UAE Entering a Significant New Wave of Healthcare for Women

The UAE appears to be entering a significant new wave of healthcare for women, driven by greater awareness and openness about female health topics, changing perceptions about women’s health issues, market accessibility for female founders, increasing demand for reproductive health products and services, growing interest from VCs and angel investors in FemTech, facilitative government efforts and a number of FemTech projects set to launch in 2022 and beyond, according to the latest 2021 Global FemTech Industry report published by FemTech Analytics, a subsidiary of UK-based consortium Deep Knowledge Group.

Global FemTech Market Distribution

According to the report, the US continues to dominate the FemTech market with over 50% of FemTech companies globally, followed by Europe (25%) and Asia (9%). The UK and Israel boast the highest number of FemTech companies in their respective regions with 10% and 6% of the total number of businesses, while Asia’s undisputed market leader is India with 4% of FemTech companies.

The US remains the leader of FemTech investments with over $10 billion invested in US-based companies, followed by Israel with $1.25 billion, the UK with $611 million and Switzerland with $398 million. Moreover, 65% of investors in FemTech are based in the US, 7% in the UK and 3% in Canada and Switzerland. The USA also hosts the highest number of FemTech networks and accelerator programs with 32% of the global share, followed by the UK and Switzerland with 23% and 14% respectively.

The UAE as a Regional Leader

One-third of MENA’s FemTech companies are based in the UAE, where innovation, women empowerment and gender equality are matters of national priority. Countries like the UAE are leading the way and gradually breaking down taboos surrounding female health thanks to a culture of openness, high-levels of health awareness and the tech savviness of the government, the private sector and civil society. As a result, society at large is becoming more and more receptive to engage in conversations about such topics and embrace positive change in support of the FemTech sector.

The UAE is well-positioned to achieve exponential growth within the FemTech industry, considering the array of existing startups providing feminine hygiene products and educational tools such as Pectiv, Orgabliss, MyLily and LiZZOM, and the several more expected to arise over the coming few years. E-commerce platforms focused on women’s healthcare represent a key driver of the UAE’s FemTech sector. Digital platforms in the Pregnancy & Nursing sub sector offering consumer products for mums-to-be, new mums and kids to enjoy motherhood journey include Mama’s Box, Mumzworld and BabySouk.com.

Industry Financials and Top Performers

The total market capitalization of 28 global publicly traded FemTech companies accounted for almost $70 billion as of December 2021, with pregnancy and nursing as the largest sub sectors taking 68% of the total market. However, 85% of all FemTech companies generate annual revenues of less than $10 million each. Below are the FemTech companies that raised the highest amount of funds:

• Evofem: $444.2 million in Post-IPO Equity
• Progenity: $248.5 million in Post-IPO Equity
• Agile Therapeutics: $204.5 million in Post-IPO Equity
• Elvie: $151.9 million in Series C round
• The Mom Project: $115 million in Series C round

Sector Insights

More than 50% of FemTech companies operate in the areas of pregnancy and nursing, reproductive health and contraception and general healthcare. Over the past few years, we have witnessed a steep rise in FemTech solutions due to the adoption of new technologies and new business models, transforming the way women access healthcare. Several countries have been advancing their FemTech agendas in line with their women empowerment policies.