A purpose-built accelerator for Victorian digital & connected health start-ups, supported by LaunchVic

Program status: open
Open date:
28 Jan 2026
Close date:
22 Mar 2026
HOW TO APPLY
Are you ready to supercharge your digital and connected health start-up?
ACTIVATE is a purpose-built accelerator program for Victorian digital and connected health start-up companies with significant growth potential that are ready to scale.

The six-month program features critical elements of our highly regarded Masterclass program (average NPS 89, $12.70 follow-on financing per dollar invested[1]) and offers founders an intensive experience featuring cutting-edge content, hands-on mentoring, and access to world-leading industry networks.

ACTIVATE supports companies to develop a robust business and commercialisation plan and learn how to successfully navigate the due diligence processes of professional investors and enterprise customers through:
  • Six modules of expert content, specifically tailored for digital and connected health start-ups
  • Knowledge implementation phases, with practical exercises designed to help participants put their learnings into practice
  • Real-time, one-on-one feedback and mentoring from local and international experts, including the dedicated ACTIVATE Executive in Residence
  • Facilitated access to ANDHealth's global network of industry advisors, investors, clinicians, executives and corporate partners.
Targeted to companies that bring together the enabling capabilities of technology to create novel digital or digitally enabled medical technologies, products or services, ACTIVATE is suitable for companies which have reached MVP and can demonstrate early engagement with users and customers.

Delivered in a hybrid format, ACTIVATE is designed around the realities of founder life, allowing companies to build commercial capability, apply learnings directly to their business, and balance program commitments with day-to-day operations.

Each year, 15 companies are selected via a proven and competitive assessment process. Applications for the 2026 ACTIVATE cohort are open now and close on Sunday 22 March 2026 at 11:59 PM (AEDT). The program will run from May to December 2026.

Read the program guidelines to learn more about eligibility, benefits, modules, expectations, key dates and more.

ANDHealth is supported to deliver the ACTIVATE program by the Victorian Government and LaunchVic.

ACTIVATE's proven, high-impact results
$38M
Follow-on
funding raised
$18M
New revenue
generated
613,000+
New patients
impacted
180
New jobs
(FTE) creatdd
90
Research projects,
pilots & clinical trials
66%
Female-founded
cohort companies

Outcomes reported to ANDHealth (as at 31 December 2025). n = 44 companies.

Meet our ACTIVATE alumni
Why ACTIVATE is one of our top-rated programs
ACTIVATE has been one of the most strategically impactful programs we’ve participated in. The calibre of speakers was exceptional, from healthtech founders, regulators, pharma executives and investors who have built and scaled real companies. Every session delivered practical, real-world insight that we could immediately apply to our business.
Harshad Vadakkepura
Co-Founder, Actimo Labs
ACTIVATE is unlike any other program we’ve encountered. Its unique blend of practical guidance, industry specificity, and high-caliber speakers makes it a must for companies seeking to thrive in digital health.
Tia Cummins
Co-founder, Flintworks
The ACTIVATE accelerator program has been transformative for Solara Health as a business but also for our leaders. The vast array of insightful presenters provided invaluable, digital health-specific insights that addressed both the opportunities and challenges in digital health.

Their expertise, combined with the program's structured guidance, has propelled our business to new heights.
Josh Farrington
Founder & CEO, Solara Health
Absolutely loved being part of the ACTIVATE program – the line-up of speakers, from industry, investors and experts, is world-class and well curated. There is a genuine commitment for this program to deliver value to the cohort, the day-to-day running of the program and support is exceptional too.
Anoushka Gungadin
CEO & Managing Director, HeraMED
The ACTIVATE program isn't just about knowledge transfer; it's about strategic transformation. We experienced a remarkable synthesis of cutting-edge digital health insights, practical commercialisation strategies, and high-impact networking.

We left with a transformed leadership team, strategic partnerships with key healthcare institutions, and a crystal-clear vision of our value proposition.
Victoria Wang
Founder & CEO, Augment Health
How ACTIVATE works
The ACTIVATE Program is designed around the realities of founder life, informed by over 4,000 hours of hands-on program delivery by our team. It enables companies to build commercial capability, apply learnings directly to their business, and balance program commitments with day-to-day operations.

A committed senior member of the team is required for active participation in the program. While there is room for other senior members to participate in specific sessions, we require full dedication from a nominated team member of the executive leadership team from each cohort company.

Program structure:
  • Onboarding: A short introductory video call to understand business needs, tailor the program accordingly, and align on expectations.
  • Content days (in-person): Delivered in the first week of each module and mandatory to attend in-person. These sessions feature industry experts and cohort-based connectivity, focused on building the foundations of a robust commercialisation, business, and capital strategy. 3–4 full days per month.
  • Knowledge implementation (hybrid): Designed to embed and deepen learnings from the content days through practical application. Sessions include one-off workshops, Office Hours and working groups. Sessions are optional and primarily virtual, with some in-person opportunities, and run across the middle two weeks of each month. A typical week of knowledge implementation includes one 60-minute workshop and one 45-minute Office Hours.
  • Mentoring (predominately virtual): One-on-one support tailored to specific company needs, delivered in real-time. The Executive in Residence provides targeted guidance and support. One 45-minute virtual session per module (with the occasional mentoring session in-person).
  • Investor 1:1 sessions: Towards the conclusion of the program, companies meet individually with investors to receive tailored feedback.
  • Showcase: A culminating networking event where companies present their product and impact to the broader digital health ecosystem.
Companies are required to attend key sessions in person throughout the six-month program, which runs from May 2026 to December 2026. We recommend holding the key program dates in your diary upon submitting your application.

Over the course of the program, a senior representative (and other nominated staff members where appropriate) are expected to attend at least 90% of all content and mentoring sessions.

Participants must attend all six mentoring sessions with the Executive in Residence. Where necessary, sessions may be rescheduled by mutual agreement outside the standard program timetable.
‍
Key dates for the first months of the program:
ACTIVATE Executive in Residence
ACTIVATE participants benefit from access to a national Executive in Residence (EIR) with a proven track record in developing, commercialising, scaling and exiting a digital health business, as well as facilitated access to ANDHealth’s global network of industry leaders and preferred suppliers. The EIR will provide monthly one-to-one mentoring, along with additional sessions tailored to support each company’s growth and development.

Digital health industy leader George Kenley will be our ACTIVATE Executive in Residence for 2026.

George has over eight years of experience scaling early-stage medtech ventures from innovation to market adoption, underpinned by a background delivering complex healthcare infrastructure projects at Lendlease. As Co-Founder and COO of Seer Medical (2017–2024), she helped lead the development of commercial, clinical and regulatory systems. Under George’s leadership, the organisation grew from three to 220 staff across three countries, established 24 clinics, and secured TGA, CE and FDA approvals – enabling multimillion-dollar revenue growth and access to advanced monitoring for thousands of patients.

Alongside her executive roles, George used her experience to support the broader medtech and digital health ecosystem by mentoring pre-revenue startups on commercial strategy, investment readiness, market access and scalable business models, with a focus on aligning clinical and commercial pathways to meet investor and customer expectations.

The sessions with the Executive in Residence were a big highlight of the program for us. It gave us clarity, direction, support and helped us to hone in on overcoming the biggest challenges.
Previous ACTIVATE EIRs include:
How to apply
1
Applications open on Wednesday 28 January 2026
2
Read through the program webpage and program guidelines document
3
Register for
an ACTIVATE information session
4
Book a 20-minute Office Hours meeting to discuss your eligibility and application
5
Complete the application form and upload all attachments via Gust
6
Submit your application via Gust before applications at 11:59 pm (AEDT) on Sunday 22 March 2026
7
Shortlisted applicants will be invited for interviews on
1 & 2 April – hold these dates in your diary
8
Successful applicants will be notified in mid-April
Everything you need to apply
Gust application portal
Program guidelines
Contact the ACTIVATE team
Book an Office Hours meeting
Check your eligibility
The program is designed for digital and connected health companies that:
  • Are able to service the commitment of a six-month part-time program for senior leaders in the business (founder, C Suite level).
  • Are registered in Victoria (as shown in the Australian Government’s Australian Business Register) or have been founded in Victoria (with the majority of the company founders having a primary residence in Victoria and the majority of its assets [e.g., office] in Victoria).
  • Have an Australian Business Number (ABN).
  • Are an Australian SME, i.e. a registered Australian corporate entity employing no more than 199 employees (SME).
  • Meet ASIC thresholds for small business including consolidated revenue of less than A$20M.
  • Are developing and commercialising a digital or digitally-enabled health and medical technology, product or service; such as mobile health (mHealth), health information technology, decision support software, remote patient monitoring, digital diagnostics, wearable devices and sensors, telehealth and telemedicine, personalised medicine, connected medical devices or Software as a Medical Device.
  • Have a functioning MVP which can be deployed to generate clinical and commercial evidence.
  • Are able to provide evidence of customer and/or end-user demand.
ACTIVATE is supported by LaunchVic
ANDHealth has received funding from LaunchVic to continue delivery of the highly impactful ACTIVATE scale-up program in Victoria for an additional two years, until 2028.
‍
This extension builds upon the initial $1.4 million investment in 2022 and recognises the high performance of the program and its significant impact on Victoria's fast growing digital and connected health sector.

Thanks to the generous support of LaunchVic and the Victorian Government, the ACTIVATE program is free for digital and connected health businesses that are registered in Victoria or have been founded in Victoria (with the majority of the company founders having a primary residence in Victoria and the majority of its assets [e.g., office] in Victoria).
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