TV-interview WNL 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘕𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥

We're really proud that Douwe was part of this WNL 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘕𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 episode about women's health and femtech, alongside Judith Huirne of Amsterdam UMC, Marga Mathijssen and Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport Sophie Hermans.

One question stood out: if women-specific health conditions cost society billions every year, and innovative solutions already exist, why do so few reach patients at scale? Femtech is not a niche. It is a blind spot in healthcare, and therefore a major investment opportunity.

The problem is not a lack of entrepreneurs or technology. It is the system around them. As Douwe explains in the interview, only 2 to 3% of all healthtech investment goes to femtech. Journalist Tanja Kok asked him what it will take to change that.

For decades, we have underinvested in research into women's health. As a result, we lack data, clinical evidence and even appropriate reference standards. At the same time, we expect entrepreneurs to build the evidence, raise capital, enter clinical pathways and secure reimbursement.

And femtech goes far beyond fertility or period-tracking apps. It includes menopause, hormonal health, pelvic floor disorders, incontinence, cycle disorders and cardiovascular health.

For us, femtech should be treated like any other healthtech investment. The questions are the same: does it solve a real healthcare problem, is there clinical evidence, can it become part of an existing care pathway, and who pays?

Femtech does not need a lower bar. It needs a better foundation to meet that bar: better data on women's health, better diagnostics and reimbursement pathways considered from the start rather than after the technology is built.

More than 50 femtech startups are already active in the Netherlands, many founded by women. The opportunity is there. We will not get there through more pilots alone.

We need entrepreneurs, researchers, hospitals, insurers and investors working together, moving from evidence to adoption and from adoption to scale.

That is the shift we believe needs to happen, and exactly why we continue to invest in the companies that can drive it.

Watch the full episode on NPO Start.

Want to talk about investing in women's health, or building a femtech company yourself? Reach out to us.,

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