Raya has been experiencing severe headaches and terrible mood swings just before her period for a few months. At first, she dismissed these feelings as common period symptoms, but lately, it has become impossible for her to avoid them anymore. Raya’s mother, Mrs Habib, has also been experiencing health complications. She recently reached menopause. Both experiences prompted Raya to look for a solution to help her understand what is happening to her body. After researching, Raya learned about Flo, a period tracking app that may help her get an answer. Raya listed some of her and her mother’s symptoms, and voila! She finally found some answers and solutions to her and her mother’s health problems. That day Raya came across a promising addition to the femtech industry. If you don’t know what Femtech is, let me give you an idea.
What is Femtech?
Entrepreneur Ida Tin initially used the term “FemTech” for the first time in 2016. Over the last few years, FemTech has expanded to include various technological, consumer-centred products and solutions. The Femtech industry refers to the software and technology companies addressing women’s biological needs. Maternal health, menstrual health, pelvic and sexual health, fertility, menopause, and contraception are just a few of the female-specific conditions that it offers solutions for.
How can Femtech revolutionise healthcare?
FemTech businesses have the potential to revolutionise healthcare in several ways, from allowing women to get care more practically to becoming more aware of their health and the associated data. Thanks to femtech solutions, the sector has garnered undeniable influence over time. Companies that provide clinical diagnostics are expanding the boundaries of science to meet medical needs. Businesses are tackling subjects like menstrual health, sexual health, and menopause that were once thought to be stigmatised. Femtech is trying to deliver cultural awareness and specialised treatment. As FemTech firms start to scale up and look for new markets, the categories it influences are also growing.
Some Examples of Femtech
Women can track their fertility days with just a few touches on their smartphone, thanks to Clue, a pioneer in the femtech industry. Today, the market for monitoring periods and fertility is very competitive. And many other products made just for women have hit the market. A wearable breast pump and a pelvic workout trainer and app are two products that Elvie, a London-based startup, has marketed. Menotech tries to enhance women’s quality of life during menopause by giving them access to telemedicine and data and information they can use. Other businesses specialise in medical technology and target cancers that affect women, like breast and cervical cancer.
Some Femtech apps in Bangladesh
Flo is one of the most famous names we hear while discussing period trackers. The app has evolved into much more. Flo offers the service of a health assistant that will support your well-being. Now you can set parameters and objectives, create a schedule and track your symptoms.
Maya offers the consultation of qualified and trained professionals to assist with your medical issues. Their delivery service, Maya Shop, will help you to get your hands on every feminine care and personal hygiene item you need. You will also find a tracker service in Maya’s digital assistant. You can enjoy these services while maintaining anonymity, so your experience will be without confusion and fear.
FemTech and business
Femtech companies are primarily technology-based, customer-focused businesses that offer solutions for problems relating to women’s health. Women’s health presents significant business prospects for organisations, stakeholders, and investors.
Female researchers, inventors, investors, and founders can lead to developing more solutions that acknowledge and address the particular healthcare requirements of women. The market includes female customers, payers, and suppliers looking for better goods and equipment to interact with female users more successfully. Femtech solutions are not only profitable, but they also help to create the right environment for future innovation. Better health outcomes for women can result in better societal consequences as they frequently make the primary healthcare decisions for their families and themselves.
In a short period, Femtech has already demonstrated exceptional early results. The worldwide femtech market is predicted to expand at a rate of 15% over the next five years. It is because of the increased use of telemedicine, technological advancements, and the increasing focus on sexual empowerment and reproductive health in developing countries. Women are becoming increasingly conscious of how critical early sickness detection is for better disease management.
Why is femtech important?
If you still need clarification on the importance of Femtech, let me give you some further examples. Femtech facilitates self-care. Firms from this sector offer wearables, healthcare trackers, and at-home diagnostics to assist women in better managing their health and associated data. It is better adapted to comprehending women’s requirements. Femtech businesses can better understand the demands and issues of women because they are typically founded and run by women. They can also meet the needs of both organisations and individuals. The problem of gender imbalance in technology is lessened. Femtech encourages and recognises outstanding female technologists and scientists and gives them greater job opportunities, freeing women from gender prejudices.
Some concerns regarding Femtech
Some may say that the term “femtech” should not be used since it suggests that the market for healthcare for women is a small, niche industry rather than an opportunity to provide medical advancements for half of the world’s population. It might be challenging for femtech businesses to raise money because financiers are rarely drawn to projects focused on women’s issues.
Businesses in this sector must balance their advancements and worries about data security and privacy. Femtech apps can collect users’ private health information – including their menstrual cycles, sexual activities, cancer-related health information, and pregnancy information. There are currently no laws or guidelines to address privacy and security concerns on healthcare apps.
Companies must ensure they have the necessary security procedures to prevent hackers from accessing user data. Femtech businesses must also inform their users of the data they intend to gather and the purposes for which they will use it.
Prospect
The Covid-19 pandemic and the widespread digitisation of healthcare have provided the femtech sector with a much-needed boost. A growing number of technologies are being developed to enhance women’s health. Increased knowledge and acceptance of female health-related topics, shifting attitudes toward women’s health problems, and improved access to funding for female entrepreneurs can all contribute to this rise.
The dynamics underlying Femtech are speeding up: finance, firm formation, and public awareness are all rising. Femtech employs digital technologies and predictive intelligence to offer a distinctive experience for every woman at every stage of her life journey to revolutionise women’s healthcare. In the future, early adopters can seize chances in well-known white spaces by using technology to address concerns related to women’s health beyond reproduction. Femtech will contribute to the needs of underrepresented groups like low-income or minority communities. Significant collaboration prospects for established firms in traditional sectors are also presented by femtech. To increase understanding of the connection between skin health and the menstrual cycle, cosmetics leader L’Oréal has partnered with the period-tracking app Clue.
FemTech could stimulate advantageous societal changes within the healthcare system as well as outside of it. Take menopause, usually when women are most likely to advance to senior positions. The number of women in senior roles and the calibre of women’s experiences across businesses may be impacted by its consequences. Future female leaders can be inspired by technological and customer-focused solutions to combat menopause. A more open, gender-conscious healthcare system may support more women in becoming creators, investors, doctors, founders, and healthier people who can address other people’s health issues.
Author- Tahia Afra Jannati
