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Southeast Asia’s first femtech-focussed accelerator launches

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A new femtech-focussed accelerator has been launched, called, Alpha Startups Inno4Her, in South East Asia by Malaysia-based venture capital firm, 1337 Ventures. 

With the femtech market expected to surpass $100bn by 2032, 1337 Ventures has launched the accelerator in response to the rapid expansion of the sector.

Alpha Startups Inno4Her is a tailored edition of the company’s flagship accelerator programme focused on women’s health innovation.

The eight-week programme aims to provide a comprehensive platform for femtech startups to validate their ideas, achieve product-market fit, and grow their businesses.

Open to startups at any stage, the accelerator is welcoming founders of all genders whose solutions address key gaps in women’s health.

“Femtech is still nascent in Southeast Asia, but we see its immense potential to transform women’s healthcare,” said Bikesh Lakhmichand, CEO and founding partner of 1337 Ventures.

“With Alpha Startups Inno4Her, we’re not just investing in startups; we’re investing in the future of women’s wellbeing in the region. We’re excited to support these innovators as they drive change and create lasting impact.”

The programme focuses on innovation in areas such as personalised healthcare, including AI, data analytics and telehealth; menopause and ageing health; menstrual health; advanced maternal care; fertility and reproductive health; and, wearables for women’s health.

Throughout the programme, the startups will learn how to validate their ideas, build revenue-generating business models, develop a minimum viable product (MVP), and prepare for fundraising.

They will also benefit from mentoring by industry experts such as Doc On Call, BabyDash, Concept Fertility Centre, and Christina Teo, founder of She1K.

Additionally, the startups will have opportunities to network and collaborate with other startups and health-focused corporates.

Alpha Startups Inno4Her will culminate in a demo day, where startups will pitch their ideas to investors and industry leaders, showcasing their innovations for potential funding.

Applications are open until 6 February 2025, with the cohort commencing later that month.

Entrepreneur

Just 24 hours left to nominate your company of the year

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You have until Friday to nominate your femtech company of the year.

The award is one of 10 featuring at Femtech World’s third annual awards event, which attracts entries from across the UK, EU and Europe.

The Company of the Year Award is for companies that have demonstrated exceptional leadership in tackling women’s health needs through groundbreaking products, services or platforms that are shaping the future of global femtech.

If your company is driving innovation, impact and growth in this space, this award was made for you.

About the sponsor: Femovate

The category is backed by Femovate, the global femtech incubator using design to fuel innovation across every stage of a woman’s health journey, from proactive prevention through to personalised treatment.

Femovate has invested over US$2 million in design capital, working side-by-side with founding teams to bring market-ready solutions to life.

The startups it supports have collectively raised US$120 million, launched 30 products, and secured seven FDA clearances.

Why enter?

The Femtech World Awards are free to enter.

Winners and shortlisted companies receive extensive coverage across all Femtech World platforms.

Winners will also receive a trophy and the opportunity to be featured in an interview for the publication.

Find out more about the Femtech World Award and enter here by 4pm BST on Friday 17.

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Entrepreneur

The disciplined advantage: Wellness for modern leadership

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By Chaitra Vedullapalli, founder and president, Women in Cloud

Today’s leaders are carrying more than responsibilities.

They are carrying caregiving roles, financial pressures, legal complexities, and the quiet emotional weight of sustaining performance in unpredictable times.

And yet, most leadership forums still focus on productivity, growth, and scale, rarely addressing the human systems that enable sustained leadership.

At Women in Cloud, we believe the next generation of leadership will not be defined by endurance alone, but by discipline, preparation, and self-respect.

That is why we are proud to announce the #WICxWellness Summit 2026: The Disciplined Advantage.

This is a wellness summit focused on leadership preparedness.

Why This Summit Matters Now

Across our global community, a clear pattern has emerged.

  • More professionals and executives are quietly navigating:
  • Life-threatening health crises, personally or within their families
  • Financial stress caused by medical, caregiving, or business shocks
  • Legal and healthcare decisions with long-term consequences
  • Career interruptions due to caregiving responsibilities
  • Chronic exhaustion, grief, and emotional isolation

These experiences are widespread, yet rarely discussed in executive settings.

#WICxWellness 2026 brings these realities into the open with compassion, clarity, and practical guidance, so leaders can prepare, adapt, and continue forward without breaking.

This is wellness as a leadership discipline.

What We Will Explore

This year’s summit is designed to provide grounded, immediately applicable insights for founders, executives, and senior leaders.

Executive Function Under Chronic Stress

Keynote with Jennifer Brown

Focus Areas:

  • Understand how chronic stress alters judgment, focus, and emotional regulation
  • Identify early warning signs of cognitive overload in leadership roles
  • Adaptability as a Cognitive Anchor: Navigating rapid change without compromising decision-making.
  • Resilience Through Connection: Building human-centric teams to mitigate the stress of uncertainty.
  • Navigating Change with Emotional Intelligence: Regulating stress responses to maintain clarity and empathy.
  • Systemic Agility in High-Pressure Environments: Creating foundations of psychological safety that protect organizational function

Labs That Matter (And What to Do With Them)

Fireside Chat with Chelsey Galipeau and Chaitra Vedullapalli

Focus Areas:

  • Which health tests are worth the time and investment
  • Interpreting results without panic
  • Preventive strategies for executive longevity
  • Avoiding unnecessary medical spending

Caretaking Without Collapse

Panel With Karen Fassio, Anca Platon Trifan, Scilla Andreen, Clara Schroeder, Sheena Yap Chan

Focus Areas:

  • Managing family and professional demands without burnout
  • Setting humane boundaries
  • Building sustainable support systems
  • Ending silent sacrifice in leadership

Food as a Stability System (Not a Diet)

Fireside Chat with Nancy Watt and Meagan T. Copelin

Focus Areas:

  • Nutrition for sustained energy and clarity
  • Blood sugar and decision-making
  • Realistic eating during travel and stress
  • Food as operational resilience

Autoimmunity, Hormones & Cardiac Risk in Real Life

Fireside Chat with Dr. Linda Bing

Focus Areas:

  • Managing invisible health risks
  • Hormonal transitions and stamina
  • Flare prevention at work
  • Energy mapping for leadership performance

A Different Kind of Leadership Conversation

At Women in Cloud, we have learned something fundamental:

Performance is visible. Discipline is invisible.

Yet discipline determines whether leaders can serve, build, and lead over decades, not just quarters.

The Disciplined Advantage is about building that resilience intentionally.

Through science, lived experience, and practical frameworks, this summit equips leaders to:

  • Anticipate strain instead of reacting to a crisis Design sustainable work rhythms
  • Protect cognitive and emotional capital
  • Lead from grounded strength

This is leadership infrastructure for the next decade.

Join Us

If you are a founder, executive, technologist, or senior professional navigating complexity and determined to lead well without sacrificing your health, clarity, or longevity, this summit is for you.

The #WICxWellness Summit 2026 is where performance meets preservation. Where ambition meets sustainability. Where leadership becomes truly durable.

We look forward to welcoming you. The Disciplined Advantage begins here.

Secure your spot: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wicxwellness-summit-2026-tickets-1981616382945?aff=oddtdtcreator

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Entrepreneur

Who will be crowned Startup of the Year?

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Femtech World is continuing the search for a company to be crowned Startup of the Year.

The award is one of 10 to feature at the third annual Femtech World Awards.

The Startup of the Year Award celebrates an early-stage company making a bold impact in women’s health through innovation, vision and execution.

The winning startup will have demonstrated strong potential to transform care, accessibility, or awareness in women’s health with a scalable solution.

Consideration will be given to innovation, market traction, inclusivity, impact and the ability to address unmet needs.

The award is sponsored by Future Fertility.

The company is transforming fertility care with AI-powered solutions that close critical information gaps along the IVF journey.

Its clinically validated, non-invasive tools analyse oocyte images to predict each egg’s reproductive potential, supporting decision-making across key pathways: VIOLET™ for egg freezing, MAGENTA™ for IVF-ICSI, and ROSE™ for donor programmes and egg banks.

These reports deliver personalised insights into egg quality and ploidy potential, empowering patients and clinicians to make more informed decisions regarding next steps.

Today, Future Fertility’s technology is used in more than 300 clinics across 35+ countries.

Developed with the world’s largest oocyte image dataset linked to reproductive outcomes, Future Fertility’s AI models generate quality scores that not only guide treatment planning and manage expectations, but also serve as objective, actionable KPIs for labs—driving improved outcomes and transparency in fertility care worldwide.

The awards are free to enter, with winners receiving a trophy and an interview with Femtech World.

Find out more about the awards and enter for free here.

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