Estonia-based CARÁ Health, a women’s health and wellness resource focusing on maternity journeys, has raised €620K in an early seed funding round. Tera Ventures led the funding round, with participation from Startup Istanbul founder Burak Büyükdemir via StartupIst Ventures. This brings the startup’s total funds raised to date to €750K.
Assisting women through pregnancy and postpartum
CARÁ Health, founded in early 2022, provides an app offering evidence-based information, support services, and curated product suggestions to assist women through pregnancy and postpartum. The app is currently used by half of all pregnant women in Estonia and has supported over 1,000 pregnancies.
CARÁ Health is a women’s health and wellness resource focused on providing support and guidance throughout the maternity journey, from pregnancy to postpartum. Headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, the company combines evidence-based information, curated product suggestions, and personalised support services to help mothers and families navigate their maternity experience. CARÁ Health operates both a digital app and physical locations in Tallinn, Tartu, and Berlin, offering a range of women’s health services.
The recent infusion of funds will facilitate the further development of CARÁ Health’s product and technology and support its expansion into the German market. The company recently opened a physical location in Berlin, which saw an overwhelming response, selling 250 slots within two weeks.
Addressing critical maternity support gaps
CARÁ Health’s mission is to bridge the gap in maternity support by offering comprehensive, evidence-based resources. Recent findings published in The Lancet Clinical Medicine journal indicate that over forty million women experience long-term health issues post-childbirth. Inadequate access to reliable health resources during pregnancy can lead to increased stress and adverse outcomes for mothers and their babies.
CARÁ Health addresses this need by providing a library of expert content, targeted podcasts, masterclasses, and personalised support services encompassing prenatal care, postpartum support, and expert advice on specific health concerns.
“As a mother myself, I know firsthand some of the situations women find themselves in during the maternity process. They’re very personal, and a lot of these stories don’t get out. Still, a lot can be done during the preparation for the birth, and this is what we’re offering with our ‘whole woman’ approach during the pregnancy period. This can also prepare women for the postpartum period,” said CARÁ Health co-founder Carina Vantsi.
Growth and expansion
CARÁ Health has seen tremendous growth, winning the Estonian HealthTech Startup of 2023. The company operates physical locations in Tallinn, Tartu, and Berlin, offering services ranging from gynaecology to nutrition counselling, pregnancy yoga, and midwife and doula services. The expansion into Germany marks the startup’s first international venture, with plans to accelerate growth in the DACH region.
Founders’ vision and team
CARÁ Health was founded by paediatric nurse Anna Strubel and serial entrepreneurs Carina Vantsi and Keiro Vantsi. The founding team is supported by a medical board including family physician Dr Anna Melan and gynaecologist Dr Liina Rajasalu. The company’s Estonian locations employ a team of six with twenty-five maternity specialists, while the Berlin location has a team of three supported by ten specialists.
Investor support
Eamonn Carey of Tera Ventures commented on the investment, “We were already impressed by CARÁ Health’s traction in its home market of Estonia, and as a relatively recent parent, I saw a huge opportunity in what they were building, and the feedback we had from their customers and users made the stars align and made the investment decision easy.”
CARÁ Health’s CEO, Anna Strubel, emphasised the significance of the funding, “Based on our market research, we knew that the Berlin space opening would be successful, but we had no idea just how successful. Selling 250 slots in two weeks has validated our model beyond our home market and accelerated our foreign market rollout plans. This investment will support this and the future success of CARÁ.”
