Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™.
“Health is wealth” is a phrase that people have been using for years, and to me, it does not only refer to the health of one’s body but also to the opportunities that I see in health. The category has historically been geared towards products for men and women as a whole — and not focused on the issues that women specifically face. However, in the first half of 2024, digital health startups looking to improve women’s health outcomes saw a 3% increase in capital invested when compared to the first 6 months of 2023, showing a total of $679 million for 2024, according to PitchBook. This increased investment interest, I believe, will not only lead to better health outcomes for women but present a set of opportunities for people to build their tech careers in this growing sector. The areas within women’s health that tech companies are targeting and show the most promise are companies focused on fertility, caretaking, and menstruation.
Fertility has been a topic of conversation first due to the repeal of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022 and then due to the media covering the historic decline in global fertility in recent years. There is much speculation as to why the decline in fertility is happening. People have assumed that the reason is anything from feminism to the achievement gap developing between boys and girls. Authors like Richard Reeves, in his book “Of Boys and Men,” have documented this gap and shared their perspectives on the boys who then grow to become men. Given the heightened focus on fertility, it only makes sense that attention would come from the tech industry as well. A company that has made waves in this area is Maven Clinic. Maven Clinic was founded in 2014 by Kate Ryder on the vision that virtual care can increase the positive health outcomes for pregnant women from the time they are planning a family all the way through postpartum and even menopause. The company was the first health startup focused on women and family health to reach unicorn status and was recently valued at $1.7 billion.
Pregnancy is not the end of the journey. After a woman becomes pregnant, technology can help make sure the mother and the child have a high quality of life as well. While Maven focuses on fertility with software, Elvie uses hardware and software to improve the lactation process for women. Elvie is a next-generation breast pump founded by Tania Boler in 2013, and she has raised $136 million to date.
Given not only the political and cultural focus on fertility and maternity but also the financial milestones businesses are starting to reach in the category, it has become an attractive place to explore for anyone who is curious about new opportunities in technology and health care. As we know, Black women have some of the worst outcomes when it comes to childbirth. In fact, Black women are 2.6 times as likely as white women to die during childbirth as compared to white women. This presents an opportunity for companies specifically focused on the health of Black moms to be founded and invested in. Mae is filling that void by offering pregnancy and postpartum care targeted towards Black women. The company has weekly health tracking, personalized lifestyle and care tips, as well as culturally competent medical experts. Since we know that the way one experiences motherhood is connected to the ethnic group/race of the mother, companies like these are more than welcome.
As early as the age of 8, Aunt Flow can make an appearance in a girl’s life, and from then on it’s something that they have to deal with for many decades. Luckily there are companies that are looking to make that monthly event a little less difficult. Aunt Flow is a U.K.-based company that makes sure that pads and tampons are readily available in schools and businesses via its eco-friendly dispensaries for menstrual products. The company raised an additional $8.5 million in 2022 to continue expanding its business across geographies. Also Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the former Democratic nominee for vice president, made it so that all children in the state of Minnesota, no matter if they visited a male restroom or a female restroom, have access to the menstrual products they may need — and received the nickname “Tampon Tim” by conservatives for his efforts. Seeing both the private and public sector continue to invest in providing further access to menstrual products makes me believe we will continue to see interest in companies that can make this period of time (no pun intended) easier for women.
For years women’s health has been overlooked as a niche investment category, which does not make sense given that women account for 50.5% of the U.S. population. I believe this was the case in the past because investment firms are overwhelmingly male, and it was hard for founders to sell the vision of a billion-dollar company based solely around the health of women. Seeing more investors and operators in the space makes me excited for the future of technology in the world of women’s health — because women being in good health is good for all of us.
