Founder's Note

Dear Fellow Humans:

For most of my life, I've dealt with depression, anxiety, and addiction. The voices in my head, the constant nagging, and rumination seemed only to be quieted by the dopamine kick gained from consuming unnatural amounts of shitty food and alcohol. Most only knew my accomplishments, my breadth of experience, humor, and knack for languages. An expert at curating an amazing narrative, few saw my true unhappiness.

I tried antidepressants and psychotherapy, both important to giving me the space I needed to come to terms with and start exploring the causes of my mental illness, many rooted in a rough childhood being raised on welfare by a loving single mother who had her own battles with depression and alcoholism, but I was far from being whole.

In early 2018, after tipping the scales above 300lbs / 136kgs and having hit rock bottom three times in the past two years, something had to be done. I started studying non-mainstream and holistic approaches to achieving mental wellness and began incorporating good nutrition, meditation, and exercise into my daily life. Slowly, the brain fog lifted, the weight dropped, and the joy of living returned!

It took me 35 years to realize that mental illness had always affected me, and another five to learn how to cope. That’s far too long, but for many, it takes a lifetime. Unacceptable. I founded Masawa to change that.

By nurturing capital to nurture minds, we invest for financial returns with a focus on maximizing impact while not losing sight of founders' and companies' mental healths.

We hope you'll join us, so that billions live life.

Joshua Haynes

Managing Partner, Masawa

Our story, your story

The silent pandemic

Mental illness is an equal opportunity offender. It doesn’t care who you are, what you look like, or where you’re from; once it has crept into the mind, it’ll do anything to stay. Depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, eating disorders, addiction and other mental illnesses have the power to disconnect from lives once lived and those once loved.

The figures are staggering: depression is the major cause of disability worldwide. Each year, 25% of Europeans suffer from depression or anxiety. Among US-Americans recently diagnosed with depression, around two-thirds don’t receive treatment. By 2030, mental health disorders are estimated to cost the global economy $16 trillion. In Africa, there’s an up to 90% treatment gap between those who need help and those that receive it. These numbers are infuriating and the ensuing consequence is detrimental.

Opportunities abound in a growing market

There is a whole set of evidence-based tools and innovations with the potential to improve mental wellness that is often overlooked: nutrition, natural medicine, mindfulness, new technologies, and workplace wellness. We estimate the market for these approaches to be at least $250B. There are 1200 companies, including startups, directly or indirectly focused on delivering these approaches in Europe and North America alone.

Luckily, as the stigma of mental illness begins to lift, investors are starting to take notice: global investment in mental health technology has exceeded $1B in the past two years. But where’s the accountability to maximize the investments’ social impact? And who’s focusing on the mental health of the entrepreneurs delivering increased access to mental wellness and their ability to craft resilient organizations which, in turn, improves the lives of more people (and provides larger financial returns)?

We see a chance to help billions of people lead bright, fulfilling lives by employing capital to achieve impact.

Our commitments

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We want to help break the stigma.

Mental wellness is a right from which no one should feel excluded; the burden of mental illness should never be fought alone. We are working to break the stigma that prevents millions from living freely, one barrier at a time. We expect to see the world where every human gets to lead a secure, autonomous life and is treated as a rightful member of society.

Collaboration and transparency for a better world.

Solving mental illness pandemic can only be achieved when we work together - that's why broad collaboration and transparency is key. To facilitate that, we are open-sourcing our financial, impact, and organizational health maximization tools and frameworks.

Diversity as an accelerator.

Embracing our vulnerabilities propels us forward, rather than holding us back - our commitment to a diversity of life experiences makes us fundamentally stronger. By focusing on the human first, we can find common ground more quickly and empower each other.

Team

Behold our unique team of proud Masawis.
While our lived experiences are rich and diverse, we are bound by the shared purpose of promoting mental wellness.