DELIA Fund Backs Women’s Health and Wellness Start-ups
Unlocking Innovation
Since inception, the DELIA Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund has developed a portfolio of exceptionally prospective ventures at the cutting edge of advancements in the field of women’s health and wellness. Creating technologies developed by women for women, DELIA-backed companies exemplify leadership in this space, including:
HyIvy Health (led by Rachel Bartholomew)
Élan Healthcare (led by Dr. Pari Saharkhiz, MD)
Workhorse Health (led by Megan Mantle)
HealthyHer (led by Rina Carlini)
MindfulGarden Digital Health (led by Catherine Winckler)
Maman Biomedical (led by Latchmi Raghunanan)
From novel reproductive and fertility technologies and pelvic health rehabilitation to platforms that assist healthcare providers with digital transformation and patients with healthcare system navigation, Canadian women entrepreneurs are leading the way. Rachel Bartholemew from Hyivy Health played a critical founding role in the creation of Femtech Canada, a diverse and inclusive league of Canadian innovators in this space. Many more leading ventures can be found on their website member directory.
“Because of our relationships with pioneers in the field, like Rachel, as well as working with national accelerators like Boundless and Bioenterprise Canada—from being present at major tech events and summits to convening the national StrikeUP Canada community at our own annual women entrepreneurship conference—we are continuously poised to invest in innovation capital at the right moment with the right women-owned companies,” explains Kim Botrie, Nventure’s Finance lead.
DELIA support usually translates to $50,000 in flexible debt or equity financing to:
Finalize prototypes
Bridge to a pre-seed venture round, or
Fuel business momentum at the early commercialization stage.
“That’s where we’ve found a niche,” Botrie notes.
Given the potential of current global trade disputes and tariff activity to contribute to economic challenges in Canada, closing the gap in women’s participation in entrepreneurship could act as powerful compensating maneuver—unleashing billions in new economic activity across all sectors and acting as a buffer to mitigate recessionary pressures. The latest report from Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), underscores the importance of ending the historic gender access to capital gap. As WEKH states, “access to financing remains a top concern for women entrepreneurs” as “women founders receive only 4% of venture capital funding in Canada.”
“This massive entrepreneurship gap has resulted in a loss of up to $180 billion in foregone economic activity,” notes Candace Laing, President & CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. “Unlocking Canada’s economic growth potential requires a […] real focus on gender parity in entrepreneurship.” As part of this collective imperative, in 2025, Nventure’s DELIA fund became fully self-sustaining, a permanent and evergreen commitment to women entrepreneurs and Nventure is committed to doing everything possible to continue to invest in women-owned businesses in Canada.
The Chamber’s recent report not only underscored the importance of women entrepreneurs to the Canadian economy in general, but also specifically acknowledged the transformative leadership role women play in designing new health and wellness products for women, from diagnostics to software. Meanwhile, in the corporate medtech space, a persistent lack of women occupying executive leadership roles persists, as mentioned in a 2023 PwC report. In contrast, the path of entrepreneurship can place women in charge from the beginning: women define the problem, design the solution, and implement the business model.
Featuring Maman Biomedical
At last year’s Collision conference (Web Summit), Nventure’s objective on the ground was to meet with as many women tech entrepreneurs as possible from across Canada, to ensure that women founders knew they could have a passionate, patient, flexible and committed financial partner in DELIA. One of those companies—then flying below the radar—was Maman Biomedical, also a member of Femtech Canada.
“When we met the Nventure team at Collision, it felt different right away,” said Founder & CEO Latchmi Raghunanan. “They believed in our why, our mission. As a women’s health startup tackling fertility care, that kind of early belief meant everything. The DELIA investment gave us the breathing room to move from concept to credibility: we were able to prototype, file patents, win pitch competitions, and show that this isn’t just an idea, it’s the future of female care.”
Since DELIA invested in Maman, the company has come to the forefront, earning media in Disruption Magazine, the Globe and Mail, CBC Radio One and the Peterborough Examiner, winning pitch competitions like Innovation Cluster’s LevelUP, and appearing at major events across the Ontario innovation corridor—not to mention filing patents, developing strategic R&D partnerships and raising pre-seed investment. Maman Biomedical is already generating an extensive network of enthusiastic supporters.
“We’re building the world’s first needle-free hormone patch for fertility treatment—and the world is taking notice,” Raghunanan explains. “What we’ve developed isn’t just a more convenient delivery method, it’s a fundamentally different experience, one that removes the daily pain, stress, and isolation of hormone injections and replaces it with something pain-free, discreet, and easy to use. We are set to change the standard of care. And this is only the beginning.”
“It’s not only because of the innovative potential of the technology,” Botrie adds, from Nventure’s perspective. “But also, Latchmi’s authentic communication style, her compelling vision and her leadership abilities as a Canadian medtech entrepreneur. Her newsletter is fantastic, it keeps us up to date with developments.” Most recently, Maman was shortlisted by Spring as one of their Top 5 start-ups through the 2025 Invest Together in Women-Led Impact program. “We are all just truly excited for the future of Maman Biomedical and all of the women’s health and wellness start-ups proudly supported by Nventure's DELIA fund.”
The Horizon
Are DELIA-backed women’s health and wellness ventures poised for success? According to Forbes (and many others), the answer is a firm yes. VCs are expected to “bet big” on women’s health in 2025 as the sector undergoes dramatic transformation. As that process unfolds, Nventure’s DELIA Fund is working to ensure that Canadian women have the early investment they need to help bring their solutions to the world.
