Opening doors across Europe: IPLEXMED’s journey with EEN

An EEN catalogue profile became a turning point in ANI’s ongoing support to Portuguese medtech IPLEXMED, increasing the company’s international visibility and opening the way to further networking and tailored pitch coaching. The journey culminated with co-founder Neide Vieira stepping into the European spotlight with third place in the EIT Women Leadership category of the European Prize for Women Innovators.

Who did you help and what were their needs?

A rapid diagnosis can change the course of treatment. Yet delivering lab-grade results often depends on specialised equipment, trained professionals and centralised laboratories. Portuguese medtech start-up IPLEXMED wants to change that.

The company is developing a portable, rapid and connected diagnostic platform that uses graphene-based biosensors to detect infectious diseases. Its ambition is to bring high-quality molecular diagnostics closer to doctors and patients, making testing faster and more accessible.

Behind this vision are co-founders Neide Vieira, Bruno Almeida, Joana Guerreiro and Jérôme Borme. Together, they are working to transform scientific knowledge into a diagnostic solution with the potential to address a major healthcare challenge.

But developing a breakthrough technology was only part of the journey. As a young science-based company, IPLEXMED also needed to become more visible internationally, connect with investors and potential cooperation partners, and explain a complex innovation in a way that would immediately resonate with different audiences.

Within the founding team, Neide Vieira, IPLEXMED’s Chief Operating Officer, took a particularly active role in representing the company in pitch-related and networking activities. Her entrepreneurial leadership would later receive individual recognition through the European Prize for Women Innovators, a competition specifically dedicated to women entrepreneurs. That distinction recognised Neide’s individual contribution, while IPLEXMED’s technology and progress remained the result of the wider team’s work.

ANI team had already established a relationship with IPLEXMED and had previously connected the company with relevant opportunities. But through Enterprise Europe Network Portugal, this support evolved gradually, combining visibility, networking and pitch development in response to the company’s needs. Inclusion in the 2025 EEN Women Entrepreneurs e-Catalogue became an important milestone in this ongoing journey—and one that would soon open a new international door.

Services provided

Scale-up support

Internationalisation

What did you do to help them?

In 2025, ANI supported IPLEXMED’s inclusion in the EEN Women Entrepreneurs e-Catalogue, an initiative designed to showcase innovative companies led by women and connect them with opportunities across the Enterprise Europe Network.

ANI helped the company prepare and validate its profile, present its technology and clarify its international cooperation interests. Once published, the profile began travelling through the Network—reaching partners and business support organisations far beyond Portugal.

It did not remain simply a page in a catalogue for long. The visibility generated through the e-Catalogue led to an invitation for IPLEXMED to take part in the Cooperation Pitch Session at Peers4Growth, an international event held in Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany.

In spring 2026, Neide returned for two further in-person services provided through EEN Portugal. First, she took part of the “Women Entrepreneurship: e-Catalogue, Pitch & Networking Hybrid Event”, where IPLEXMED once again had the opportunity to showcase its work, connect with other women entrepreneurs and strengthen its presence in the European innovation ecosystem.

This was followed by a dedicated pitch coaching workshop, where IPLEXMED team had the opportunity to work on their pitch, received personalized feedback and explored how to make their message clearer, more focused and more engaging.

The challenge was not to oversimplify the science. It was to make its importance immediately understandable: what problem IPLEXMED is solving, why graphene-based biosensors offer a distinctive approach and how portable diagnostics could improve access to timely healthcare.

Through feedback and follow-up, ANI helped the company refine the bridge between scientific excellence and business communication.

Each service built on the previous one: visibility created an international opportunity, that opportunity provided experience, and the coaching helped turn that experience into an even stronger pitch.

The impact: What was the outcome of your help?

Almost one year after IPLEXMED’s international visibility through the EEN Women Entrepreneurs e-Catalogue, Neide Vieira stepped into an even brighter European spotlight.

In February 2026, she was selected as one of 18 semifinalists for the European Prize for Women Innovators. She subsequently progressed to the final group of nine entrepreneurs, with three finalists competing in each of the prize’s categories.

On 4 June 2026, at the European Innovation Council Summit in Brussels, Neide achieved third place in the EIT Women Leadership category. The category recognises exceptional women leaders from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology community, and the distinction included a EUR 20,000 prize.

As the prize specifically recognises women entrepreneurs and their leadership, it was awarded individually to Neide but, at the same time, the distinction brought wider visibility to IPLEXMED and to the work of the company’s full founding team.

The Network’s contribution lay elsewhere: in opening doors to international audiences and helping the company communicate its ambition with increasing clarity and confidence. The results of this support can be traced throughout the journey. A company profile in an EEN catalogue generated a concrete cross-border opportunity, leading to an invitation to present IPLEXMED at an international event in Germany. Further networking and pitch coaching strengthened the company’s ability to communicate with European audiences. The European Prize then brought new recognition and visibility to both Neide and IPLEXMED.

For ANI, one of the most rewarding aspects of this journey was seeing how a new milestone within an existing relationship created further momentum. Inclusion in the e-Catalogue led directly to an international pitching opportunity and was followed by additional networking, training and personalised support.

The story illustrates the value of sustained support that evolves alongside a company. Rather than offering a single intervention, EEN Portugal accompanied IPLEXMED through a series of complementary opportunities, each responding to a different stage of its international journey.

As the company takes its next steps, ANI's EEN team can continue to help it identify international partners, engage with investors, explore European funding opportunities and reach new markets.

From growing visibility within the Network to a European award stage, IPLEXMED’s journey shows what can happen when breakthrough science, entrepreneurial leadership and sustained, tailored support come together.