Cross-Border Impact Ventures Launches Investment Fund to Improve the Health of Women, Children, and Adolescents

Cross-Border Impact Ventures (CBIV), a Toronto-based venture capital firm, has announced the launch of a $30 million fund to help transformative health technology startups get off the ground.

The $30 million raised for the Women’s and Children’s Health Technology Fund was provided by several investors including Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Global Health Investment Corporation, Grand Challenges Canada, Hamilton Community Foundation, Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures, and RockCreek. In addition to these investors, CBIV has also partnered with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Jocelyn Mackie, Co-CEO of Grand Challenges Canada, referred to the fund launch by stating:

“Meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals requires filling a substantial financing gap; a broader mobilization of resources, both public and private, is necessary. New models like this fund, which leverages global market economics to create a business case for technologies useful in emerging economies, are critical to bring in new resources to save and improve lives.”

Cross-Border Impact Ventures was founded this year with the mission to boost the growth of the health technology industry while using gender lenses to create a diverse portfolio that meets the needs of users from multiple backgrounds. The leadership team is composed of Annie Thériault and Donna Parr, both of which have decades of experience managing venture capital and in the health industry. Thériault, Managing Partner at CBIV, said about the fund’s mission:

“We launched Cross-Border Impact Ventures based on the idea that borders should not dictate who gets access to the best health technologies. Our firm will play an important role in the health technology market by investing in companies that are creating innovations that have the potential to save lives or transform healthcare in North America, Europe, emerging markets, and underserved populations. This includes healthcare tools that are easier to use, provide greater precision, and can rapidly deliver diagnostics.”

While there has certainly been an improvement when it comes to women and child healthcare, there is still a clear gap among low and middle-income countries which needs to be solved. By providing funding to startups addressing this gap, CBIV can capitalize on the increasing opportunities for impact investing to help startups get off the ground, helping them provide better quality healthcare to millions of people in need.