FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

WHAM Launches Bold New Investor Network to Accelerate Women’s Health Innovation 

A Powerful Consortium to Identify Breakthroughs and Strengthen the Women’s Health Funding Ecosystem through Targeted Investment and Collaboration 

GREENWICH, Conn. (May 09, 2025) — WHAM (Women’s Health Access Matters) today announced the launch of the Innovator’s Circle, a first-of-its-kind initiative uniting leaders from women’s health-focused funds to catalyze early-stage innovation and forge strategic investment pathways in one of the most overlooked—and high-potential—opportunities in healthcare. 

“The Innovator’s Circle is more than a network—it’s a platform to accelerate groundbreaking ideas into market-ready solutions,” said Carolee Lee, CEO and Founder of WHAM. “By aligning early-stage investors with later-stage capital partners, we’re unlocking exponential opportunity for returns—and real health impact.” 

WHAM Innovator’s Circle Founding Members:  

AHA Go Red for Women Venture Fund • Amboy Street Ventures • Avestria • Catalytic Impact Foundation • Coyote Ventures • Cross Border Impact Ventures • Digital DX Ventures • Emmeline Ventures • Foreground Capital • Goddess Gaia Ventures • Kaya Ventures • Kidron Capital • March of Dimes • Next Ventures • NextBlue • Seae Ventures • Swizzle Ventures • The Sparrow Fund • US Fertility • Zeal Capital Partners

Naseem Sayani, Operating Advisor at How Women Invest and Advisor at Tower Capital, will serve as Director of the Innovator’s Circle. A recognized leader in advancing women’s health ventures, Sayani brings deep expertise, visionary leadership, and strong connectivity to guide this powerful collective through its next phase of impact. 

“This is the pipeline engine,” said Naseem Sayani, Director of the Innovator’s Circle. “The Innovator’s Circle brings together the investors best positioned to recognize early innovation and builds the bridge to capital scale.” 

Despite women making up half the global population and driving the majority of healthcare decisions and spending, companies focused on women’s health still receive only 2% of healthcare venture capital funding. WHAM and the Innovator’s Circle aim to change that—by advancing the capital, connectivity, and coordination required to transform the women’s health investment landscape. 

A Collective Force to Tap into Untapped Potential  

The Innovator’s Circle is designed to spotlight early-stage innovation, surface emerging trends, shape investment strategies, and build a more aligned funding pipeline by connecting with WHAM’s multibillion-dollar investment partners through the WHAM Investment Collaborative. Together, these partners will strengthen investment pathways for breakthrough solutions in areas such as cardiovascular disease, neuroscience, autoimmune disease, and more. 

Part of WHAM’s Integrated Innovation Ecosystem 

The Innovator’s Circle is the latest addition to WHAM’s suite of Collaboratives, each created to address a key gap in the women’s health innovation pipeline—from discovery through development and deployment. Together, they create a fully integrated and high-performing ecosystem focused on diseases and conditions that disproportionately, differently, or exclusively affect women across the lifespan: 

• The WHAM Research Collaborative: A global network of researchers, clinicians, and experts from leading institutions accelerating sex-based research across major disease areas. 

• The WHAM Investment Collaborative: A coalition of investment leaders from multi-billion-dollar funds focused on increasing private investment in women’s health companies. 

• The WHAM Innovator’s Circle: A network of leading women’s health focused funds driving discovery and pipeline-building across women’s health. 

• The WHAM Life Sciences Collaborative: A consortium of industry leaders advancing the inclusion of sex-based biology throughout the product development lifecycle. 

Together, these Collaboratives represent a turning point—aligning science, investment, and product innovation to transform the health of woman across their lifespan and unlock substantial economic returns. 

For data on ROI, market opportunity, and current funding trends, read WHAM’s latest investment report at whamnow.org/the-report/. 

About WHAM (Women’s Health Access Matters)  

WHAM, Women’s Health Access Matters, was founded by Carolee Lee, as a non-profit 501c3.  WHAM has established itself as a neutral convener, connecting leaders across sectors to advance healthcare innovations and reshape the women’s health landscape. WHAM’s initiatives, from laboratory research to real-world implementation, are designed to create sustainable impact and improve health outcomes for all. The WHAM Investment Collaborative, alongside WHAM’s renowned Research Collaborative and the soon-to-launch Life Sciences Collaborative, is focused on accelerating the development and adoption of groundbreaking healthcare solutions.   

Stay updated on WHAM’s initiatives by signing up for the newsletter and following us on LinkedIn and Instagram. Learn more at  www.whamnow.org.   

Media and Organization Contact:  

Marianne Foss-Skiftesvik

(203) 434-2383

marianne@whamnow.org