In recent years, data from the European Innovation Scoreboard has highlighted a persistent dynamic across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE): while the physical infrastructure and technical talent required for a digital economy are firmly in place, the region often struggles with the connective layer required to convert local innovations into internationally scaled ventures.

To understand how European innovation networks are addressing this divide, we spoke with Federico Menna, CEO of 28DIGITAL (formerly EIT Digital). The organization’s activity across the CEE region points to a multi-tiered approach designed to connect talent, early-stage research, and established enterprises with broader European markets.

Early-stage validation

For early-stage founders in CEE, navigating the path from a working prototype to an investment-ready company remains one of the primary hurdles.

28DIGITAL addresses this through its Venture Incubation Program (VIP), a 12-week initiative providing customer validation, mentoring, and up to €25,000 in equity-supported prize funding. The program intentionally targets Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) countries to help bridge the innovation output gap between Eastern and Western Europe.

To date, 28DIGITAL reports supporting over 150 startups across CEE, including 14 in its most recent cycle. Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria continue to lead in venture volume, while Hungary has seen steady momentum with 11 teams participating over recent editions.

Several notable regional ventures illustrate the program’s focus on market validation:

  • Restimo (Poland): Used early program support to refine its MVP and business model, allowing the startup to pivot during market disruptions and secure subsequent investment rounds.
  • finQbit (Poland): Founded in 2023, the startup develops quantum-ready financial risk infrastructure for banks. After joining the Venture Incubation Program in 2024, finQbit raised over $1 million in total funding, secured a €500,000 European Innovation Council (EIC) grant, and joined international trade delegations to markets like Dubai.
  • Omnio (Bulgaria): Founded by former financial compliance practitioner Stoyan Lozanov, the startup built an AI-driven platform automating anti-money-laundering and customer screening processes.
As 28DIGITAL expands its operational footprint across Central and Eastern Europe, several of its core programs are currently accepting applications for upcoming cohorts. Please check all active calls directly on the 28DIGITAL Calls & Opportunities Portal!

Moving scaleups to market

As ventures grow, the challenge shifts from validation to market entry and cross-border scaling. 28DIGITAL addresses this through the Co-Creation Accelerator (the evolution of its Open Innovation Factory), which pairs early-stage deep-tech startups with established corporate partners over four months to solve concrete operational challenges.

Selected startups receive up to €250,000 in project support (with no co-investment required) along with direct access to a network of more than 270 European corporate and research partners. For regional ventures like Bulgarian healthtech startup Checkpoint Care, 28DIGITAL has supported fundraising efforts by connecting the team with investors and refining their proposition for broader European expansion.

Corporate partnerships and flagship initiatives

Beyond individual startup support, 28DIGITAL engages with institutional and corporate anchors across the region to drive structural digital transformation:

Hungary: EDIH leadership & industrial collaboration

The organization maintains a strongly embedded institutional presence in Hungary through the DigitalTech European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH), which 28DIGITAL leads. Backed by €5.4 million from the Digital Europe Programme, DigitalTech EDIH serves as a reference hub for startups, SMEs, and public institutions, focusing on cybersecurity, blockchain, fintech, and edtech. The consortium includes major academic partners such as Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) and Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), and is integrated into the European Corridor of Cybersecurity EDIHs (ECCE).

On the corporate side, Bosch Hungary has served as a key partner, hosting the 2024 EIT Digital Master School graduation ceremony and participating in 28DIGITAL's Corporate Innovation Club, an initiative aimed at generating direct inter-firm collaboration across the region.

Romania: Industrial digitization & healthtech networks

28DIGITAL is expanding its ecosystem footprint in Romania, aiming to build on its academic partnership with UBB in Cluj to increase startup adoption and accelerate digitization across local industries. Corporate entities seeking access to digital talent pipelines and startup co-creation are invited to engage.

Concurrently, Romania participates in major flagship initiatives like the UNITE Project, a €20 million pan-European digital health initiative led by 28DIGITAL spanning seven regions. Through UNITE, interregional consortia can access open calls offering nearly €1 million each to validate digital health solutions across borders.

Slovakia & Bulgaria: Regional expansion

  • Slovakia: Engagement centers on the Horizon Europe RIVCircular project, where 28DIGITAL manages digital solutions for the circular economy across eight EU regions, including Košice.
  • Bulgaria: 28DIGITAL is actively working toward establishing a physical office footprint in Bulgaria and is currently seeking local strategic and corporate partners. The objective is to provide Bulgarian entrepreneurs with direct access to funding, mentorship, and European networks, building on early success stories like Omnio and Checkpoint Care.

Retaining STEM talent

Parallel to early venture building is the long-term task of talent development. A primary objective for regional growth is ensuring that technical talent remains in CEE while developing the skills needed to build proprietary products rather than relying solely on outsourced services.

Guerrini explains how through its pan-European education initiatives, 28DIGITAL works with local academic institutions to integrate business creation into technical curricula.

A key milestone occurred when Babeș-Bolyai University (UBB) in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, joined the EIT Digital Master School network, introducing its cybersecurity expertise to a dual-degree curriculum that combines deep-tech training with entrepreneurship. As UBB Professor Simona Motogna observed regarding the local ecosystem, there is a growing recognition that relying primarily on outsourcing is not sustainable over the long term, making local investment in product development and venture creation essential.

Similar trajectories are visible in doctoral research. In Hungary, PhD candidate Csaba Györgyi completed his studies through the EIT Digital Doctoral School in collaboration with Ericsson, co-inventing five patents and developing the open-source networking tool P4RROT, demonstrating how applied academic research can transition into commercial technology.

Last, but not least, the tech transfer

Bridging the gap between university research labs and commercial markets represents a critical pillar. Through 28Digital's SPIN programme (including the SPIN: Rise track), researchers receive training in IP valorization and business development.

In recent editions, participation across the CEE and DACH regions remained strong. The Eastern regional cluster (encompassing Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Czechia, Austria, and Germany) contributed 22 research participants in 2024 and 25 in 2025 across key domains including Health Tech, Smart Manufacturing, Cybersecurity, and dual-use technologies, supported by local partners such as Warsaw-based Applejack Lab.

As 28DIGITAL expands its operational footprint across Central and Eastern Europe, several of its core programs are currently accepting applications for upcoming cohorts. Please check all active calls directly on the 28DIGITAL Calls & Opportunities Portal!

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