Women’s health is increasingly recognised as one of the most important – and most under-addressed – areas of modern healthcare. From reproductive health and menopause to chronic conditions that disproportionately affect women, the scale of unmet need is significant. At the same time, digital health innovation has opened up new ways to deliver support, insight and care at scale.

This intersection has given rise to FemTech: technologies designed to improve health outcomes across the female life course. For founders working in health and life sciences, FemTech represents one of the most compelling opportunities of the next decade. Yet it is also one of the most complex.

At Stadium Workspace, we work alongside early-stage and scaling businesses, researchers and educators in the health innovation space. What we see repeatedly is not a lack of ambition or ideas in FemTech, but a need for clearer understanding of the landscape and practical insight into how founders can navigate it successfully.

The opportunity: why FemTech matters now

The opportunity in women’s health technology is substantial, both socially and economically.

Market size and growth

The global FemTech market is projected to reach £45–50 billion by the early 2030s, driven by rising awareness of women’s health needs, increased diagnosis rates, and growing adoption of digital health solutions.[1]

At a glance: The FemTech market is forecast to be worth up to £50bn globally within the next decade.

Unmet health need

Women experience distinct health challenges across menstruation, fertility, pregnancy, postnatal recovery, menopause, gynaecological conditions, pelvic health and hormonal disorders.[2] Many of these areas have historically been under-researched or poorly served by mainstream healthcare tools. A prime example is Endometriosis, which currently takes an average of 7–9 years to diagnose in the UK.[3] The condition affects around 1 in 10 women and people assigned female at birth, and is estimated to cost the UK economy approximately £8.2 billion per year in healthcare costs and lost productivity.[4]

Key stat: Women with endometriosis typically wait nearly a decade for a diagnosis in the UK.

Around 13 million people in the UK are peri‑ or post‑menopausal, with many reporting limited access to effective support.[5] Menopause‑related symptoms are estimated to cost the UK economy around £1.5 billion per year in lost productivity, with tens of thousands of women leaving work due to unmanaged symptoms.[6]

Women have historically been under‑represented in clinical trials, contributing to gaps in evidence and treatment effectiveness.[7]

Growing appetite for digital health solutions

The COVID‑19 pandemic accelerated public and professional acceptance of remote care, self‑management tools and digital health platforms. Research shows sustained growth in the use of health apps and wearable technologies, particularly among women managing long‑term or life‑stage‑related conditions.[8]

Severe period pain, endometriosis, fibroids and ovarian cysts are estimated to contribute to around £11 billion per year in absenteeism and lost productivity in the UK, underlining the wider economic drag of under‑addressed women’s health conditions.[6]

Economic impact: Women’s reproductive health conditions cost the UK economy billions each year in lost productivity alone.

Together, these factors make FemTech one of the most promising spaces in health innovation today – not only as a health imperative, but an economic one too.

The current state of play: progress, but slower than potential

Despite the clear opportunity, FemTech’s growth has not been entirely linear.

Investment remains uneven

While global investment in FemTech grew rapidly between 2016 and 2021, it still represents a small proportion of total digital health funding. In the UK, FemTech accounted for approximately 4–5% of digital health investment in recent years, despite women representing half the population.[9]

Funding gap: Women’s‑health‑focused innovation receives only a small fraction of UK digital health investment.

Limited scale‑ups

Over the past decade, only a small number of FemTech companies have reached large‑scale, international adoption. Many innovations stall at pilot or early commercial stages, particularly those seeking NHS integration.[10]

Founder experience

Research and founder experience suggest longer fundraising cycles, increased scrutiny around evidence, and persistent discomfort among some investors when addressing women’s health topics such as menstruation, fertility or menopause.[11]

This gap between opportunity and outcome raises an important question: what is holding FemTech back?

Understanding the barriers facing FemTech founders

Regulatory complexity and uncertainty

Many FemTech products operate in a grey area between consumer wellness and regulated medical devices. Under UK and EU regulations, software that influences diagnosis, monitoring or treatment may be classed as a medical device, triggering significant compliance requirements.[12]

For founders, this can mean:

• Uncertainty around classification
• Higher development and validation costs
• Longer routes to market

Without early regulatory planning, teams may need to redesign products or evidence strategies later in development.

Evidence gaps and data challenges

Women’s health research has historically been under‑funded and under‑prioritised. As a result, FemTech founders often need to generate their own clinical or real‑world evidence to demonstrate effectiveness and safety.[13]

At the same time, FemTech products handle highly sensitive personal data. Public concern around reproductive‑health data privacy has increased, raising expectations for transparency, security and ethical governance.[14]

Investment bias and narrative challenges

Multiple studies have shown that female‑founded startups receive a disproportionately small share of venture capital funding.[11] FemTech companies may face additional barriers due to stigma or lack of investor familiarity with women’s health conditions.

Adoption and integration hurdles

Even where products demonstrate value, adoption can be slow:

• NHS procurement and integration require strong evidence and interoperability.[10-15]
• Consumer uptake depends on trust, relevance and sensitive communication
• Women’s health needs vary significantly across life stages and populations

This complexity makes scaling harder, but not impossible.

How FemTech founders can break through

Build regulatory thinking in from the start

Understanding your likely regulatory pathway early can reduce risk further down the line. Many successful FemTech founders treat compliance and evidence generation as strategic assets rather than obstacles.

Treat evidence as a differentiator

Partnerships with universities, clinicians and research organisations can strengthen credibility and support adoption. Evidence‑led products are more likely to secure investment and system‑level uptake.

Design trust into the product

Clear consent, ethical data use and inclusive design are critical in women’s health. Trust directly influences retention, advocacy and long‑term value.

Reframe the investment conversation

Effective FemTech pitches combine social impact with commercial clarity. Framing women’s health challenges in terms of system‑wide cost savings, market size and lifetime value helps investors see scale.

Design for real‑world use

Founders who engage early with users, clinicians and delivery partners are better placed to build solutions that integrate into everyday life and care pathways.

Looking ahead

Insight for founders – Many of the barriers facing FemTech startups – regulation, evidence, adoption – are also the factors that create long‑term competitive advantage when addressed early.

FemTech is not a trend – it is a necessary evolution in how healthcare innovation serves half the population. The founders who succeed will be those who combine evidence, empathy and system-led thinking.

Within Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park’s innovation ecosystem, Stadium Workspace supports collaboration across health, data, research and technology – providing founders with proximity to clinical expertise, academic insight and peer innovation without prescribing a single route to success. For founders prepared to negotiate complexity, women’s health offers one of the most important innovation opportunities of the coming decade.

Key takeaways for FemTech founders

• The opportunity is real and growing: Women’s health remains under‑served, with strong demand for digital, preventative and personalised solutions.
• Regulation and evidence are not optional: Early understanding of MHRA and NICE expectations reduces risk and accelerates scale.
• Trust is a core product feature: Data ethics, privacy and inclusion directly influence adoption and retention.
• Investment conversations require reframing: Commercial clarity, system‑level value and evidence help overcome bias.
• Ecosystem matters: Founders who work closely with clinicians, researchers and delivery partners are better positioned to scale.

References & further reading

1. UK Department for Business and Trade (2023). Life Sciences Competitiveness Indicators and global health innovation market analysis. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/life-sciences-competitiveness-indicators
2. UK Government (2022). Women’s Health Strategy for England. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/womens-health-strategy-for-england
3. NHS England (2022). Endometriosis: Improving diagnosis and treatment pathways. https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/endometriosis-improving-diagnosis-and-treatment
4. Department of Health and Social Care (2022). Women’s Health Strategy – Menopause chapter. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/womens-health-strategy-for-england
5. The Lancet (2019). Sex and gender equity in research: rationale for change. https://www.thelancet.com/series/sex-and-gender-equity-in-research
6. NHS Digital (2022). Digital health trends and remote care adoption in England. https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications
7. Dealroom & British Business Bank (2023). UK VC investment into female‑founded and FemTech companies. https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/insight/uk-vc-female-founders-report/
8. The King’s Fund (2023). Digital innovation and adoption in the NHS. https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/reports/digital-health-adoption-nhs
9. British Business Bank (2023). UK VC & Female Founders Report. https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/uk-vc-female-founders-report/
10. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Guidance on software and AI as a medical device. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/software-and-ai-as-a-medical-device-change-programme
11. BMJ Medicine (2023). Improving research design and evidence generation in women’s health. https://bmjmedicine.bmj.com/
12. Ada Lovelace Institute (2023). Privacy, trust and reproductive health technologies. https://www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/report/privacy-and-reproductive-health/
13. NICE (2022). Evidence standards framework for digital health technologies. https://www.nice.org.uk/about/what-we-do/our-programmes/evidence-standards-framework-for-digital-health-technologies