Women’s Health as an Investment Opportunity: Why Capital, Evidence and Innovation Must Come Together

Women’s health is increasingly being recognised not just as a healthcare priority, but as a major investment opportunity. Yet despite women making up half of the global population, the sector remains significantly underfunded and underserved. A recent report by Boston Consulting Group highlights that closing the women’s health gap could unlock substantial economic and social value, but structural barriers continue to prevent capital from flowing into the sector and innovations from reaching the people who need them.

In a recent discussion on the future of women’s health innovation, Malin Frithiofsson, CEO of Daya Ventures in Sweden, and Maaike Steinebach, a femtech expert and ecosystem builder based in Hong Kong, outlined three major priorities for the next phase of growth in women’s health: expanding investment infrastructure, strengthening the path from early-stage innovation to scale, and redefining how value is measured in healthcare investment.

One of the biggest challenges in women’s health innovation is the lack of early-stage funding. According to Frithiofsson, the issue starts at the very beginning of the investment pipeline. She believes that increasing the number of women who invest in early-stage startups could significantly change the funding landscape. Her initiative, “One of the Girls Has Money Now,” focuses on educating women about startup investing through workshops, mentorship and pitch analysis. The goal is not only to improve financial literacy but also to redistribute capital and influence within the venture ecosystem.

Another issue is that many investors still associate women’s health only with reproductive care. In reality, women’s health includes areas such as cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, neurological conditions and menopause care — all of which represent large and underexplored markets. Building stronger investor networks and knowledge-sharing communities can help investors better understand these opportunities and reduce uncertainty when investing in the sector.

However, funding early-stage startups is only part of the solution. A major problem in women’s health innovation is the difficulty startups face when trying to scale. Nearly half of private investment in women’s health companies is concentrated in early funding rounds, which shows that many companies struggle to move from seed stage to Series A and beyond. This is often because healthcare startups need clinical validation, long-term data and proof that their solutions will be covered by insurance or healthcare systems before larger investors are willing to invest.

This creates what many experts call the “valley of death” — a funding gap between early-stage experimentation and large-scale investment. To solve this problem, Steinebach suggests using blended funding models that combine philanthropic funding, corporate partnerships and venture capital. These models can help startups survive the long and expensive process of generating clinical evidence and proving real-world impact.

Another important factor for scaling women’s health startups is aligning innovation with healthcare payment systems. Many startups focus on user growth but fail to understand how healthcare providers, insurers and governments pay for healthcare services. Without clear reimbursement pathways, even successful products may struggle to generate revenue. Experts suggest that startups should focus on clinical evidence, strong data and integration into healthcare systems from the early stages.

Finally, experts believe that investors need to rethink how they measure value in women’s health. Traditional return on investment (ROI) focuses mainly on financial returns, but women’s health innovations often create broader value. For example, better menopause care, maternal health support and treatment for chronic conditions can reduce healthcare costs, improve productivity and increase workforce participation.

Because of this, some investors are now using a broader evaluation model that includes financial returns, health outcomes and improvements in healthcare system efficiency. This approach also considers social impact, such as reducing diagnostic delays, improving access to care and preventing long-term health complications.

Women’s health is no longer just a social issue — it is an economic opportunity. With the right investment models, stronger evidence generation and better alignment between healthcare systems and startups, the sector has the potential to deliver both financial returns and meaningful improvements in global health outcomes.