WomenLift Health

What WomenLift Health does

WomenLift Health is a US-headquartered nonprofit organization founded in 2019 and fiscally sponsored by the New Venture Fund, operating from Palo Alto, California. Its mission is to advance women's leadership in global health as a lever for stronger health systems and better health outcomes. The organization's flagship product is the Leadership Journey, a 12-month, fully funded, cohort-based leadership development program delivered to mid-career women working in health institutions, ministries, and NGOs. The program combines three residential workshops with ongoing executive coaching, mentorship matching, and peer-network support, and operates across five regional variants (East Africa, India, North America, Southern Africa, Nigeria) plus a specialized West Africa Midwifery track and a vertical-specific Women Leadership in STEM Programme in India. The portfolio is rounded out by a biennial Global Conference (1,100+ attendees from 41 countries at the 2024 Dar-es-Salaam edition), a Speaker Series, PowerUp Workshops, and an Institutional Influence track that engages health-institution leadership directly. The content layer is supported by stakeholder analyses and annual evaluation reports produced with research partners such as ICRW.

The underlying delivery model is services-based rather than technology-based; there is no software platform, app, or proprietary AI/ML system. The revenue model is philanthropic rather than commercial: programs are provided at no cost to participants, and the organization is funded primarily through grants and donations from institutional donors, with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation serving as the principal public sponsor and founder Dr. Michele Barry providing Stanford University institutional backing. Distribution is direct through regional hubs and channel partnerships with local research organizations, governments (BIRAC and Grand Challenges India in India; WILAN in Nigeria), and content collaborators (Center for Creative Leadership for curriculum design). Customers in the conventional sense are the cohort participants; in the funder sense, the primary revenue counterpart is the Gates Foundation with a tier of secondary philanthropic supporters. The organization's strategic emphasis is on geographic and vertical expansion (new cohorts in Southern Africa and Nigeria, new STEM and midwifery specializations) and on institutional influence to shift the environments into which program graduates return.

Name

WomenLift Health

Legal name

WomenLift Health

Website

https://womenlifthealth.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WomenLift Health is a US-based nonprofit (founded 2019) that runs fully funded 12-month Leadership Journey cohorts and a biennial Global Conference to advance mid-career women into senior leadership roles across the global health sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Leadership Development for Healthcare Professionals

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Succession Planning & High-Potential (HiPo) Leadership Programs (EDABAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

High-Potential & Succession Coaching (EDABANAC), Health Workforce Development & Capacity-Building (HLAJAKAM), Leadership Transition & Onboarding Coaching (New Role, New Manager, Promotion) (EDABANAB)

Keywords

• Leadership development programs
• Women in global health
• Executive coaching services
• Professional mentorship programs
• Nonprofit health leadership

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grants and Donations: WomenLift Health is funded primarily through grants and donations from institutional donors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (primary sponsor), with additional support from other philanthropic organizations. Programs such as the Leadership Journey are fully funded for participants, with costs covered by the organization's donor base.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

WomenLift Health delivers the signature Leadership Journey, a 12-month fully funded leadership development program for mid-career women in global health. The program combines residential workshops, executive coaching, mentorship, and peer networks across regional cohorts in East Africa, India, North America, Southern Africa, Nigeria, and West Africa Midwifery, complemented by specialized programs, biennial global conferences, and publications that advance women's leadership in health.

Product overview

WomenLift Health is a global nonprofit organization that advances women's leadership in health as a strategy for stronger health systems and better health outcomes. The organization operates a multi-product portfolio centered on its flagship Leadership Journey program—a 12-month fully-funded leadership development initiative for mid-career women in global health. This core program is delivered through five regional variants: East Africa, India, North America, Southern Africa, and Nigeria Leadership Journeys, plus a specialized West Africa Midwifery Leadership Journey. The organization complements its Leadership Journeys with the Women Leadership in STEM Programme (in partnership with BIRAC/Grand Challenges India), the biennial WomenLift Health Global Conference, a Speaker Series, PowerUp Workshop Series, Institutional Influence initiatives, and Societal Influence campaigns. The organization also produces research publications including evaluation reports and stakeholder analysis reports. WomenLift Health works across individual (leadership development), institutional (organizational change), and societal (movement building) levels to transform health outcomes through gender equality in leadership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Leadership Journey A 12-month fully-funded leadership development program that equips mid-career women with tools, peer networks, mentors, and coaches to expand their power and influence in global health. Available across multiple regional variants.
• East Africa Leadership Journey Regional cohort of the Leadership Journey program serving women leaders in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania.
• India Leadership Journey Regional cohort of the Leadership Journey program serving women leaders in India, with plans to double operations beginning 2024.
• North America Leadership Journey

Quantifiable outcome

• 1100+ participants from 41 countries at 2024 Global Conference
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2023Government of India enterprise partnered with WomenLift Health to launch the Women Leadership in STEM program under Grand Challenges India initiative. The program brings together 20 mid-career women leaders in STEM for three fully funded residential workshops over one year, designed with the Center for Creative Leadership.
• Center for Creative LeadershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with WomenLift Health and BIRAC to design the Women Leadership in STEM program curriculum, providing leadership development frameworks and facilitation expertise.
• Women in Leadership Advancement Network (WILAN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Women in Leadership Advancement Network to deliver the Nigeria Leadership Journey program, supporting women leaders in Nigeria's health sector.
• Stanford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Dr. Michele Barry, Senior Associate Dean for Global Health at Stanford. The Stanford/Yale Global Health Scholars Program has trained over 1,500 physicians. Stanford provides institutional backing and research partnerships.
• International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted stakeholder analysis studies in Kenya documenting barriers and opportunities for women's leadership in public/global health on behalf of WomenLift Health.
• World Health OrganizationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWHO participation in WomenLift Health Global Conference 2024; several WHO alumni serve on Global Advisory Board including Dr. Matshidiso Moeti (former Regional Director for Africa) and Dr. Soumya Swaminathan (former Chief Scientist).
• Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMansharan Seth, Director at William J. Clinton Foundation (India affiliate of CHAI), serves on WomenLift Health's Global Advisory Board.
• Local Tanzanian Service ProvidersminorOthersWomenLift Health supported local Tanzanian businesses during the 2024 conference including Penuel's Investment (event management), Hodari Christian School (daycare services), and local exhibitors including the Doris Mollel Foundation, Uongozi Institute, and The Mabinti Centre.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• IntraHealth International: IntraHealth is a global health nonprofit focused on health workforce development, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. It overlaps with WomenLift Health's midwifery and health workforce capacity-building mandate and competes for similar USAID, Gates, and government funding.
• International Women's Forum: IWF is an established membership organization for women leaders across sectors, including health, with Fellows programs and leadership development offerings. It is a broader incumbent in the same space with comparable convening power but a more corporate, dues-funded model.
• WomenLift Japan / Catalyst (selected regional and corporate leadership programs): Catalyst is a broader incumbent in women's leadership research and advisory, serving Fortune 500 companies globally. While not health-focused, it overlaps in women's leadership development methodology and is a frequently co-funded organization by similar philanthropies.

Direct peers

• Center for Creative Leadership: CCL is an existing curriculum co-design partner for WomenLift Health (Women Leadership in STEM Programme). CCL is a globally recognized leadership development research and training organization, sharing the executive leadership development methodology and a corporate/government client base.
• Vital Voices Global Partnership: Vital Voices invests in emerging women leaders across sectors including health, running leadership development cohorts, mentorship, and a global network. Both organizations deliver cohort-based leadership programs with global scope and share similar funder networks (US government, Gates-adjacent philanthropies).
• Women in Global Health: Women in Global Health is the most direct peer—also a nonprofit focused on achieving gender equality in global health leadership. It runs policy advocacy, fellowships (e.g., the WGH Mentoring Program), and chapters in 40+ countries, overlapping directly with WomenLift Health's mission, audience (women in global health), and funder base (Gates, Wellcome).
• African Women in Leadership Network: AWLN is a partner of WomenLift Health (delivers the Nigeria Leadership Journey via WILAN) and operates its own fellowship and leadership programs for women leaders across Africa. Direct overlap in cohort design, target audience, and African-region health focus.
• Global Health 50/50: Global Health 50/50 focuses on gender equality and health equity, producing the annual Global Health 50/50 Report that tracks gender parity in global health organizations. It operates in adjacent advocacy, research, and convening space and shares the same funder ecosystem.
• Women for Africa Foundation (Fundación Mujeres por África): Women for Africa runs leadership and capacity-building programs specifically for African women, including in health. Geographic and mission overlap with WomenLift Health's East Africa, Southern Africa, and Nigeria cohorts, and similar funder base among European and African development agencies.

Regional players

• WomenLift India / India-based women STEM leadership programs (e.g., WiBL, WISER): India-specific women-in-STEM leadership initiatives (such as those led by WISER and Duke's Science & Technology Policy program) overlap directly with the WomenLift Health/BIRAC Women Leadership in STEM cohort, competing for the same Indian government STEM-gender-equality funding pool.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/womenlifthealth
• Facebookfacebook.com/WomenLiftHealth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/womenlifthealth
• Instagraminstagram.com/womenlifthealth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WomenLift Health