Head of Project Management at InnoScot Health, Gillian Henderson discusses burgeoning market

FemTech represents a significant growth area for Scotland and a national priority, developing technology-driven products and services to address women's health and wellbeing needs.

From period-tracking and heart health apps to fertility solutions, FemTech is a young industry but one that holds huge promise, continuing the progress engendered by Scotland becoming the first country in the world to make period products free to anyone.

Not only is FemTech helping to bridge Scotland’s gender health gap while empowering women to manage their own care through innovation, it is also a significant economic opportunity.

Indeed, the FemTech market in Scotland alone is projected to grow to nearly £650 million by 2031 from its current worth of around £240m.

In a wider context, this year the global FemTech market is expected to hit £60 billion, led by a high proportion of female entrepreneurs.

This will be aided by increasing worldwide demand for sustainable menstrual products such as those being developed by Banff-based The Bettii Pod Ltd, founded by its CEO Elaine Galston.

This startup was recently awarded £70,000 in Scottish Edge funding — adding to £338,000 previously received from Equity Gap in Scotland and Scottish Enterprise — as well as being named the recipient of a Circular Economy Award.

The company is focused on destigmatising periods while encouraging more women to make the jump from single-use disposables, with their devastating environmental effects, to reusable menstrual products.

The startup's innovative solution to addressing the challenges faced by users of reusables such as cups and discs was to develop a washer installed within the toilet cubicles of various public locations, spearheading change in the way reusable female hygiene products are managed outside the home.

Judging by this and the numerous other homegrown success stories, FemTech is an extremely burgeoning sector for Scotland’s healthcare innovators — but there are still challenges to overcome.

While setting out a bold strategy to improve health and reduce health inequalities — with a focus on areas including menopause, menstrual health including endometriosis, and sexual health — the Scottish Government’s Women’s Health Plan (2021-2024) acknowledged that “women are 51% of the population but are under-represented in medical research and have poorer outcomes for a range of health issues, not just reproductive health”.

Now then is the time for those with fresh ideas and solutions — including our 180,000 NHS Scotland staff offering a bank of unique insights and first-hand experiences — to seize the moment, bridge the equality gap, improve care, and further their own career ambitions.

Formal NHS Scotland partner InnoScot Health believes its innovation call targeted at making breakthroughs in pregnancy and perinatal care can help make a difference.

It aims to inspire and identify new thinking from the country’s NHS staff to promote and support good maternal and child health.

InnoScot Health believes that the deep expertise of the Scottish healthcare workforce can improve how the service provides the right inclusive care for every woman.

Hand in hand with heightened awareness and more open discourse, we stand at an opportune time for accelerating women’s health.