Sequoia's Participation in the International Forum “Healthcare –2025”

On April 15–18, the 30th International Forum “Healthcare of Belarus – 2025” was held in Minsk.

Forum in Numbers

The event took place at the Football Manege and brought together representatives from 8 countries: Belarus, Hungary, Egypt, India, Iran, China, Russia, and South Korea. 160 companies presented their innovations across a 6,000 m² exhibition space.

During four days, 30 events were held, including scientific and practical seminars, conferences, presentations, and pitch sessions.

Sequoia’s Participation: Goals and Objectives

Sequoia successfully passed a selection process and was allowed to showcase the product in the Startup Alley and pitch to an expert jury.

Given the national scale of the forum, we set ourselves the following goal:  to draw attention to the issue of men’s health, a topic that still receives far too little attention.

Key Points from the Presentation

In my presentation, I highlighted several warning trends:

• Since 1991, the male population of Belarus has decreased by more than 550,000 people.
  
  
• Men live 10 years less than women and are significantly more likely to die during their working age.
  
  
• 81.6% of deaths among the working-age population are men.
  
  
• Mortality rates for those aged 15–60 are ~2.5 times higher than in EU countries.

I also spoke about the underlying causes: men are less likely to seek help when ill and often skip health check-ups. As a result, they suffer more frequently from chronic and oncological diseases. Other factors include bad habits, low physical activity, and a lack of medical specialists.

Additionally, I touched on the economic consequences: experts have calculated that over the past 10 years, Belarus lost over $2.8 billion due to premature deaths.

If we also take into account the decline in tax revenue and social security contributions, the rise in social spending to support families who have lost a husband, and missed investments in education and training, it becomes clear that the real financial loss is much bigger.

And of course, I shared how Sequoia helps men change their attitudes toward health, offering tools to monitor their mental, sexual, and physical condition, receive personalized recommendations, and seek help anonymously — without stress or judgment.

Results

Our project received a diploma of recognition, and the jury thanked us for addressing such an important issue. Final results will be announced separately, with 10 startups being awarded special prizes. We’ll find out more about that later.

Conclusion

We truly hope that our message reached the decision-makers and that more people will begin to reflect on men’s health, seek help more often, and speak openly on the topic.