Five Asian femtech start-ups to watch out for in 2022

For centuries, women’s health has been overlooked and underfunded, remaining to this day a taboo subject in many parts of the world.

In the last decade, however, this historically risky industry has boomed, attracting approximately US$5.7 billion in funding worldwide in 2021.

Here we highlight five Asian femtech start-ups to watch out for.

Elo Care 

EloCare specialises in the internet of medical things (IoMT), developing connected and smart healthcare devices for optimised chronic and ageing care.

Dr Mabel Yen Ngoc Nguyen

Founded by Dr Mabel Yen Ngoc Nguyen, a Phd researcher in biomedical engineering, EloCare has developed a wearable device and an app that monitors more than 35 symptoms of menopause and records and interprets women’s data to give them an insight into their health condition.

The Singapore-based start-up won Enterprise Singapore’s ESG Healthcare Open Innovation Challenge in June 2021 and it was awarded US$1.5m to develop and deploy its research-based solutions in partnership with other healthcare providers.

ZaZaZu

Jingjin Liu

The first B2B education platform for women that tackles taboo topics, ZaZaZu aims to help women better understand their bodies, remove self-limiting beliefs and unleash their true potentials.

Jingjin Liu, founder and CEO, created the platform to help women get to know themselves and better navigate life challenges. Through workshops and professional support, ZaZaZu tackles topics including microaggression, harassment, building confidence, female health and relationships, empowering women to take control of their lives.

Simone Health 

In September 2020, Maria Wang-Faulkner co-founded Simone Health, a psychology-based digital therapeutic and remote screening and monitoring platform, to help women manage polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) – a condition that affects over 116 million women worldwide.

Maria Wang-Faulkner

The company works with experts, nutritionists, personal trainers and psychologists to help women get their symptoms under control so that they have the time, energy, and confidence to thrive.

The platform supports users through behavioural science, live group coaching, social support and unique accountability features, focusing on hormones that drive the most common PCOS symptoms.

Niramai Health Analytix

India-based start-up, Niramai, has developed a novel software-based medical device to detect breast cancer at a much earlier stage than traditional methods or self-examination.

Geetha Manjunath

As breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death in women, the company aims to provide a low-cost, radiation-free, automated, portable cancer screening tool that can be operated in any clinic.

With more than 25 years of research expertise in IT industry, CEO and founder, Geetha Manjunath, has developed the computer-aided diagnostic engine as a cancer diagnosis test for hospitals as well as large scale screening in rural and semi-urban areas.

fermata

fermata, a Tokyo- and Singapore-based company providing market entry services and sales channels focusing on women’s health, is on a mission to close the opportunity gap by harnessing the power of new femtech solutions.

Amina Sugimoto

The company aims to equip women with the tools and knowledge about their bodies to achieve their goals, transform women’s biological changes from a deterrent to a driving force in achieving their goals and expand the femtech market in Asia by bringing in global solutions to Singapore and Japan.

Passionate about promoting a better access to medicine, Amina Sugimoto, CEO and co-founder, launched fermata to transform taboos into triumphs and question the status quo using the power of technology.