Bridging Health Literacy and Access to Women’s Healthcare Through Femtech

To find out more about FemTech, we decided to expand on our Disruption Talk interview with Alison Paul, Lead Product Manager for Chatbots & Gen AI at Flo Health app.

The growth and potential of the global femtech market

The global femtech market is projected to grow from $51.8 billion in 2023 to $117.37 billion by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.4%. What factors do you believe are driving this rapid growth?

Alison: There has been substantial growth in the movement surrounding women's health. Many people believed five years ago that this was just going to be a ‘moment,’ but it has since evolved into a movement. Women worldwide are feeling increasingly empowered to demand the healthcare they deserve.

However, many healthcare systems still fail to adequately support women's health. The charity sector, which previously helped struggling healthcare systems in various regions, has been significantly impacted post-COVID.

For instance, in the UK, there are long wait times to see a gynecologist through the NHS, and private health insurance often does not cover many chronic conditions, such as endometriosis and menopause therapies.

Most fertility options for those over age 35 are self-funded through private clinics globally, leaving women to seek alternative solutions. This has led to a growing total addressable market (TAM) of women willing to pay for the health support they need, with demand continuing to rise.

Alongside this, significant innovations in fertility are emerging, so we are likely to see a variety of digital and affordable fertility options enter the market in the coming years.

With all of this said, we are now seeing increasing confidence from investors with large funding rounds of my company Flo, and Maven.

Despite a significant increase in investment— Karen Taylor, director of the Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions in the United Kingdom, recently noted that just 1.4% of capital investment is in femtech. In 2021, almost 90% of investment decisions were made by men. What do you think are the barriers to increased investment in femtech?

Alison: I believe investor hesitation partly stems from the lack of femtech unicorns and exits, alongside strong competition in health tech. Health tech funds tend to look broadly across the sector, evaluating areas like mental health, wellbeing, and AI-driven start-ups, which often have a stronger track record of returns.

This means femtech start-ups aren’t just competing in their niche but across all of health tech.

Femtech start-ups targeting specific women’s needs, like menopause, may be viewed as having too small a "Total Addressable Market." Additionally, the predominance of male-led funds, with few female-led alternatives, limits support. Many femtech start-ups are mission-driven and sometimes blur lines with social enterprises, which raises questions from investors on profitability.

Enhancing health literacy and self-care

Health literacy is crucial for effective self-care, yet approximately 36% of adults globally have low health literacy. In your opinion, how can femtech solutions improve health literacy among women worldwide?

Alison: Flo has reached an exciting growth milestone with over 70 million MAUs, allowing us to reach people where healthcare systems and charities often struggle. Through our pro-social initiative, we’ve provided 17 million subscriptions across 66 countries.

This access to communities with low health literacy offers essential cycle and female health information, improving health literacy. A recent randomized control trial by the Flo science team showed that Flo significantly boosts health literacy, helping women better manage PMS and PMDD symptoms within three months of use.

I'm especially excited about the potential of GenAI in this space, with advanced transcreation offering culturally nuanced adaptations rather than direct translations—a potential game-changer for healthcare app accessibility. But it is also imperative that AI is used responsibly and ethically within healthcare.

Addressing gender data gaps and legacy women’s health issues

Caroline Criado Perez's book "Invisible Women" highlights the critical issue of the gender data gap, noting that 70% of health research focuses on men. The legacy of women's health issues has often been overlooked. How can the femtech industry address this gap and ensure that women's health needs are adequately represented globally?

Alison: Most people don’t realize that it wasn’t until 1993 that women were required to be included in clinical trials. This legislation marked a major shift, as the previous exclusion of women created a substantial gap in understanding how drugs and treatments affect women’s bodies.

Femtech start-ups are keenly aware of this, so when working in specific areas of women’s health, they often find fewer published studies for evidence. Many start-ups address this by establishing their own scientific teams, frequently partnering with universities to research these gaps. Expanding clinical trials and research partnerships remains essential to overcoming this legacy, though there’s still a long way to go.

The future of femtech

The femtech market is expected to reach a potential of $50 billion by 2025, providing ample opportunities in clinical diagnostics and medical devices. How can the industry leverage this for innovation globally?

Alison:I’m especially excited about the possibilities for wearable and monitoring devices to help women gain deeper insights into their health. Menstrual blood, for example, may contain biomarkers for various conditions, and diagnostic tampons from start-ups like Daye are already entering the market. With CGM monitors, women can also track how glucose data relates to their health, as seen with start-ups like Zoe in gut health.

Globally, affordable and accessible solutions are essential, especially for underserved regions. The femtech industry needs to prioritize low-cost, user-friendly devices and apps, like Flo, which is enhancing its experience on low-end Android devices.

There are also strong opportunities for femtech start-ups to collaborate with NGOs and charities focused on women’s health in lower-income countries, similar to initiatives by big tech companies like OpenAI and Google that bring new technologies to hard-to-reach settings.

Looking into the future, how do you envision the women’s health tech sector over the next 5 to 10 years?

Alison: I'm most excited about the intersection of Gen AI and wearable monitoring devices. These two advancements together could be transformative for health in general, but especially for women’s health.

Picture this: in ten years, Flo could predict your period with such accuracy that you’d know it would start within hours, based on data from your health monitoring device. When it begins, if you notice large blood clots, you could simply take a photo and upload it to Flo, which would analyze the size and alert you if you need to see a doctor.

I’m also thrilled about the emerging focus on hormonal health and menopause. Huge strides are likely as we deepen our understanding and treatment options. Recently, I listened to an insightful discussion on the Mother podcast about breakthroughs expected once we learn more about ovarian aging—ovaries age ten times faster than any other body part, so this understanding could drive major innovations in menopause treatment.

As we move towards this exciting future though we need to make sure that Gen AI is used responsibly particularly when we’re talking about a huge intersection of data types.

The underfunding of women's health research presents challenges for the femtech industry. What tips would you give present and future femtech companies to overcome these hurdles and ensure sustainable growth in various regions?

Alison: Our CEO Dmitry Gurski recently discussed the importance of TAM on a podcast, highlighting a crucial focus for start-up founders. This advice from him really resonates for me having been in the sector a long time. In my view it's important to avoid being too niche, but also don’t try to be everything to everyone. Start with one goal and execute it well. Flo, for example, initially focused on cycle tracking for a younger audience and gradually expanded to include features for conception, pregnancy, and menopause.

Another key point is overcoming what my VP calls the ‘chasm’—moving from early growth with initial adopters to reaching an early majority and giving your product broader appeal. Early monetization is now critical, as investors expect to see revenue potential much sooner than five years ago. Flo’s success in monetizing early demonstrated financial viability and achieved break-even faster than expected, giving it a strong advantage.

To improve funding access in femtech, we must continue to discuss sector challenges openly and celebrate successes like Flo’s unicorn status. A unified femtech sector addressing women’s health outcomes can have a far-reaching impact.