Women’s health offers significant growth potential for Finland

Finland is well placed to build internationally competitive business in women’s health, according to a report commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

The report identifies three key measures: targeted funding, more effective use of health data, and measures to facilitate the adoption and market access of new solutions that have been found to be effective.

Finland’s strengths include high-quality research, population-level health datasets and legislation that supports their secure use, biobanks, digital competence and a developing business ecosystem. The report states that Finland could position itself as a leader particularly in data-driven and preventive women’s health.

The report by Healthscape Design, titled ‘Promoting the women’s health sector in Finland – Market analysis and recommendations for measures and policies’, supports the national women’s health strategy that is being prepared by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

"Women’s health and functional capacity do not receive enough attention, and this costs us, both in terms of wellbeing and the economy. At the same time, Finland has strong legislation in place to safeguard research, health data and privacy protection. We also have technological expertise. We must now be able to bring these strengths together in ways that deliver better health for women while also generating new growth for Finland,” says Minister of Social Security Karoliina Partanen.

Women’s health presents both a health gap and growth potential 

Women's health continues to be affected by gaps in treatment, research and knowledge. Women live longer than men, but in Finland women can expect to have around 55.9 healthy life years, which is 2.2 years fewer than men.

Women’s health is also a rapidly growing area of research, technology and business. However, between 2020 and 2025, only around six per cent of private funding for healthcare was directed towards women's health.