SheMatters raises US$1.5m to address medical neglect and black maternal morbidity

A US online platform supporting Black women with postpartum comorbidities has closed a US$1.5m seed funding round. 

SheMatters is a platform designed to support Black women who experience mental illness by helping them to build healthy habits that can be tracked and openly celebrated.

The funding round aims to address the wider medical neglect in the US and reduce health inequalities.

“Black women have the highest instance of medical neglect in this country,” Jade Kearney, SheMatters founder and mental health advocate. “Black Maternal Morbidity is an epidemic in the US, so that is where our focus is today.

“We look forward to expanding this focus to include the larger community as we move forward.”

SheMatters also presents Black Girl’s Tech Day, a conference series for women of colour. The conference started in 2021 in New York and for 2022/2023 expanded to Pretoria, South Africa, with additional dates to be announced in Atlanta and Los Angeles.

“I created Black Girl’s Tech Day to provide Black Female Founders in tech with an opportunity to network, learn and celebrate their unique contributions to the entrepreneurial community and to support founders by offering expert panels, funding resources and mentorship,” Kearney explained.

“We launched in our hometown of New York City and are now ready to expand to other regions known for women of colour in tech.”

The company will change its name from SheMatters to WeMatter, seeking to offer cultural competency certifications for Asian American women, Indigenous women, Hispanic women, LBGTQI+, Trans and marginalised heterosexual men.