\u201cWe were just ready to roll out. But suddenly non-urgent care went completely out of business,\u201d Thomas says. \u201cOur customers are independent treatment centres. Think orthopaedics and plastic surgery. Without patients, our base fell away. It was a big shock.\u201d At the time, the very young company had just secured its first turnover and four employees . Promising, but fragile. \u201cWe were still in our infancy,\u201d says Thomas. \u201cSo that was a bit exciting: how do we keep our team together and how do we maintain the app?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Corona Bridging Loan, better known as the COL, provided a lifeline. The scheme from the Ministry of Economy and regional development agencies gave promising innovative companies temporary financial breathing space. \u201cThanks to the COL, we were able to keep paying salaries and continue building the app,\u201d says Thomas. \u201cWe even temporarily deployed our technology in corona care, for example to monitor patients at home. That immediately gave us raison d'\u00eatre and showed that our app is more widely applicable than we thought.\u201d Ivo Kalthoff, COL fund manager at ROM InWest: \u201cThis was also exactly what the COL was for. Caro Health had a professional team, serious investors and traction in the healthcare sector. Their downtime was purely because of COVID. Then, as a fund, you want to provide space, because you believe in the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n
There were strict conditions attached to the COL: a one-off bridging loan, and a maximum term of five years. That meant the fund was not replenished with additional capital in between. So it was a one-off pot of money. \u201cBut the corona crisis lasted longer than expected,\u201d Ivo explains. \u201cFor many entrepreneurs, starting to repay after one year was simply not feasible. That's why we deferred. It was about: is there trust, is there transparency and is the story right? With Caro Health, this was clearly the case. Their quarterly updates were realistic and concrete. They remained continuously transparent with us, even when repayment was not possible. This allowed us to build a relationship based on trust.\u201d Thomas acknowledges. \u201cBeing honest about where we stood, even when things were tense, gave us room to grow. Without that flexibility, our survival would probably not have been possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
In August 2025, Caro Health was fully acquired by HOPCo, an international organisation developing digital healthcare solutions, with a strong digital network. They are a market leader in value-driven care within MSK\/orthopaedics. They are also increasingly engaged in digital care solutions. The team at Caro Health deliberately chose this move to leverage the knowledge and network of the international market leader. \u201cIt's a big acceleration for our team,\u201d says Thomas. \u201cWe have access to more expertise, resources and a large international network. This allows us to roll out our technology faster in Europe and beyond.\u201d Caro Health will retain its own identity, though. Thomas: \u201cWe will continue to operate under our name in the Netherlands and Belgium. At the same time, we are now Hopco's European office. That opens doors and attracts new talent.\u201d The COL loan was fully repaid by Caro Health upon acquisition.<\/p>\n
In North Holland, 285 enterprises have been granted COLs. Ivo: \u201cNot all enterprises were equally successful, but unfortunately that is also part of the start-up phase the enterprises were in. Together with the enterprise, we always tried to look for solutions. Caro Health is a great example of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
This has also been a good move for North Holland. Local, innovative companies like Caro Health create jobs, preserve knowledge and technology and make healthcare stronger, benefiting the whole community. Thomas: \u201cBanks were often reluctant in times of crisis, but entrepreneurs could turn to the ROMs for support. ROM InWest helped us through an important phase. Now we can show what it has delivered: for our company and for the healthcare sector in which we want to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
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What does Caro Health do? Caro Health develops a digital app that supports patients during their care journey and improves communication with healthcare providers. The platform is used in specialities such as plastic surgery, phlebology, chronic pain care, orthopaedics, fertility and urology . The acquisition by Hopco allows Caro Health to scale up its technology faster and roll it out internationally.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 2019, Thomas Goijarts was on the eve of a big step in his career. He had just founded Caro Health, a digital app that helps patients during their healthcare journey and improves communication with healthcare providers. The product was ready, the first customers were waiting. Then COVID-19 broke out.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":9719,"template":"","tags":[49,130],"soort-insp":[75],"class_list":["post-9167","inspiratie","type-inspiratie","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-col","tag-innovatie-ontsluiten","soort-insp-interview"],"yoast_head":"\n