Rooted to Rise: Powering Canadian Innovation at Home and Abroad | H2i 2025 Kickoff

This month, H2i kicked off the fall season by bringing together ventures, mentors and partners to explore how Canada can lead health innovation—at home and on the global stage. 

The event opened with reflections on H2i’s work-to-date and plans for the future, showcasing the remarkable impact of our venture ecosystem and the mentors and partners who support it. Since 2014, H2i has supported over 850+ entrepreneurial ventures in testing their hypotheses and realizing the value of their products/services to healthcare in the real world. 

The panel discussion put the Canadian health innovation landscape under a microscope, identifying existing strengths and gaps that must be addressed in order to retain Canada’s incredible talent. Topics included procurement and regulatory challenges, to funding pathways and market entry strategies – with lessons learned from other geographical contexts. Panelists explored the necessary collaboration of private and public sectors, and the changes needed to build a strong foundation in Canada before going global. 

Thank you to our speakers for sharing their insights, advice and perspectives: Dr. Paul Santerre, Dr. Soror Sharifpoor and Professor Leah Cowen, panelists Dante Morra (CAN Health Network), Bharat Srinivasa (Amplitude Ventures), Teresa Reguly (Torys LLP), Frank Shannon, and Albert Tai (Hypercare), and moderators Neil D’Cruz and Dr. Kamran Khan.  

And thank you, our H2i community, for continuing to show up and make this community such a supportive and meaningful environment for aspiring and early-stage healthcare innovators!