The last few months have marked a milestone period for Propel Healthtech, as the programme secured £4.5 million in funding from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, via the UK Government’s Investment Zone.
Working in close collaboration with partners across the West Yorkshire ecosystem, Propel provides innovators with the tailored support needed to navigate complex pathways to adoption, ensuring that promising solutions can move from concept to real-world impact more quickly and effectively.
This significant investment, announced in November 2025 as part of the region’s Local Growth Plan, reflects a shared ambition to position West Yorkshire at the forefront of health-tech innovation. This will enable Propel to support 240 innovators over the next four years, helping to accelerate growth, adoption and impact across the region and beyond.
As highlighted by Mayor Tracy Brabin, investing in innovation is key to driving economic growth, creating high-value jobs and improving outcomes for communities: “The first priority of our Local Growth Plan is to boost our region’s fastest growing business sectors, because we know that’s how we’re going to drive investment, create jobs and put more money in people’s pockets… This will help with access to finance, skills and workspace to bolster collaboration with hospitals and universities, boosting growth and helping us build a stronger, brighter West Yorkshire.”
As part of the Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber portfolio, Propel continues to play a central role in strengthening the region’s position as a leading hub for digital health innovation, while driving economic growth and improving patient outcomes.
This new funding has enabled a substantial expansion of the Propel offer. Building on the success of its established Start-Up programme, Propel has introduced a dedicated Scale-Up pathway to support more mature companies in navigating adoption and spread within the NHS.
Furthermore, the last twelve months has seen the development of Propel Connect, the UK’s first digital platform designed to safely connect innovators in health-tech, the NHS, and partners working across the health innovation. This innovative tool is set to transform how organisations collaborate, access expertise and accelerate the uptake of new technologies.
A diverse and high-potential first cohort
The first cohort of the expanded programme launched in December 2025, bringing together 30 innovators, split evenly across both the Start-Up and Scale-Up programmes, whilst reflecting an ongoing commitment to supporting diversity and inclusion:
- 67% of innovators are female led
- 33% are from ethnic minority backgrounds
- 20 companies are based in Yorkshire
Collectively, the cohort represents a dynamic pipeline of solutions addressing critical challenges across health and care, from early diagnosis and rehabilitation to mental health, data integration and workforce efficiency.
Across both cohorts, innovators are developing cutting-edge solutions to improve outcomes and experiences for patients, clinicians and those working across the system.
Start-Ups are exploring new approaches to care delivery, including at-home diagnostics, AI-powered platforms, digital therapeutics and tools supporting neurodivergent children and stroke recovery.
Tsitsi Chinyandura, Founder at Lotessa Digital Health, on the Propel Start-Up programme, said: “Joining the Propel Healthtech Accelerator has been a transformative experience for both myself and Lotessa Digital Health. From the moment I stepped into the programme, the calibre of mentorship, peer cohort, and industry-relevant insights has elevated how I think about my product strategy, commercialisation, and scaling in digital health.”
Those on the Scale-Up programme are advancing proven solutions already gaining traction within healthcare systems, ranging from digital sleep services and weight management platforms to immersive clinical training, wound care innovation and tools that streamline communication and prescribing.
Ebiere Osusu, EO Health Hub Connect Ltd, on the Propel Start-Up programme, said: “My experience on the Propel programme has been incredibly eye-opening and impactful. It has given me a much clearer understanding of what it truly takes to build a health-tech business in the UK, particularly around working with the NHS. Propel has helped me move beyond just having a good idea to thinking strategically about viability, partnerships, governance, and real-world implementation. The sessions, insights, and network have been invaluable in shaping my innovation, EO HealthHub Connect, and strengthening my confidence as a founder navigating the UK health-tech ecosystem.”
A key highlight of the past year has been the continued growth of Propel’s partner network, now with 27 delivery partners across legal, regulatory, clinical, design, HR, investment and communications expertise.
Gemma Badger, Senior Associate at Hill Dickinson, one of the partners on Propel, specialising in legal. She said: “Hill Dickinson is extremely proud to have been involved as partner to Propel since it started. Each year individuals from our Leeds-based team work closely with early-stage innovators helping them understand how legal frameworks impact their development, and when engaging legal services is most beneficial… We share in the challenges faced by the innovators and become personally invested in helping them overcome these, and in doing so, driving growth for our region.”
Case study: Peili Vision
Peili Vision, a Finnish health-tech company, specialising in the assessment of executive functioning in children, particularly those with ADHD. Peili Vision has developed EFSim, a web-based, game-based tool that provides real-time behavioural insights through interactive tasks in a virtual environment.
After participating in the Propel@YH Boot Camp in January 2024, Peili Vision joined the 2025 Scale-Up programme to strengthen its commercialisation strategy.
Over the past year, the company has achieved significant progress:
- Delivered a pilot across 40 schools, funded by Innovate UK through the West Yorkshire Launchpad
- Secured a larger pilot with West Yorkshire ICB, pending DTAC clearance
- Expanded its user base to schools beyond West Yorkshire, as well as non-profits and private GP practices
- Achieved ORCHA listing and Class IIa medical device certification
- Established a UK base at Nexus, Leeds – cementing West Yorkshire as its operational hub
Peili Vision’s journey highlights the power of targeted support, strong partnerships and a thriving regional ecosystem in accelerating innovation from early-stage development to real-world implementation.
