Impact Investment Opportunities in Women’s Health
Recently, we proudly introduced our commitment to solving today’s healthcare challenges by supporting ventures through our Digital Health & Wellness Fund. As we celebrate Women’s History Month this March, in today’s article, we deep-dive into one of our 3 key DH&W pillars: Women’s Health.
At True North, we believe that focus on Women’s Health from private investors is long overdue. Women make up more than half of the global population, and are the primary healthcare decision-makers in their households [1]. Health issues that affect women differently– or disproportionately– remain chronically underfunded or invisible. One in three women in North America and Europe are affected by reproductive or gynecological health problems, yet less than 2.5% of public funding is dedicated solely to women-centric issues [2]. The rise in women’s disposable incomes and the growth in numbers of aging women have accelerated demand for high-quality women’s healthcare, increasing investment opportunities in the market. In 2020, we began working with Callaly, a UK-based period care brand challenging the way we think about menstruation. As we started diving deeper in our due diligence, the need for private capital injection to drive innovation in women’s health was clear. Through the creation of our Digital Health and Wellness fund, we have identified 2 sub-verticals within Women’s Health with potential for wide-reaching impact through private investment: sexual/reproductive health, and maternal health.
There is a disparity between how little healthcare funding is dedicated to women-centred health issues and how much women spend on healthcare– estimated at $500 billion annually [3]. In 2020, $1.3 billion was invested into digital health companies targeting reproductive and/or sexual health, encompassing ventures focused on menstruation, birth control, and fertility [3]. Like many industries in 2020, the growing trend of direct-to-consumer in women’s health is no different. Companies like Twentyeight Health, an end-to-end telemedicine platform that connects women with doctors and Medicaid-supported birth control, are reinvigorating venture investment in this space– which has remained largely stagnant for decades . Even menopause– an often highly-stigmatized and hushed topic for women– is getting the spotlight. By 2025, it’s expected that 1.1 billion women will be postmenopausal, representing an immense, virtually untapped market for femtech ventures to address [4].
Like reproductive health, maternal health is a growing area of interest for private investment in femtech, that is ripe for innovation. There are about 4 million births per year in the US, and the country has one of the worst maternal mortality rates of any developed country in the world [5]. Digital health and telemedicine aim to offer potential solutions to increase accessibility of prenatal care. Entrepreneurs and start-ups have also detected the untapped market demand, including Babyscripts, a virtual maternity care platform, allows doctors to connect with expectant mothers for remote patient monitoring, enabling early detection and treatment of pregnancy-related issues. Companies that provide mothers with post-natal solutions, such as lactation support or parental wellness, are also growing in popularity. Mamava, a US-based venture providing lactation rooms and pods for public spaces, is helping break down stigma related to breastfeeding. Robyn, a parental wellness platform, connects pregnancy and post-natal specialists to families seeking care and support.
Historically, there has been little attention given to gender differences in how healthcare and health products are accessed. Given that women are 75-85% more likely than men to use digital tools for their healthcare needs, innovative, technology-backed solutions only make sense as the next revolution in Women’s Health [6]. The past year has thrown virtual and digital health into the spotlight, and the Women’s Health space is no exception: at a CAGR of 15.6%, technology-enabled healthcare products and services for Women, or femtech, are expected to reach $60 billion by 2027 [7]. At True North, we are committed to supporting ventures that are working to make women’s health services and products more accessible. We believe investment in this space is long overdue, and the opportunities for private investors to make an impact in a virtually untapped market are vast.
To learn more about our work in Women’s Health, our Digital Health & Wellness Fund, and how we connect investor capital with impactful ventures around the world, please contact Fund Manager, Kai Chen (kai@truenorthimpact.com).
[2] UKCRC - UK Health Research Analysis 2014
[3] Techcrunch - Femtech poised for growth beyond fertility
[4] Crunchbase - Why More Startups And VCs Are Finally Pursuing the Menopause Market:
[5] Rock Health - Femtech is expansive—it’s time to start treating it as such
[6] GLG Insights - Huge Growth Potential in Femtech and Maternal Services
[7] Cision - Femtech Market