Written by Courtney Mutambanengwe
What if I told you there is an industry that is projected to be worth a HUNDRED BILLION US dollars by 2030 and this industry is centred around bettering the health and well-being of women around the globe? From goods and services to tech you can wear that syncs with your body to help you monitor aspects of your health as a woman, Femtech can only be going up right??
What is ‘’Femtech’’ anyway?
Let’s get into it then. What is ‘’femtech’’? You’ll find a lot of definitions for this term but one constant in the research about this topic is that the term ‘’Femtech’’ itself was coined by Ida Tin, a Danish entrepreneur, author, co-founder and CEO of the menstrual-tracking app Clue (which in itself was valued at $100M in December 2021).
The term Femtech, as you may have already figured out, stands for Female Technology. More precisely, it refers to technology monitoring different aspects of female health ranging from menstrual health to infertility, sexual well-being, and birth control. This expanding industry has produced (amongst others) applications, software, medical devices, digital platforms, and wearables, all with one end goal which is improving women’s health.
How big is this industry and who is the boss?
At this point, I’ll have to give a disclaimer on the figure mentioned in my intro. The estimates on the value of this industry vary greatly from one source to another, so you need to dig down deep to get a good gauge of how big this industry currently is and how big it is expected to be by the end of the decade. Therein lies one problem with this relatively new industry, it seems researchers can not come to a consensus on its size. Estimates range from the industry currently being worth $25.2Mto $950M. Some estimates calculate figures as high as $15 Billion! Even more interesting are some of the projections that put the industry at a worth ranging from $10.1 Billion to $103 billion by the end of the decade! Even at the lower limits of these estimates, the numbers are interesting enough to warrant more attention and buzz about Femtech.
What I have come to like most about this industry is that it is a female-led one. Yet again, the estimates vary but there is a consensus that this is an industry for the heroine. Some put the figure at 52% of the femtech industry having been founded and led by women, with some estimates going as high as the industry constituting a 92% female dominance…and this was back in 2020!
Let me give you time to digest all this information and maybe go through some of the sources below. Next time around we are going to take a closer look at some of the innovative products and services on the market, from smart bras that detect cancer to CBD-infused organic tampons…Femtech covers it all!
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