Is femtech finally getting the attention it deserves?

Proptech, medtech, commtech – the digital revolution over the past decade has paved the way for technology to infiltrate every facet of our lives (both personal and professional) to make every day even easier.

While many viewed this as merely a ‘fad’ in the early days, more and more people, businesses and investors are starting to realise, acknowledge and admit that technology is clearly the way forward, and must be integrated into everyday life.

But it’s not simply being able to virtually tour a property, diagnose over the internet, or communicate with colleagues and counterparts all over the globe that technology can help with, it’s now having an impact on an often neglected element of healthcare: women’s health.

What is femtech?

Generally speaking, and according to femtechinsider.com, ‘femtech’ refers to: “software, diagnostics, products and services that use technology to support women’s health”.

The categorisation came about accidentally after the founder of period tracking app Clue, Ida Tun, introduced it as such to her mainly male investors.

While it has come under some scrutiny for not being inclusive (by definition excluding trans men), and that it is liable to encourage the Pink Tax, these are often refuted due to the latter mainly being aimed at products rather than services, and the fact that it is often understood as ‘a technology that improves women’s lives’ to counter the former (as that’s exactly what it does – more medtech, less lifestyle).

Femtech is more than period trackers; the category now encompasses pregnancy, sexual health, chronic disease and maternal care amongst many other.

What’s going on with Femtech investment?

While appetite for anything technology related is increasing, the world has started to realise that female consumer power has arrived – and the force is strong.

Global venture capital investment in femtech surpassed $1.2 billion for the first time ever in 2021 with some very big deals crossing the line ($80 million in Elvie, $75 million in Carrot and $50 million in Flo).

And while some deals are big, others are gigantic. Understood to be the largest amount of femtech funding raised ever, Maven Clinic reached unicorn status with investment of $110 million.

And the big factor? Women are more engaged in healthcare than men. In the US, women spend $500 million a year on medical expenses, and a survey by the US Department of Labor found that women make 70 per cent of the family’s healthcare decisions.

What’s behind this boom in investment?

For many, there are two key trends: Covid and feminism.

Across almost every industry, experts claim technological advancement accelerated spectacularly from March 2020, with projects expected to be completed within five years often being finished within eight weeks to meet a growing need.

While this undoubtably had an impact on femtech’s development, it was already well on its way thanks to the ongoing wave of female empowerment (supported by events such as the #MeToo movement), enabling half the world’s population to realise that there is a significant lack of solutions tailored to them.

So, they built them as the pandemic exposed the challenges women face when it comes to their health.

The prolonged lockdowns, for example, disproportionately impacted women dealing with the higher burden of housework, and domestic abuse against them also increased.

In an interview with Omnia Health, Das, an industry analyst, noted that “during the pandemic, women’s health worldwide suffered intensely, right from increased mental health issues to a surge in unwanted pregnancies and stillbirths”.

As Covid 19 simultaneously fuelled the popularity of online health tools, there had never been a better time for femtech to flourish.

What’s in the future for Femtech?

In 2020, only 2.3 per cent of venture capital funding went to female-led startups. As 90 per cent of investment decision makers are male, femtech developers are not only encountering the usual funding stumbling blocks, but mighty hurdles in the form of lack of understanding by those they are pitching to. Their issues aren’t understood, so why should their solutions be?

There is light at the end of the tunnel however.

While many femtech firms focus on menstruation and reproductive health, space is available for more taboo – and often uncomfortable – topics such as menopause, sex and other urogenital health matters to come to the fore.

By 2023, for example, figures from the Female Founders Fund suggest that 1.1 billion women will be postmenopausal – a huge market and spectacular opportunity for innovation and development.

Businesses and apps such as mySysters have already set waves in motion to support those going through perimenopause or menopause – an often confusing and misunderstood time.

What the future holds, we just don’t know. But what we do know is that thanks to bold innovators, the future of female health is digital – we just need to make sure people understand how vital it is!