- Amsterdam Femtech startup Pro Parents has closed €1M growth capital funding
- The money will be used for expansion, fuel university collaborations and enter new EU markets.
European femtech firm, Pro Parents has raised a new round of funding. The latest funding round attracted several new investors, including Mike de Boer (founder and former CFO of Knab Bank), Andre Grimbergen (Albelli), Quantum Leap Capital, and angel investors Lara Koole (Carbon Equity) and Jeroen ter Huurne (Collin Crowdfund). Existing supporters Oost NL, Peakfijn, and Bram Smeets also contributed.
Mike de Boer honored Pro Parents with its concrete effects on employee wellness and workplace well-being, citing founder Joyce Knappe as having a keen vision, subject-matter competence, and spirit of entrepreneurship. Pro Parents has already attracted support from the Goldschmeding Foundation and the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.
Based in Amsterdam, founded by Joyce Knappe in 2013, the HR tech company assists employers in taking care of employees throughout pregnancy, postpartum healing, and adjusting to becoming a working parent. So far, the website has assisted over 8,000 parents and employers with recommendations, tools, and expert help.
Knappe, motivated by the challenges she experienced as a new parent, founded Pro Parents to bridge essential gaps in workplace parental care. She highlighted that the company's formative years were spent learning about parents' and employers' needs. In the future, the intention is to push system-level innovation and social impact.
In addition to direct employee engagement, the site enables companies to attain ESG and D&I goals in addition to supporting them in reducing absenteeism, minimizing staff turnover, and coping with healthcare costs. This funding milestone happens at a vital point for Femtech, the industry that will grow to $103 billion in 2030. The industry addresses current holes in women's healthcare—a space that, with improvement, holds the potential to unlock $1 trillion in global economic gains through 2040.
Pro Parents' achievement is all the more significant considering the adverse venture capital environment. In accordance with Techleap's State of Dutch Tech 2025 report, investment in Dutch tech declined from €800 million in 2021 to €400 million in 2024, fueled by economic uncertainty, higher interest rates, and investor hesitation. Furthermore, less than 1 percent of VC investments in the Netherlands target female-founded businesses.
In spite of these difficulties, Pro Parents was able to acquire new capital to drive its agenda. According to Knappe, their "razor-sharp understanding of what works, for whom, and why—coupled with the strength of HR technology to drive vitality and well-being—puts Pro Parents in a position to drive significant, scale-wide change over the next decade."
