International Women’s Day: FemTech an engine for health and growth

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, Anna King, Commercial Director at Health Innovation Network South London, identifies how FemTech is ‘Accelerating Action’ in UK healthcare and driving economic growth.

In recent years, FemTech – the sector focused on women’s health and wellness technology – has gained significant traction globally. In the UK, this growing sector not only addresses the specific healthcare needs of women, but is also a driver of economic growth, job creation, and technological advancement.

FemTech encompasses technological solutions for a range of conditions, not just those that only affect women, such as reproductive health and maternal care, but also those conditions that affect both men and women in different ways, such as cardiovascular disease, mental heath and dementia. What sets this sector apart is its emphasis on tackling conditions that have traditionally been under-researched or poorly addressed by the healthcare system. The rise of FemTech companies marks a shift in technology and innovations can better target gender-specific healthcare needs.

Women’s health historically received less attention in medical research, particularly when it comes to clinical trials and data sets. In recent years researchers, clinicals and system leaders are beginning to change this narrative, and innovative FemTech companies responding with some fantastic high-potential solutions. Our health and care systems has been described as designed by men for men and ‘male as default’. By creating technologies that are both patient-specific and tailored to women’s unique physiological and hormonal differences, these innovators are not only improving healthcare outcomes for women but also supporting the development of the life science sector in the UK as a global powerhouse.

Accelerating FemTech

The scale of the economic opportunity that FemTech presents is particularly evident through the success stories emerging from our Accelerating FemTech programme which have supported a recent wave of entrepreneurs and innovators in health technology. This programme has also shown how this women’s health focused programme, has also led to a growth in the proportion of female innovators and entrepreneurs looking to grow companies in this exciting area.

In May 2023, Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council (MRC) commissioned one of four new pilot accelerators to support the BioMedical Catalyst programme. The Health Innovation Network in South London were chosen to lead Accelerating FemTech, and they developed a fantastic consortium of partners to deliver the programme, including Health Innovation Networks across the country, devolved nations, universities, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, CW+, and many others. This initiative aimed to boost early-stage FemTech innovations and fast-track their development.

The first cohort ran from May 2023 to January 2024. Alumni were awarded a share of more than £1 million in funding through a special closed-call feasibility funding opportunity through the InnovateUK BioMedical Catalyst. Following that success, this year Innovate UK the MRC have doubled the programme with 21 high-potential FemTech companies participating.

Healthtech for women, by women

As more women enter the healthtech space, more innovative solutions are emerging, addressing a broader range of women’s health needs. Female founders like Dr Dupe Burgess of Bloomful, a former NHS doctor turned FemTech innovator with her AI-driven triage solution designed to provide efficient and personalised care for gynaecological health.  Divya Varma whose personal experience of having two C-sections drove her to found FemTech start up BirthGlide. Her team is developing a novel, simple-to-use and low-cost device to reduce the occurrence of a prolonged second stage of labour and the need for instrumental deliveries and emergency C-sections. Dr Katerina Spranger the founder of Oxford Heartbeat is leading innovations that introduce patient specific technology and therefore more accurate for females.

No-longer ‘male by default’

Then we have FemTech companies not founded by females but using cutting edge technology to tackle the challenges of historic male-centric data reliance in our health services. AIATELLA’s AI technology automates the detection and characterisation of cardiovascular disease from vascular ultrasound imaging, specifically targeting carotid arteries, abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), and peripheral vasculature. This approach addresses key challenges in vascular ultrasound, such as operator dependency, time-consuming analysis, potential for missed abnormalities, and increasing demand on resources. Unravel Health, focuses on improving women’s health through advanced digital tools that bridge the gap between technology and medical knowledge. By using hormone data analytics and AI, Unravel is advancing diagnostic tools and providing greater precision in treatment plans, a crucial factor for patient outcomes.

Within women’s health there are of course specific challenges and inequalities with health outcomes for across the UK. Black women are four times likely to die within six weeks of giving birth, while Asian women are nearly twice as likely to die as compared to white women. Developing technology and using data more effectively to better women’s health is bringing about change, but as always with technology, how it is applied and made available has significant impacts on tackling inequalities.

FemTech driving economic growth

It has been explicitly acknowledged that better health care and improved outcomes for women can reduce absenteeism, increase retention, and support career progression, all of which fuel economic growth. Productivity gains through increased female participation from 2011 to 2023, measured by GDP per hour worked, boosted UK GDP on average by 0.3% a year, resulting in a total annual GDP increase of £6.2bn. According to the Fawcett Society (2024), the UK is losing 150 million working days each year due to women’s poor health and a lack of suitable support

For example, 1 in 10 women leave the workforce due to menopause symptoms, according to a 2022 Fawcett Society survey. The economic cost of absenteeism due to delays in diagnosis and access to treatment for severe period pain and heavy periods alongside endometriosis, fibroids and ovarian cysts is estimated to be nearly £11 billion per annum by NHS Confed (2024). Deloitte (2023) estimates that improving menopause support could help retain over 900,000 women in the UK workforce, significantly boosting GDP. This is on top of the one in ten working mothers who quit jobs due to childcare pressures.

The rise of FemTech in the UK is a story of economic growth. Data City identified over FemTech 150 companies collectively generating an estimated turnover of around £700 million, with an impressive annual growth rate of approximately 30%, significantly outpacing the UK industry average. The global FemTech market was valued at approximately $50 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $103 billion by 2030, according to Statista.

Investors backing high-potential FemTech solutions

Investors are increasingly seeing FemTech as a high-growth sector with the potential to improve millions of lives and yield substantial returns. In addition to creating direct jobs in research, development, and sales, these companies are also driving innovation across other sectors, including data analytics, AI, and digital health infrastructure.

Increasing number of investors at all stages are exploring opportunities in women’s health, with increased focus is leading more VCs to consider investments. We are seeing a movement from smaller specialist angel funds with increasing potential attracting more established investors and corporates. Investors like Lavender Ventures, Angel Academe, and Octopus Ventures, have helped companies like Bloom43, emm, Perci and Adora  get off the ground. With $6.9 million in recent funding, Level Zero Health is one of the most exciting examples of FemTech investment in the UK. Their focus on advancing health diagnostics, specifically in areas that impact women, is critical as healthcare solutions continue to evolve.

More FemTech companies are attracting significant investments, raising millions in funding, and creating jobs across the country. This significant funding boost signals growing investor interest in FemTech and provides a strong signal that the sector has substantial economic potential.

Furthermore, the growing global demand for personalised, women-specific healthcare solutions positions the UK as a hub for FemTech development. FemTech is no longer a niche market, it is an integral part of the UK’s healthtech and life sciences ecosystem, contributing significantly to economic growth, technological advancement, and improved health outcomes for women.