As we embrace the final stretch of 2024, it's time to celebrate a year that has been truly transformative! For Cap Inclusive, this year has brought about significant innovation and remarkable growth. A major milestone has been the launch of the FemTech Breakfast Club (FBC)—a nationwide pitch competition aimed at closing the funding gap in FemTech and empowering the next generation of innovators in women’s health. In this special edition of our newsletter, we are excited to share key takeaways from the FBC 2024 Impact Report and celebrate the progress made toward improving women’s health.
Women face significant healthcare challenges—such as a 12-year wait for an endometriosis diagnosis and the misdiagnosis of depression in 50% of women. These statistics highlight the urgent need for specialized health solutions. With conditions like PCOS affecting 18% of women and infertility impacting 17% of couples, the FemTech sector offers a critical opportunity to address these disparities.
Globally, the femtech market is projected to reach $75 billion by 2025, fueled by advancements in fertility solutions, pregnancy care, and overall women's wellness. However, challenges persist, particularly in securing sufficient R&D funding. Indeed, only 13% of digital health venture capital is directed toward FemTech. Initiatives like the FemTech Breakfast Club are crucial in bridging this gap by supporting startups nationwide, fostering collaboration, and driving innovation to improve health outcomes for women and marginalized communities across Canada.
Montreal Winner: Vope Medical
Founder: Amy Lorincz and Timothee Bernard
Vope Medical offers AI-enabled surgical solutions that enhance a surgeon's vision. By reducing common visual obstructions like fog, which affects 37% of endoscopic procedures, their technology improves both the efficiency and safety of surgeries. This innovation directly addresses a significant cause of surgical errors, creating a major leap forward in medical precision.
Calgary Winner: Revol Cares
Founder: Sara Jonsdottir and Mayo Santos
Revol Cares is revolutionizing menstrual and postpartum care. With a focus on sustainability and inclusivity, they have developed a leak-proof, washable product that absorbs up to 13 mL per hour—far surpassing the capacity of current market alternatives. Their products are designed for women of all sizes, including gender-affirming styles, ensuring comfort and reliability for a diverse range of needs.
Toronto Winner: Bfree Cup
Founder: Leisa Hirtz
Bfree Cupis the world’s first boil-free menstrual cup, created from medical-grade silicone. Inspired by Lisa’s travels to rural villages in Uganda and Kenya, where women used unsanitary alternatives to manage their periods, the Bfree Cup addresses both hygiene and water scarcity. Its design eliminates the need for boiling, offering a more sustainable and accessible solution for women globally.
Vancouver Winner: Flutter Care
Founder: Dolma Tsundu
Flutter Care provides a non-invasive, wearable device that monitors early signs of fetal distress. Coupled with a remote software system, it gives expecting parents real-time health data, empowering them to make informed decisions. With 30% of stillbirths preventable, Flutter Care is offering a vital tool that provides both peace of mind and critical health insights.
In numbers:
150 Investors and Ecosystem Partners engaged across four FBC events in 2024.
83 pre-seed and seed applications, 80% of which were female-led.
48% of applicants belong to a racialized group, 10% live with a disability, and 20% are part of the LGBTQ+ community.
95 jury members, including 80 women, helped guide the founders.
These numbers represent not only the diversity and inclusivity of the FBC, but also the growing momentum behind FemTech across Canada. Several startups have formed key partnerships, while others secured early-stage funding as a direct result of our events, further validating the importance of the FBC in fostering future leaders in women’s health. Our goal is to keep this momentum going, ensuring that FemTech founders have the resources and support they need to scale their innovations and make a lasting impact on women’s health.
Below, we highlight key trends and insights from all the applications that showcase the emerging areas of opportunity and impact within women’s health.
Medical devices empower women to monitor their health at home, providing convenience and control over their personal health. For investors, these technologies offer scalability and integration with broader care paths, highlighting the diverse applications beyond tracking, such as predictive analytics, collection of new data points and for earlier diagnostics and treatments.
Apps connect users to affordable resources and specialized healthcare professionals, addressing the increasing demand for mental health solutions, often not the focus of family doctors. For investors, these platforms build a loyal community of users which follow women’s journey and needs over multiple years.
EdTech ventures are increasingly addressing crucial topics such as sex education, grief, and fertility. These initiatives are crucial for improving health outcomes and informed decision-making. Investors can look for loyal community bases that seek expert-informed content in a world where information is hard to sort through.
The FemTech Breakfast Club is a nationwide pitch competition designed to identify and nurture innovative FemTech solutions. By using tailored criteria, the competition not only educates investors but also uncovers groundbreaking technologies in women's health. Through this series of events, we bring together incubators, accelerators, entrepreneurs, and investors to support FemTech founders in securing Pre-Seed and Seed rounds of funding.
Our core objectives are to amplify women’s voices in tech, drive impactful innovation in women's health, and foster a collaborative space where investors and founders can learn from one another. To support these goals, we’ve designed six selection and judging criteria that ensure an objective and standardized benchmark for the FemTech sector. The six key selection criteria are: Value Proposition, Market Opportunity, Market Traction, Growth Strategy, Impact on Society, and Internal Team. These criteria reflect the unique needs and challenges within FemTech, with a focus on inclusivity and solutions that address critical gaps in women’s health.
As we reflect on the success of 2024, we’ve realized that the opportunities before us are even greater than we initially anticipated. In 2025, we are excited to expand our application pool by broadening the definition of FemTech to include complementary products and services, such as early diagnostic solutions, sexual health innovations, and mental health solutions.
By embracing these new categories, we aim to support the next wave of breakthroughs that will further enhance women’s health, improve access to care, and foster a more inclusive ecosystem for FemTech innovators. The next edition fo the FemTech Breakfast Club promises to be a year of even greater progress, and we are excited to continue this journey together. We’re committed to amplifying diverse voices and driving innovation in women’s health, and we can’t wait to share what’s in store for the next chapter.
Mark your calendars: Call for applications for the 2025 FemTech Breakfast Club will officially open on January 13th, 2025. We can’t wait to see the innovative solutions you’ll bring to the table as we continue to shape the future of women’s health.
Here’s what we’ve been talking about lately:
Highlights from the FemTech Canada Forum, where we celebrated the 2024 FemTech Breakfast Club prize winners. They received $10,000 grants to support innovative advancements in women's health - Check it out!