by Dipanjan Basu & Ankur Khaitan

Through the ages, societies throughout geographies and financial divides, have believed that some quantity of bodily, psychological, and emotional discomfort, is sort of the correct of passage into womanhood.However, as we evolve as a race and witness the sheer marvels of expertise, one can’t assist however problem this archaic notion. Women are lastly voicing the discomfort skilled throughout puberty, hormone imbalance, menopause and a complete array of different girls’s well being points that had been merely swept below the carpet! According to a research solely 36% of India’s 355 million menstruating females use sanitary napkins. As girls converse out on these beforehand thought-about taboo subjects, tech giants and medical consultants are sitting up and taking discover of a complete new untapped girls’s well being universe that guarantees leading edge improvements, immense funding alternatives and most significantly offering girls with the selection to steer a pain-free, wholesome, and fulfilling life with none gender biases.

The younger millennial and Gen Z girls, are much more snug speaking about menstrual considerations, child-birth choices and even sexual well being and well-being. Tech companies are recognising the rising presence of girls on-line and their want to debate their sexual well being in an knowledgeable and empowered surroundings. Designed to suit the wants of younger girls of rural communities in India, Disha Didi is Ipas Development Foundation’s AI-powered chatbot to answer particular person queries on sexual and reproductive well being. It hyperlinks customers to authorities well being services and human counsellors. This has additionally led to an increase in communities devoted to girls. There are communities like Gurgaon Moms, Circle of sisterhood or Women About Community, the place girls really feel snug to debate all their private or skilled considerations, together with sexual wellness points, with ease and luxury. Features similar to the choice to put up a question as an nameless member, permits room for extra privateness and retains fears of judgement at bay.Digital communities allow girls to debate their considerations about intervals, alternate being pregnant choices, managing hormones, bone well being, menopause, and even sexual wellness with none worry of judgement or hesitation.FemTech suppliers over the previous few years have been in a position to decide up on these cues and create options and merchandise that tackle girls particular well being points, whereas guaranteeing privateness, empathy, consolation and constructing belief.

Various FemTech apps powered by AI and different cutting-edge expertise permit knowledge analytics to grasp a lady’s particular drawback, supply tailor-made answer and even monitor progress. A one-size-fits all method doesn’t work, as each girl’s journey from menarche to menopause is completely different; thus, the necessity for a extra customised method.

With half the world’s inhabitants being girls, it’s moderately stunning {that a} mere 4% of analysis medical budgets are spend on girls’s well being. As girls take management of their well being and wellness, demanding options that cater to their particular well being wants, there’s a quickly rising curiosity within the FemTech trade. Growing at a CAGR of over 16%, the worldwide FemTech sector is estimated to cross 9 Bn USD in market measurement by 2030. The world pattern displays extra sharply within the Indian context. With Indian girls now transferring as much as the C-Suite, and witnessing openness to speak about these points, there’s important consciousness & adoption of self-care on the subject of sexual and reproductive well being This is resulting in the expansion of assorted FemTech start-ups, however there’s important room for lots extra innovation, tech disruptions and general consciousness a few huge array of girls particular well being considerations inclusive of however not restricted to prenatal and post-partum considerations.

Personalised and precision remedy is the necessity of the hour for ladies. For occasion, extra exact knowledge pushed expertise can additional improve procedures associated to issues within the uterus or ovaries, that are widespread for ladies after a sure age or these affected by extreme PCOS. PCOS isn’t a illness however a situation whose signs should be recognized and addressed. An estimated one in 5 (20%) Indian girls undergo from PCOS. If not monitored in time, the situation can have critical well being impacts. It is amongst the main causes for unsuccessful conception or early miscarriage in girls. While medical science has come a great distance, integration with AI and sharper knowledge analytics might help ship extra personalised and exact options with much less ache, decrease threat, and higher restoration for a big spectrum of women-related well being considerations, past fertility points. Hormonal imbalance is a major problem for ladies throughout all age teams and but stays a largely underserved medical space.

Thus, whereas FemTech has made inroads in Indian metros and addressed the extra apparent fertility associated considerations, there’s plenty of room for progress each throughout geographies, social strata, and the big part of unaddressed women-specific well being considerations. As extra gamers enter this house and extra funding focussed on this sector, there’s a should be conscious of the integrity demanded by girls’s healthcare.

Women are rewriting historical past by being extra conscious of their very own discomforts, take cost of their very own well-being and determine to alter their well being narrative from worry and disgrace to empowered and well-informed. We see a big alternative to deliver collectively the most effective in expertise and medical science to disrupt the ladies’s healthcare market. As an investor, the FemTech house is one to be careful for, because it slowly strengthens its foothold throughout India.

Dipanjan Basu, Co-founder & Partner, Fireside Ventures & Ankur Khaitan, Principal, Fireside Ventures

(DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the authors and ETHealthworld doesn’t essentially subscribe to it. ETHealthworld.com shall not be accountable for any injury brought on to any particular person / organisation straight or not directly.)