Conor Stewart
Research expert covering health & pharmaceuticals in the UK & Europe
The femtech industry - statistics and facts
Technology that addresses women’s health, also known as ‘femtech,’ was an industry worth 52 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. The term femtech was first coined by Ida Lin in 2016, and though the size of the femtech market is increasing, many women, the target group of these products, remain unaware of the industry. The segment contains any products, apps, services, medical devices, wearables, and software utilized for women’s health. Femtech aims to right the wrongs women can experience when interacting with the healthcare system by specifically on women’s healthcare needs. Women have often reported in healthcare situations not being taken seriously, as well as a lack of understanding of their bodies and experiences. Bringing everything related to women’s health together under an umbrella term defines this part of the market and helps it stand out for investment.
Where are the leading markets?
As of 2022, North America accounted for over half of all global femtech companies. Europe followed with just over a quarter of companies, while Asia had around 10 percent. Among these companies centered in North America, a fifth were focused on pregnancy and nursing, making it the largest sub-sector in the region. Other prominent sub-sectors in North America were reproductive health and contraception, general healthcare, and menstrual health. With North America being home to the most companies, the United States has received the largest amount of investment in the femtech industry. The 11.2 billion U.S. dollars of femtech funding in the U.S. far surpassed the amount invested in any other country worldwide.Is lack of awareness a cause for concern?
While femtech is a young industry, the aforementioned lack of awareness could be an issue. Lack of product knowledge and understanding of the value the product could bring to women, could mean difficulty attracting investment, an area industry leaders cited as their biggest challenge within femtech. Taboo and advertising bans were also reported as significant hurdles to the industry and may also have some effect on the low awareness levels. On the other hand, it has been said there could be a large gap in the market to fill once potential customers become informed of the benefits. With a predicted double-digit growth in coming years, and with a knock-on increase in staff working in femtech, there are plenty of reasons for industry leaders and future consumers to be optimistic.
