Femtech Canada Launched to Amplify Women's Health Innovation

Femtech Canada, an Innovation Factory project, officially launched today in Toronto, marking a watershed moment in women's health innovation. This revolutionary organization is the first of its type in Canada, committed to developing women's health technology, commercialization, and investment, with a focus on the worldwide market, which is expected to top $4.8 trillion in 2025.

Femtech Canada prioritizes inclusion, assisting businesses with technology that serve the health and wellness requirements of women, girls, non-binary persons, trans people, and those designated female at birth. The group provides strategic networking, training, and business consultancy services, as well as fundraising and mentoring.

Founder Rachel Bartholomew, also the founder of women's health company Hyivy Health, founded Femtech Canada over two years ago to address historical challenges faced by women's health initiatives, such as under-research, under-funding, and being deemed "niche" in the business and investment community.

Femtech Canada has a dynamic ecosystem that includes approximately 120 Canadian women's health start-ups and scale-ups, industry partners, investors, accelerators, and service providers. The program is enthusiastically supported by a venture capital advisory board, femtech firms, and Innovation Factory, a business accelerator.

Karen Linseman, VP of Operations at Innovation Factory, highlights Femtech Canada's commitment: "We are truly overdue to rally around women's health - the health of 51% of the global population."

Over 100 network members attended the launch event, which provided an opportunity for early-stage femtech companies to network, pitch, and compete for $35,000 in non-dilutive funds from lead sponsor Sun Life, Shoppers Drug Mart, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG), and the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO).