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Investment roundup: Visa’s She’s Next Grant Programme, £1.2m for women’s health and more

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Femtech world explores the latest investment developments in the world of women’s health.

Irish female entrepreneurs win share of €90,000 in Visa’s She’s Next Grant Programme

Visa has announced the winners of its She’s Next Grant Programme in Ireland. Now in its fourth year, entries have more than tripled since the programme first launched.

The winners in women’s health are Claire Fullam, founder of Remi Scalp Care, Marian Kennedy, founder of Anewmum, Post Partum Relief Healthcare, and Sinéad Ryan, founder of Little Fitness, a physical education social enterprise.

This year’s overall winner, Claire Fullam, founder of Remi Scalp Care, was awarded a €50,000 grant, the largest business grant ever awarded by Visa’s She’s Next programme, having successfully pitched her business to Visa’s judging panel in January. Each of the four other winners received a €10,000 business grant to help take their next business steps with confidence.

All five winners of the She’s Next Grant Programme will also receive mentoring from award-winning entrepreneur and Visa’s She’s Next Campaign Ambassador, Aimee Connolly, founder of Sculpted by Aimee.

Additionally, they will benefit from business coaching provided by MentorsWork, an initiative by Skillnet Ireland in partnership with the Small Firms Association (SFA). As part of the programme, the winners also participated in group pitch preparation sessions designed to equip them with the skills and confidence to excel when future funding opportunities arise.

£1.2M investment into new pioneering research projects in women’s health

A UK charity that is dedicated to funding research in all areas of women’s reproductive and gynaecological health, Wellbeing of Women, has announced it has invested in 18 new projects spanning menstrual and sexual health, pregnancy, fertility and contraception and gynaecological cancers.

Projects that have been awarded with a combined total of more than £1.2m include: Using heat to treat ovarian cancer; Innovative new ways to detect HPV and cervical cancer; Understanding how ovarian cancer spreads and develops; High blood pressure during pregnancy and long-term health; Endometriosis and blood clotting; Contraception after giving birth, and more.

2025 Women’s Health Council to Support Women’s Health Accelerator Programme

Springboard Enterprises, an accelerator for advancing women-led innovation, has announced the launch of the 2025 Women’s Health Council. The group of experts will provide strategic guidance, mentorship, and industry connections to support entrepreneurs participating in the Springboard Women’s Health Accelerator Program.

The Women’s Health Council plays a crucial role in advancing innovation in women’s health by lending their expertise across biotechnology, digital health, medical devices, diagnostics, and consumer health solutions. Their insights and networks will empower the participants of the 2025 Women’s Health Cohort to drive innovation and bring new women’s health solutions to market.

Women’s Health Clinic receives CAD$10m investment

The Women’s Health Clinic (WHC) in Winnipeg will be safer, more accessible, and energy-efficient after an investment of $10 million from the Canadian federal government.

Women’s Health Clinic provides inclusive, accessible health and wellness services, including reproductive health care, mental health support, and gender-affirming care.

Funding will support critical upgrades to the clinic’s ageing mechanical, electrical, and elevator systems, as well as deep retrofits to enhance resilience and reduce carbon emissions. These improvements will ensure the clinic can continue delivering essential services in a safer, more sustainable environment, and can fully meet accessibility needs.

Lifted Ventures and Anya Health collaboration to accelerate AI-driven women’s healthcare

Lifted Ventures has announced that it has invested in Anya, an AI-driven women’s healthcare company.

Anya is a digital health application dedicated to supporting women’s health across various life stages, including pregnancy, parenting, fertility, and menopause. The app offers personalised, AI-powered, 24/7 healthcare and companionship, featuring Anya AI chatbot, healthcare specialist support, personalised content, virtual communities, and more.

Anya is still seeking additional investment with £150k remaining in the round.

Madica welcomes new startups to its investment programme

Madica, a structured investment program designed for pre-seed stage startups in Africa, has announced its latest round of investments in four tech-enabled startups which include Medikea, Motherbeing, Pixii Motors and ToumAI.

Each startup has received an investment of up to $200,000 and will participate in Madica’s investment programme, including 18 months of support through a personalised curriculum, hands-on mentorship, and two fully-funded week-long founder immersion trips to key local and global ecosystems, including Cape Town and London. The portfolio companies will also gain access to executive coaching opportunities and access to Madica’s global network of investors for follow-on funding, all designed to spur growth and ensure the long-term viability of the startups.

Egypt-based Motherbeing, founded by Nour Emam and Yousef Elsamaa, is a secure wellness service spanning Arabic AI chat assistance, educational content, and diagnostic services tailored to address their unique sexual and reproductive health needs.

Entrepreneur

Just 24 hours left to nominate your company of the year

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You have until Friday to nominate your femtech company of the year.

The award is one of 10 featuring at Femtech World’s third annual awards event, which attracts entries from across the UK, EU and Europe.

The Company of the Year Award is for companies that have demonstrated exceptional leadership in tackling women’s health needs through groundbreaking products, services or platforms that are shaping the future of global femtech.

If your company is driving innovation, impact and growth in this space, this award was made for you.

About the sponsor: Femovate

The category is backed by Femovate, the global femtech incubator using design to fuel innovation across every stage of a woman’s health journey, from proactive prevention through to personalised treatment.

Femovate has invested over US$2 million in design capital, working side-by-side with founding teams to bring market-ready solutions to life.

The startups it supports have collectively raised US$120 million, launched 30 products, and secured seven FDA clearances.

Why enter?

The Femtech World Awards are free to enter.

Winners and shortlisted companies receive extensive coverage across all Femtech World platforms.

Winners will also receive a trophy and the opportunity to be featured in an interview for the publication.

Find out more about the Femtech World Award and enter here by 4pm BST on Friday 17.

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Entrepreneur

The disciplined advantage: Wellness for modern leadership

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By Chaitra Vedullapalli, founder and president, Women in Cloud

Today’s leaders are carrying more than responsibilities.

They are carrying caregiving roles, financial pressures, legal complexities, and the quiet emotional weight of sustaining performance in unpredictable times.

And yet, most leadership forums still focus on productivity, growth, and scale, rarely addressing the human systems that enable sustained leadership.

At Women in Cloud, we believe the next generation of leadership will not be defined by endurance alone, but by discipline, preparation, and self-respect.

That is why we are proud to announce the #WICxWellness Summit 2026: The Disciplined Advantage.

This is a wellness summit focused on leadership preparedness.

Why This Summit Matters Now

Across our global community, a clear pattern has emerged.

  • More professionals and executives are quietly navigating:
  • Life-threatening health crises, personally or within their families
  • Financial stress caused by medical, caregiving, or business shocks
  • Legal and healthcare decisions with long-term consequences
  • Career interruptions due to caregiving responsibilities
  • Chronic exhaustion, grief, and emotional isolation

These experiences are widespread, yet rarely discussed in executive settings.

#WICxWellness 2026 brings these realities into the open with compassion, clarity, and practical guidance, so leaders can prepare, adapt, and continue forward without breaking.

This is wellness as a leadership discipline.

What We Will Explore

This year’s summit is designed to provide grounded, immediately applicable insights for founders, executives, and senior leaders.

Executive Function Under Chronic Stress

Keynote with Jennifer Brown

Focus Areas:

  • Understand how chronic stress alters judgment, focus, and emotional regulation
  • Identify early warning signs of cognitive overload in leadership roles
  • Adaptability as a Cognitive Anchor: Navigating rapid change without compromising decision-making.
  • Resilience Through Connection: Building human-centric teams to mitigate the stress of uncertainty.
  • Navigating Change with Emotional Intelligence: Regulating stress responses to maintain clarity and empathy.
  • Systemic Agility in High-Pressure Environments: Creating foundations of psychological safety that protect organizational function

Labs That Matter (And What to Do With Them)

Fireside Chat with Chelsey Galipeau and Chaitra Vedullapalli

Focus Areas:

  • Which health tests are worth the time and investment
  • Interpreting results without panic
  • Preventive strategies for executive longevity
  • Avoiding unnecessary medical spending

Caretaking Without Collapse

Panel With Karen Fassio, Anca Platon Trifan, Scilla Andreen, Clara Schroeder, Sheena Yap Chan

Focus Areas:

  • Managing family and professional demands without burnout
  • Setting humane boundaries
  • Building sustainable support systems
  • Ending silent sacrifice in leadership

Food as a Stability System (Not a Diet)

Fireside Chat with Nancy Watt and Meagan T. Copelin

Focus Areas:

  • Nutrition for sustained energy and clarity
  • Blood sugar and decision-making
  • Realistic eating during travel and stress
  • Food as operational resilience

Autoimmunity, Hormones & Cardiac Risk in Real Life

Fireside Chat with Dr. Linda Bing

Focus Areas:

  • Managing invisible health risks
  • Hormonal transitions and stamina
  • Flare prevention at work
  • Energy mapping for leadership performance

A Different Kind of Leadership Conversation

At Women in Cloud, we have learned something fundamental:

Performance is visible. Discipline is invisible.

Yet discipline determines whether leaders can serve, build, and lead over decades, not just quarters.

The Disciplined Advantage is about building that resilience intentionally.

Through science, lived experience, and practical frameworks, this summit equips leaders to:

  • Anticipate strain instead of reacting to a crisis Design sustainable work rhythms
  • Protect cognitive and emotional capital
  • Lead from grounded strength

This is leadership infrastructure for the next decade.

Join Us

If you are a founder, executive, technologist, or senior professional navigating complexity and determined to lead well without sacrificing your health, clarity, or longevity, this summit is for you.

The #WICxWellness Summit 2026 is where performance meets preservation. Where ambition meets sustainability. Where leadership becomes truly durable.

We look forward to welcoming you. The Disciplined Advantage begins here.

Secure your spot: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wicxwellness-summit-2026-tickets-1981616382945?aff=oddtdtcreator

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Entrepreneur

Who will be crowned Startup of the Year?

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Femtech World is continuing the search for a company to be crowned Startup of the Year.

The award is one of 10 to feature at the third annual Femtech World Awards.

The Startup of the Year Award celebrates an early-stage company making a bold impact in women’s health through innovation, vision and execution.

The winning startup will have demonstrated strong potential to transform care, accessibility, or awareness in women’s health with a scalable solution.

Consideration will be given to innovation, market traction, inclusivity, impact and the ability to address unmet needs.

The award is sponsored by Future Fertility.

The company is transforming fertility care with AI-powered solutions that close critical information gaps along the IVF journey.

Its clinically validated, non-invasive tools analyse oocyte images to predict each egg’s reproductive potential, supporting decision-making across key pathways: VIOLET™ for egg freezing, MAGENTA™ for IVF-ICSI, and ROSE™ for donor programmes and egg banks.

These reports deliver personalised insights into egg quality and ploidy potential, empowering patients and clinicians to make more informed decisions regarding next steps.

Today, Future Fertility’s technology is used in more than 300 clinics across 35+ countries.

Developed with the world’s largest oocyte image dataset linked to reproductive outcomes, Future Fertility’s AI models generate quality scores that not only guide treatment planning and manage expectations, but also serve as objective, actionable KPIs for labs—driving improved outcomes and transparency in fertility care worldwide.

The awards are free to enter, with winners receiving a trophy and an interview with Femtech World.

Find out more about the awards and enter for free here.

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