Entrepreneur
Recession is looming, but it’s not all bad for femtech start-ups
Although opportunities in women’s health accelerate, investors remain cautious
As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is signalling the unofficial start of recession, digital health funding slows amid investment uncertainty.
The past six months have brought new challenges for both investors and entrepreneurs. With higher-than-expected inflation, global financial conditions are becoming tighter and the world economy is on the brink of facing one of its weakest years since 1970.
The outlook for the global economy has “darkened significantly” in recent months, said IMF chief, Kristalina Georgieva, predicting a tough 2022, and an “even tougher 2023”.
IMF officials announced that inflation was higher than forecast with prices in the US raising at a 40-year high of 9.1 per cent in June. In Britain inflation has jumped from almost zero during the pandemic to 9.1 per cent and is expected to top 11 per cent by October.
Although modest inflation can be attractive to consumer goods companies, very high inflation rates could make planning and investment decisions harder, analysts say.
Femtech has been a growing area of interest with funding reaching US$2.5bn in December 2021. However, experts believe that investment in the buzzy sector will slow down.
“Femtech is still a very immature market in many ways,” says Becky Warnes, business consultant and NHS advisor. “Getting tech into health systems is going to be very difficult for all start-ups, but particularly for those in femtech.”
According to data from the venture fund, Rock Health, digital health start-ups banked over US$29.1bn in 2021, but femtech companies enjoyed three per cent of the funding.
“Women’s health is a very specific investment vertical,” says Priya Oberoi, angel investor and founding general partner at Goddess Gaia Ventures. “However, women are starting to realise the need for differentiated health care and the demand is going up.
“We are in an era where entrepreneurship has been slightly glamorised and for that reason alone, more start-ups and entrepreneurs will emerge. The process will remain the same. What is going to change is the speed of the investment.”
Indeed digital health funding fell in the first half of 2022, according Rock Health, suggesting that a drop in funding could be caused by start-ups looking to trim costs and reduce positions.
The report has shown that investment fell significantly in the first quarter of 2022, with digital health start-ups raising US$6bn compared with US$7.3bn in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The funding slowdown means the environment is shifting and start-ups need to learn how to navigate the new economic landscape and adapt to competition.
“Investors will be willing to invest where there’s historical return on their investment and where there is going to be a real profit,” says Warnes.
“Femtech has certainly many values-driven driven businesses, but I think when it comes to putting money on the table, investors will look for start-ups with valid solutions to valid problems.”
For Tess Cosad, former research analyst and founder of the London-based femtech start-up, Bea Fertility, the economic consequences of the pandemic are complex.
“At the seed stage, we are all having to figure out how to contend with smaller rounds, lower valuations and longer runway.
“Any business that was going to take longer to get to profitability is now going to struggle to raise more capital. There is definitely potential for some incredible companies to come out of this and I’d love to see more investors ‘taking a risk’ and backing more women’s health companies.”
Oberoi advises entrepreneurs to start talking to investors earlier on.
“Make sure your pitch deck is very clear and that your lexicon illustrates what you are trying to solve with much more clarity. Find out what’s the economics of solving those problems and use those statistics to build a global picture.
“Start-ups are doing a brilliant job. Now they need to adapt and think more carefully about their numbers, their unit economics and ultimately, about what they are trying to achieve.”
Medtech startup Peripear has won an Innovate UK award for developing a wearable designed to prevent perineal trauma during childbirth.
The Oxford-based company is developing a hands-free warm compress device for use on the perineum during the second stage of labour.
Peripear describes its product as the world’s first automated perineal thermotherapy wearable, designed to prevent perineal trauma during childbirth.
The device is intended to reduce severe tearing and episiotomies while improving maternal comfort.
Peripear has secured an Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award and a £74,974 grant.
The funding will support further product development ahead of the company’s planned first-in-human study.
Nina van Schaick, co-founder and chief operating officer of Peripear and midwife, said: “I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to see this gap.
“I was incredibly lucky to meet my co-founder, Eviatar Natan, right as my frustration about the lack of translation of evidence into practice had peaked.
“There was a proven mechanism that could reduce injuries occurring in up to 90 per cent of vaginal births, and it was being left out of clinical pathways simply because no standardised tool existed to deliver it.
“I’m a farmer’s granddaughter, and when I started practising over 14 years ago, I asked: where is the tool I need to implement this evidence? I looked around and realised we were still asking clinicians to improvise.
“Peripear is what happens when the person who has lived the problem, both personally and professionally, meets the person who can help her build the solution.”
Entrepreneur
Applications close August 18 for Women’s Health Innovation Summit 2026 Innovation Showcase
The Women’s Health Innovation Summit (WHIS) has reminded startups that applications for its 2026 Innovation Showcase close on Tuesday, August 18.
The Showcase gives early and growth-stage companies the opportunity to pitch live on stage to the most influential audience in women’s health, at a summit that convenes more than 1,000 senior decision-makers from across the ecosystem, including payers, providers, pharma, and investors.
Now in its eighth year, WHIS takes place October 13–15, 2026 at Encore Boston Harbor.
The event has built a reputation as the leading platform uniting the full women’s health ecosystem, from health systems and health plans to pharmaceutical leaders and the investors funding the next wave of innovation in the space.
A Direct Line to Funding, Partnerships and Adoption
Companies selected for the Innovation Showcase will present directly to an audience with the capital, clinical expertise and commercial relationships to move deals forward.
Past participants have gone on to secure investor introductions, commercial partnerships and clinical collaborations that started as presentations on the WHIS stage and turned into signed agreements.
Applications Reviewed by an Expert Selection Committee
Submissions are being reviewed by a selection committee of leading investors and industry operators, including:
- Parambir Bhangu, Executive Director, External Innovation & Emerging Science, Organon
- Elizabeth Bailey, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Foreground Capital
- Karla Loken, Founder, Loken and Associates
- Mané Mikayelyan, Associate Partner, DeciBio
- Anna Valcheva, Founder, Managing Director & CEO, Astra Ventures
- Azin Radsan van Alebeek, Co-founder & General Partner, Emmeline Ventures
WHIS is where the women’s health ecosystem comes together to get deals done,” said Poppy Howard-Wall, Event Director of WHIS.
How to Apply
Early and growth-stage companies across digital health, therapeutics, diagnostics, med device and consumer health are encouraged to apply before the August 18 deadline.
Full details and the application form are available at whisusa.com/attend/start-ups.
Women’s Health Week Europe 2026 has released its fully populated speaker and session lineup ahead of the event’s return to The Emirates Stadium in London on 7–8 October, with 80+ speakers now confirmed across two dedicated stages.
The programme
The agenda runs across two dedicated stages in parallel, plus two pitch competitions across both days.
The Global Stage opens with a keynote from Merete Clausen (EIF) before moving into sessions on funding trends, AI, the gender data gap, the wearable revolution, and European policy.
Standout sessions include The Age of Digital TransformAItion featuring Nichole Young-Lin (Google), Frida Polli (MIT), and Sapna Shah (Sie Ventures); Lone Wolf or Pack Leader on collaboration versus fragmentation, with Eirini Rapti (Inne), Tatum Getty (Thena Capital), Novo Nordisk, and Jen Roberts-Woods (Borski Fund); and a live debate on whether the women’s health label helps or hinders founders. Day one closes with a keynote from Alison Cave, Chief Safety Officer at the MHRA.
The Scale Stage runs a practical playbook track in parallel, with sessions covering regulatory approval pathways, international expansion, the founder’s legal playbook, PR strategy, and implementing AI into a women’s health business.
The Reverse Pitch flips the usual format: investors and corporates pitch the room on what they are actively looking to fund, acquire, or partner on right now.
Register here and receive a 15% discount on tickets. Redeem with code FEMTECHWORLD
Pitch competitions
The WHW Europe pitch competitions are back, taking place in front of the audience across both days on the mainstage. 16 finalists will compete across two categories: Consumer & Tech on day 1 and Medical Devices & Therapeutics on day 2.
Any company treating a condition that affects women exclusively, differently, or disproportionately is eligible to apply.
Applications and close 28 August 2026.
Previous alumni include Circe, who secured £100k from Innovate UK, BoobyBiome, who closed a £2.5M seed round post-WHW Europe, and Amilis, who secured £1M at London Tech Week after winning at WHW USA 2026.
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