2022 Year in Review
From the Archives - FemTech Association Asia
According to Fermata, in 2021 there were 41 femtech companies in Southeast Asia, a small portion compared to the 318 global femtech companies in 2020. Yesmom, Thailand-based provider of at-home diagnostic testing kits for fertility and PCOS, was registered in 2017 by Peter Macquart-Moulin. This makes yesmom the earliest established business in the FemTech Association of Asia.
Given SE Asia’s young companies and a nascent market for this already nascent industry, 2022 FemTech Trend articles have been mainly focused on our larger, more established counterparts in the USA and Western Europe.
With this in mind, the FAA wanted to add a few SE Asia perspectives about what is ‘trending’ among regional FemTech companies in 2022:
Primary Focus on Consumer Education
In SE Asia, consumer education continues to be a foundational FemTech pillar, with companies navigating norms based on what is taught in school, discussed at home, cultural taboos and regional media coverage. Reflecting on the SE Asia consumer mindset, more than half of FAA Member companies are planning to rebrand in 2022.
Brands with engaged, targeted audiences, like MeetMumz, have built loyal communities through sharing expert knowledge. Educating consumers about wellness options and priorities has allowed MeetMumz to pivot the business to respond to customer demands for more networking opportunities, more exclusive content, and more product offerings seamlessly integrating healthcare into a mother’s lifestyle.
ZaZaZu Founder JingJin Liu observed a more modest consumer mindset to the sexual wellbeing platform after the 2020 launch, so added to the company mission to “create a safe space for women to explore and learn 360 around sexuality and intimacy”, taking away the taboo as a trusted resource. In 2021, ZaZaZu successfully implemented the creation of the ZaZaZu VIP Club, introducing member benefits that build comfort, confidence and understanding about sexuality applied to day-to-day life (e.g. discounts off oysters at restaurants, teasing the concept of an aphrodisiac). In addition, the company now regularly hosts the “Unbox Yourself” flagship corporate workshop, which “focuses upon specific self-awareness building in order to get to know yourself and recognize the power behind you”.
ZaZaZu: “Unbox Yourself” Corporate Workshop
ShePeriod has launched its new podcast, Free Flow, which empowers women through normalising discussions about menstruation and other topics that have stayed under the radar for far too long, complementing their menstrual wellness product offering.
Each SE Asia country also has its own journey outside of regional trends, especially given more “taboo” topics. For instance, Dr. Rica Cruz, Founder of Unprude, shares a consumer view that in the Philippines, “there is a rise in digital adoption due to Covid and the destigmatization of sex that’s sweeping the younger generations. There’s a sweet spot where that converges where FemTech entrepreneurs should be taking a look at.”
Vision for Holistic Healthcare
We will see more of the transition from single purpose products to broader healthcare indicators with companies looking to own more of the FemTech ecosystem. For instance, Ferne Health started with a focus on STD testing and is now moving towards including other health checks such as hormone and thyroid testing; ZaZaZu transitioned its product offering from “pleasure boxes” — a mystery box of products curated by expert based on a customer’s preferences — to its own line of products, some of which are medically endorsed, with the aim shift the narrative about sex from being a vice or sin to a matter of public health and wellness.
Over the last year, especially with the pandemic — the FAA has seen a consumer trend within Millennials and Gen Zs towards self-acceptance and self-awareness/responsibility of one’s own health, being more open to regular testing. Increasing SE Asia consumer ownership for personal healthcare has influenced 78% of FAA Members to plan the launch of new products in 2022 that cover reactive AND preventative women’s healthcare, such as Ease Healthcare’s new “Protect” line of urinary tract health essentials supplements, complementing at-home testing kits.
Ease Healthcare “Protect” Line
We will also see more companies who are looking to provide a holistic journey for consumers — like The Della HQ — an upcoming space and community for all things fertility, pregnancy and parenthood related; and Femcy, the menstrual wellness app, joining Eve World’s Web3, women-only social community platform that seeks to build a positive and valuable digital experience for women worldwide.
“The world around us has been traditionally built keeping in mind men as average users….We want to become a platform that gives women true freedom online, for them to create and consume content, have meaningful conversations, share opinions, thoughts, and build social connections that will help them grow and develop. — Tarun Katial, Cofounder, Eve World
Healthcare and lifestyle are truly merging, with diagnostics and devices also requiring a broader approach. Ramya Seetharaman PhD, Cofounder of Haemetrics, is developing a rapid diagnostics testing device quantitatively measuring an arrangement of female health-associated hormones, which can impact a range of healthcare solutions for women from menstrual wellness to menopause care; and Mabel Yen Ngoc, Cofounder & CEO of EloCare, which specialises in the internet of medical things (IOMT), is working to develop connected and smart healthcare devices for optimised chronic and aging care, supporting a woman’s entire health lifecycle.
Increased Fundraising Activity
57% of FAA Founders plan to fundraise in 2022. A $1.3M USD investment in Ease Healthcare by Insignia Ventures Partners has built confidence in SE Asia that investors are taking the FemTech industry seriously. (In 2022, Insignia Academy, the VC’s Southeast Asia-focused venture capital accelerator, included a FemTech syllabus for its second program cohort, demonstrating an investor interest to learn more about the industry.)
Over half of FAA FemTech businesses are also open to merging with or acquiring another business. Singapore saw recent M&A activity with the December 2021 acquisition of Femcy by Eve World and Goodvibes & The Hedonist merging to reach a larger audience and share investment into new, immersive brand experiences like The Origin.
Funding also has potential from grants, like EloCares’ June 2021 win of Enterprise Singapore’s ESG Healthcare Open Innovation Challenge. The company was awarded up to $2M SGD in cofunding to develop and deploy its unique research-based solutions in partnership with the country’s leading healthcare providers.
Furthermore, FAA’s media coverage and growing list of partners support amplification of SE Asia’s FemTech companies to investors globally. In Q1 2022 FAA has already partnered with brands such as MyRepublic and Sophia. And FemTech Enthusiasts like: Zuellig Pharma, 1880, Mandala Club, better.sg, Drapers Start-up House, Google, FemTechLive, FemTech Collectiveand Sompo Digital Lab Tel Aviv/FemTech IL are offering fresh ways to support the industry regionally and globally.
SE Asia Regional Expansion
Target countries for expansion for FAA companies in Singapore are Indonesia and Malaysia. For those based in other SE Asia markets, Singapore is the next target as the FemTech hub of Asia. In Singapore, Xi Liu, Founder of Ferne Health, Singapore’s first online sexual health platform and new wellness space, announced that the company would be expanding into Malaysia in March 2022; and Cofounder Serene Cai and the team at Speedocare looking to Indonesia for growth.
For future growth outside of SE Asia, FAA Members find India and the UAE as attractive, unsaturated markets given entrepreneurial tech growth and female populations demanding convenient, personalised healthcare solutions that FemTech solves.
United Arab Emirates is home to one-third of the Middle East and North Africa’s femtech companies — Arabian Business, Dec 2021
With the majority of FAA companies launching within the last five years, customer acquisition remains the key strategic focus for all.
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FemTech Association Asia is the region’s first and largest industry network and specialist advisory for founders, professionals and investors with the core focus on improving women’s health through technology solutions. Currently, we represent 70+ FemTech companies in nine countries across Asia.
Learn more about FemTech Association Asia and apply for membership here.