Is a lack of ‘femtech’ funding a broader social issue?

Startups working in women’s health and reproductive health are still viewed as a niche investment opportunity, but VCs including Siam Capital’s Sita Chantramonklasri are flipping the script.

VC funding in the femtech sector has a lot of catching up to do when compared to other areas of healthcare and healthtech. This funding gap is due to a number of factors, according to Sita Chantramonklasri, founder and general partner at Siam Capital.

Chief among them? Calling the sector ‘femtech’ in the first place. “In many ways, it alludes to the fact that it’s an issue that only impacts a small pocket or subset of the population. That’s obviously not true,” said Sita.

Indeed, so-called femtech startups include businesses in the reproductive health space – something that affects entire families.

“The other downside of siloing [this space] is that it doesn’t get enough attention – be it from the funding side or the scientific community – to address these issues that are very much relevant,” added Sita.

Femtech’s funding gap issue is historical

As Sita sees it, there’s another reason for this funding gap: a historical lack of awareness about women’s health issues and the corresponding lack of proactive solutions for these issues.

To compound this, the lack of diverse representation within the VC world – and a lack of understanding of women’s health issues among investors – can also hinder the success of these companies.

Laura Katz, founder and CEO of Helaina – a company that recreates the proteins found in human breast milk – agrees with Sita’s assessment: “Why is there this gap? You know, it’s exactly what Sita said. This is a health concern. It’s not ‘femtech’. We’re talking about women’s health – that’s 50 percent of the population.”

“The gap that we see in funding, and in these companies really becoming successful, has to do with the profile of a lot of the investors that we as founders can access. These issues are not top of mind when many of the investors we’re talking to don’t have to deal with this stuff day in and day out,” Laura continued.

VCs need to understand ‘pain points’ in order to invest

Laura’s startup got more attention in 2022 when a shortage of baby formula was making headlines in the US. However, the founder said that some VCs did not initially see the value in Helaina, because they thought the solution was simply to have mothers breastfeed their babies (when many cannot or choose not to) or, as one VC suggested, to hire a wet nurse (which don’t really exist anymore).

“It’s not ‘femtech’. We’re talking about women’s health – that’s 50 percent of the population.”

– Laura Katz, Founder & CEO, Helaina

“If you don’t have enough representation of women in these rooms, you’re not going to have the same level of understanding of what the pain points are and, therefore, you’re not going to be able to create the same level of solutions,” reflected Sita.

Sita is proof that investors are beginning to take notice of and invest in women’s health and reproductive healthcare. With increased awareness of the importance of these markets, and with the potential for success within the sector, it’s clear the interest won’t end with Sita.

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Main image of Sita Chantramonklasri, Siam Capital founder and general partner on HealthConf stage during Web Summit 2022: Lukas Schulze/Web Summit (CC BY 2.0)