Europe’s journey toward a greener, more digital future is not only about new technologies—it’s also about how companies organize, collaborate, and deliver value. Across health, fintech, agri-food, manufacturing, and retail, innovative SMEs have been rethinking their business processes to become more resilient, scalable, and competitive.

🎯 Purpose

The initiative examined how startups and SMEs restructured their workflows, sales strategies, and collaboration models while participating in an acceleration programme 'EPICENTRE'. It highlights how business process innovations—when paired with new technologies—enable firms to reach market readiness, scale across sectors, and integrate sustainability into their core.

🚀 Examples of Transformation

• IamHero: Shifted from isolated VR therapy development to co-design with clinicians, creating clinically validated workflows for ADHD and autism therapy.
• FingerprintML: Adopted modular APIs and mobile-first design for fraud detection, making its platform easier to integrate into financial ecosystems.
• Vitum Technologies (BigConnect): Transitioned from product to platform co-validation with corporates, embedding continuous deployment and IoT/ERP interoperability.
• VoiceMed: Embraced a patient-centred model, incorporating healthcare professionals and remote-first diagnostics for scalable respiratory health solutions.
• BCNVision: Replaced manual quality checks with AI-enabled, closed-loop inspection systems, improving food and beverage production efficiency.
• Seedsight: Brought e-commerce-style behavioural analytics into physical retail, enabling GDPR-compliant, real-time decision-making.

🌍 Impact on Firms and Ecosystems

• Efficiency & Cost Savings: AI-driven automation and modular systems reduced waste and sped up integration.
• Market Expansion: Remote-first and modular approaches opened new growth channels, from telemedicine to enterprise-scale fintech.
• Trust & Adoption: Co-creation with clinicians, corporates, and end-users built credibility and accelerated uptake.
• Sustainability & Scalability: Embedding compliance, modularity, and workflow integration ensured long-term viability across sectors.

⚡ Key Lessons Learned

• User-centred co-design is a competitive edge.
• Modularity and interoperability unlock easier adoption.
• Automation and data analytics drive efficiency and resilience.
• Sustainability must be built-in, not added later.
• Corporate testbeds and pilots are critical to move from prototype to market-ready solutions.

👉 The big takeaway: business process innovation is just as important as technology innovation. By redesigning how they work, collaborate, and scale, SMEs are not only proving their solutions in real-world contexts—they’re also paving the way for Europe’s digital and green transition.