledge institutions, governments and other organizations committed to the mission-driven innovation policy under the KIC 2024-2027, working together on health transformation with €5.7 billion in total funding.
• LifeSciences@WorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth~Holland initiative supporting startups and entrepreneurship in the LSH sector through Venture Challenge, Expert Classes, and Mentor Matching programs, with a network of innovation brokers.
• Zorginnovatie.nlcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch healthcare innovation platform supported by Health~Holland, providing visibility and connections for innovative healthcare solutions in the Netherlands.
• Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment agency to which Health~Holland is legally required to disclose all granted PPS allowance projects, including personal data of involved individuals.
• Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry that designated the Health & Care theme as one of four global challenges and oversees the mission-driven top sectors and innovation policy framework.
• Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry responsible for formulating the five Health & Care missions and linking innovation policy to care agreements and programs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO): Dutch government agency that channels subsidies and innovation programs; Health~Holland is legally required to disclose all granted PPS projects to RVO, making it a direct institutional peer and counterparty in the same national innovation ecosystem.
• NWO (Dutch Research Council): The principal Dutch national research funder; comparable to Health~Holland in funding academic-industry research collaborations and operating mission-aligned grant programs, though at a broader scientific remit beyond life sciences.
• EIT Health: European knowledge and innovation community focused on health, coordinating PPPs across EU member states; directly comparable PPP-coordination and startup-support model, but operating at pan-European scale rather than national.

Broad incumbents

• Innovate UK: UK's national innovation agency funding R&D and supporting business growth; structurally analogous to Health~Holland as a public innovation funder, though with broader sectoral scope and larger budget.
• Fraunhofer Society: Germany's leading applied research organization bridging academic research and industry; comparable in operating applied research and PPP-style programs, though much larger and focused on contract research rather than grant administration.

Regional players

• Luxinnovation: Luxembourg's national innovation agency supporting R&D, startups, and cluster development; highly comparable role as a small country's coordinating innovation body, with similar PPP facilitation and internationalization services.
• Catalonia Trade & Investment: Public agency promoting foreign investment and cluster development in Catalonia's life sciences sector; analogous function in attracting health innovation investment and supporting internationalization of regional life sciences companies.

Emerging players

• BioGeneration Ventures (BGV): Dutch venture capital firm dedicated to early-stage life sciences and health startups; comparable ecosystem role in supporting Dutch biotech entrepreneurship, though operating as a private investor rather than a public coordinator.
• Venture Challenge (NWO Take-off): Dutch early-stage startup funding program; competes directly with Health~Holland's Venture Challenge for life sciences founders and offers similar commercialization support, creating overlap in startup pipeline.

Others

• TopSector Agri & Food: Another Dutch Top Sector organization under the same EZK mission-driven framework; institutional peer with identical structural mandate, governance model, and PPP coordination function, but focused on agri-food rather than life sciences.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/lifescienceshealth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/health-holland
• Instagraminstagram.com/health.holland
• Xx.com/healthholland

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Health Holland