The international women’s health-focused startup accelerator, Eir Accelerator, brings together Finnish and international startups, investors, and industry partners to develop new solutions for advancing women’s health. Among its advisors and mentors are Jessica Federer and Peter Sarlin. The launch event of the programme, which is part of the Women’s Health Hub Finland network, was held in Turku on May 28, 2026.
Investing in women’s health could unlock an estimated €4.76 billion boost to Finland’s economy and €3.9 billion in additional exports annually.
– Eir Accelerator is designed to capture this opportunity by supporting early-stage companies across the full spectrum of women’s health, from reproductive health and endometriosis to menopause, maternal health, and AI for women’s health, tells Minna Arve, CEO of Business Turku.
Women’s Health Hub Finland and Eir Accelerator are coordinated by Business Turku. The programme’s name refers to the Norse goddess of healing, Eir, and reflects its mission to advance women’s health innovation and impactful solutions.
A new kind of women’s health accelerator
Eir Accelerator exists to close the women’s health gap, which today represents a €1 trillion annual global economic cost while receiving only around 1% of global R&D funding outside oncology.
Based in Turku and embedded in Women’s Health Hub Finland as well as Turku Startup Hub, Eir will run structured six month cohorts that help startups in women’s health generate clinical evidence, navigate regulation in Europe and the US, and build partnerships with leading pharma, hospital, and technology partners.
– The accelerator will support startups from Finland, the Nordics, wider Europe, and beyond, becoming one of the first programs of its kind in the Nordic region. Moreover, it will serve as an engine for bringing international experts and capital to Finland, says Anastasiya Markvarde, Head of Eir Accelerator.
Powered by Finland’s women’s health ecosystem
Eir Accelerator builds on the national Women’s Health Hub Finland network, which includes key actors such as Bayer, Orion, Revvity and the University of Turku, among others. The programme also involves partners such as the BioInnovation Institute (BII), the New Children’s Hospital Foundation, Organon, Uniogen and Isla Terveys, and is closely connected to Turku Startup Hub.
The women’s health focus of Eir is fully aligned with Business Finland’s 2026–2030 strategy.
– Finland has world-class healthcare expertise, but women’s health innovation is still underfunded and underserved. The goal of the accelerator is to help more startups in the field secure funding, grow internationally, and bring new solutions to market faster, says Markvarde.
International reach and exceptional expertise
Eir’s model combines Finland’s strengths with a truly international presence through global platforms such as the Milken Institute’s Women’s Health Network, and Femtech Across Borders, connecting the accelerator into top networks spanning more than 170 countries.
The programme is guided by exceptional advisors, including Programme Advisor Jessica Federer, former Chief Digital Officer of Bayer AG and founder of The Women’s Health Fund in the US, alongside mentors and experts from organizations such as Mount Sinai Ventures, Angelini Ventures, and technology leaders like Peter Sarlin.
A growing investor network – including Innovestor, Inventure, Voima Ventures from Finland, Angelini Ventures and Panakes Partners from Italy, Calm/Storm from Austria, Heal Capital from Germany, Verge HealthTech from Singapore, Suncoast Ventures from USA and other specialist health and women’s health funds – gives participating startups targeted access to capital across Europe and globally.
Turku as Finland’s women’s health engine
Turku as the home of Women’s Health Hub Finland offers a uniquely strong platform for Eir’s launch: it is the leading centre of Finland’s life science industry, home to 50% of the country’s pharmaceutical and diagnostics sector and more than 100 life science companies, including Bayer, Orion Pharma and Organon R&D Finland.
– By anchoring Eir in Turku’s concentrated health, life science and AI ecosystem – from the national drug discovery centre to major events and talent from local universities – the accelerator will help position the city as a European epicentre for women’s health innovation, says Arve.
Call for startups and partners
Applications are now open for the first Eir Accelerator cohort, and early‑stage startups working on women’s health – from Finland and around the world – are invited to apply via Eir Accelerator’s website https://eir-accelerator.com/.
The applications will be evaluated on the rolling basis. The program will launch on November 18th, 2026 with a side event at the Slush conference, hosted by Innovestor.
Industry partners, hospitals, researchers, investors and ecosystem organizations interested in collaborating with Eir or Women’s Health Hub Finland are warmly encouraged to get in touch to explore partnership and co‑creation opportunities in Turku and across Finland.
More information
Anastasiya Markvarde, Head of Eir Accelerator | ana@boro.fi, +358 314 2747
Anastasiya Markvarde, Head of Eir Accelerator, is a women’s health and health innovation expert with a track record in top pharma and startup advisory. Anastasiya is women’s health thought leader, an author of Women’s Health Digest and is representing Finland in the global femtech ecosystems association Femtech Across Borders and Milken Institute Women’s Health Network. Anastasiya focuses on embedding women’s health into national innovation agendas and public health strategies. Anastasiya is advising the Women’s Health Hub Finland which is on its way of becoming a national center of women’s health competence and innovation.
Women’s Health Hub Finland is an innovation network bringing together major pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies, researchers, policymakers and public-sector actors to accelerate the advancement of women’s health and innovation on a global scale.