Diversity by Doing HealthTech’s mission is to enhance diversity in the health technology ecosystem, because including diverse perspectives will improve medical outcomes for women and people of color. But all innovators and founders need funding.
An impressive $27.5 billion in venture capital was invested in health technology in 2022, according to Deloitte. But women, Black and Hispanic founders were less likely to receive those investments – which significantly impacts which startups will succeed and which medtech innovations will make it to patients down the line.
Rock Health’s Diversity in Digital Health report takes a closer look at the inequity that healthtech founders experience when seeking funding for their innovations, based on both gender and race. Women founders, as well as Black and Hispanic male founders, were less likely to receive venture capital than their male, white or Asian counterparts. Black women founders, in particular, were the most likely to be bootstrapped – building their company with virtually no external capital.
Rock Health, which runs an Equitable Investments Initiative, poses the questions:
“What is the lost opportunity to all of us if we don’t meaningfully support a diverse pool of entrepreneurs addressing our most pressing health concerns? And what is the opportunity if we do?”
Whiel we continue pressing for more equitable funding opportunities for women and people of color, here’s an opportunity for African-American and Hispanic medtech founders to check out:
