Fem-tech: Niche and fertile for growth

*This article is adapted from * Business Line.

Samyukta (name changed), a jewellery designer and mother of a 10-year-old daughter, recalls feeling confused and lost by the sudden changes she saw in herself. “I started experiencing fatigue, mood swings, hot flashes, and irritability,” she says. Like many today, she went online for more information and ended up logging into a ‘fem-tech’ platform for support, rather than walking into a doctor’s office.

Offering tech-enabled healthcare solutions exclusively for women, the fem-tech segment is nascent but growing steadily in India.

Samyukta says she was drawn to the platform’s tailored-care approach. “The platform guided me through each step, from understanding what my body was experiencing to connecting me with a counsellor and doctors who truly listened,” she recounts.

She learnt that her symptoms were part of peri-menopause, the transitional phase leading to menopause, due to fluctuating levels of the female hormone estrogen. She was also made aware of the added risks of conditions like diabetes and high cholesterol.

“It was more than healthcare, it felt personalised and non-judgemental,” she observes. Like Samyukta, thousands of Indian women today use fem-tech platforms in their quest for healthcare solutions, drawn by the ease of use and professional care on offer.

With over 250 companies operating in this space till date, the niche fem-tech segment has raised $135 million funding. Funding interest peaked in 2021, fetching $68 million, according to data from Tracxn. Elda Health, Arva Health, Janitri, and Proactive for Her are some of the prominent names in the fem-tech startup segment.
Emerging solutions

“There is a lot of white space in addressing women’s health concerns as they experience various cycles of change throughout life — adolescence, pregnancy, peri-menopause, and menopause,” says Swathi Kulkarni, co-founder and CEO of Elda Health. This calls for solutions that can keep pace with evolving healthcare needs.

Elda Health offers a range of services and products through its app, including digital therapeutics, nutritional products, diagnostics, and doctor consultations.

Founded in 2021, following Kulkarni’s personal experience with peri-menopause, Elda Health started as a WhatsApp group of over 250 women from metro and tier-one cities; today over one lakh women use both its free and paid programmes. Under a freemium model, Elda offers a range of services and products through its app, including digital therapeutics, holistic healthcare, diagnostics, yoga, nutrition, doctor consultations, and care manager support.

Apart from menstrual and reproductive health, fertility planning is a growing area of interest among many women. There is anxiety over the ticking biological clock and the need for timely fertility planning, says Nidhi Panchmal, co-founder, Arva Health.

Launched in 2022, Arva Health’s services include fertility assessments, educational resources, advanced treatments, egg-freezing consultations, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) care.

With the projected birth of 250 million babies in the next decade, the startup eyes a significant share of the $5-billion market in India through its family-building programmes, says Dipalie Bajaj, co-founder and CEO, Arva Health.
With a user base of 40,000, Arva offers online tests related to in-vitro fertilisation procedure, including tracking and monitoring egg reserve statistics; the tests cost ₹4,500-5,000.

“After testing, we support clients with consultations, free access to counsellors, and a dedicated care team. Additionally, we provide vetted recommendations for clinics to ensure they receive quality care,” says Bajaj.

Arva has partnered with over 15 fertility clinics, diagnostic labs, and 20 doctors specialising in fertility, gynaecology, embryology, and endocrinology.

The company plans to launch its first offline store in Bengaluru within a year, and later open more in other cities including Delhi and Mumbai.

Janitri, founded in 2016, specialises in wearable and AI-enabled monitoring devices for pregnancy, labour, and newborn care.

It uses a range of business models — selling directly to hospitals and clinics; and a business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) and business-to-consumer (B2C) model — for the sale of products to new mothers. Janitri has partnered with over 600 hospitals for its sales.

Funding growth

Funding in the fem-tech sector has slowed after peaking in 2021. In 2023, funding declined by 25 per cent to $35.2 million, from $42 million in 2022.

Janitri specialises in wearable and AI-enabled monitoring devices for pregnancy, labour, and newborn care

This year, the sector has attracted only $2.11 million so far.

However, despite the funding slowdown, fem-tech startups remain optimistic about future growth, driven by the increased awareness and conversations around women’s health.

Janitri, for example, plans to expand its reach to monitoring 100,000 mothers, and training 2,500 healthcare professionals by the end of FY25. The Shark Tank India- backed company is also on course to achieving profitability by then, says Arun Agarwal, founder-CEO, Janitri.

Highlighting the inherent potential of fem-tech, Kanika Mayar, Partner at Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia, India, says, “As awareness of women’s health issues increases, there is an anticipated surge in demand for comprehensive solutions.” Vertex has invested in fem-tech startups Proactive For Her and IVF Access.

Kulkarni is confident that as the target audience grows, investment will naturally follow, especially additional late-stage funding.

Bottlenecks ahead

The biggest challenge for fem-tech companies is the lack of education around women’s health and bodies, says Arva’s Bajaj.

Kulkarni, however, believes that this challenge could turn into an opportunity with rising awareness.

Scaling up is another area of concern for fem-tech startups, says Neha Singh, co-founder and CEO, Tracxn. They face unique difficulties in competing with established healthcare players due to the persistent stigma surrounding women’s health issues.

This stigma can impede both public acceptance and investor understanding, she says.

Pitted against established players with brand recognition and robust resources, fem-tech startups struggle to gain a foothold.

“They must navigate a landscape riddled with biases and societal taboos, while working to innovate and tackle critical issues within the women’s healthcare segment,” she says.

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