F118 Healthcare is Diverse. Why Is Healthtech Investing Not? (Dr. Fiona Pathiraja)

Faces of Digital Health

Diversity is an increasingly debated topic in startup investments, since founders of under-represented backgrounds may it be gender, race, age, and more too often experience inequality in opportunities. US VC funding for female-founded or co-founded companies has been trending up in recent years. However, last year women were impacted by the pandemic also on the funding level. According to Pitchbook, during the first quarter of 2020, 4.3% of VC deals went to companies founded by women, compared to 7.1% during the first quarter of 2019. Crista Galli Ventures Fund is especially attentive to giving an opportunity to founder with under-represented backgrounds. The fund was founded by Dr Fiona Pathiraja who is a radiologist by training. She left medical practice to become a management consultant. After doing that for a year, she became a clinical advisor position at the British Department of Health. After realizing that change comes to healthcare because of technological advancements slowly entering the sector, she got an MBA and became an investor. Crista Galli Ventures Fund: https://www.cristagalli.com/ Visit www.facesofdigitalhealth.com for other episodes and recaps as well