Women of the Year 2022: Canada’s Most Incredible Women Leaders
It’s back! Our second annual celebration of Canada’s most inspiring women is here. From tech startup founders and social impact heroes to entrepreneurial leaders and transformational pioneers, meet 25 incredible individuals who are changing the game and leading Canada forward. Read the original article. A special congratulations to two members of our Femtech Canada community! […]
The Rise of Femtech
A boom in technology for women is good for everyone. In 2014, Apple released its first Health app to much fanfare. It was designed to help people monitor things like weight, height, and sodium intake: “all of your metrics that you’re most interested in,” Apple exec Craig Federighi told The Verge at the time. And yet one basic […]
Koble Partners with Maple to Provide On-Demand Healthcare For Growing Canadian Families
Together, the two digital healthcare leaders will provide much-needed support for an underserved group – new and expecting parents TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Koble, a digital health and well-being platform for expecting and new parents, is pleased to announce today its partnership with Maple, a leading virtual care platform that provides on-demand access to healthcare providers. The collaboration […]
Facit’s Prospects Fund Fuels Women’s Health and Brain Cancer Therapies for Ontario Patients
Seed-stage commercialization realizes value in the Province’s health research and intellectual property. September 28, 2022 – FACIT congratulates Ontario-based start-ups Hyivy Health and HDAX Therapeutics as the latest recipients of capital through its Prospects Oncology Fund. Selected among a top-tier pool of applicants, these Ontario-based innovations illustrate excellent potential to benefit patients with cancer. Former […]
How menstrual underwear brand Knix landed one of the largest exits by a female founder in Canadian history
Once dismissed by investors as a niche product, Griffiths sold a majority stake of Knix to Essity for $320 million this year. – Niche to mainstream. Who would have thought that leakproof underwear would be one of the most disruptive products to emerge in the last decade? Joanna Griffiths, founder and president of the Canadian intimates […]
Innovative Health Diagnostics and AIMA Laboratories Collaborate to Develop New, Revolutionary At-Home Test to Detect Endometriosis
Both laboratories join forces to expand access to an important and reliable endometriosis blood test that can be self-administered anytime, anywhere IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Innovative Health Diagnostics (IHD), a CLIA- and FDA-certified lab that empowers every person by providing access to accurate, clinical testing, announced today a new partnership with AIMA Laboratories (AIMA), a preclinical FemTech company dedicated to […]
Y Combinator-Backed Lilia Launches A More Convenient And Affordable Egg Freezing Offering Built For The Millennial Women
Lilia, a full-service egg freezing concierge, today announced they are now offering egg freezing directly for their clients at nearly half the price of an average IVF procedure and in half the time, and coordinated to make the experience less isolating. With this new breakthrough offering, women have access to the leading, most progressive doctors […]
Meet the Bay Street Bull 30X30 Class of 2022
Simone Godbout, Harit Sohal, Kiara Botha, Nadia Ladak (Co-founders, Marlow) Canadian brand Marlow is transforming the way people experience menstrual health. Dedicated to changing the uncomfortable conversations and experiences around menstrual and sexual wellness, the female-led team (comprised of four young and dynamic Western University grads) saw a glaringly apparent gap in the market and […]
At-Home Fertility Tests Are Now Available for Men
A new Canadian company offers sperm tests that deliver accurate results in just two minutes. For people having difficulty trying to conceive, one of their first steps is to see a fertility specialist. The female partner is typically given a blood test and a physical examination, then referred to get an ultrasound and X-ray, and […]
Cosm Medical Raises $4.7 Million CAD For Its Custom Gynecological Prosthetics
Cosm wants to change the standard of care for pelvic floor disorders. Medtech startup Cosm Medical has secured $4.7 million CAD ($3.8 million USD) in an oversubscribed seed round to create custom medical devices for women suffering from pelvic floor disorders. The new funds will enable Cosm to further develop and launch its digital gynecology […]
29 Women Who Are Leading the Modern Menstrual Movement
This week on Girlboss, we’re doing a deep dive on the ways that periods bleed into the workplace. Why is walking into a bathroom stall with a tampon shoved up your sleeve still the norm? Why don’t we have paid menstrual leave yet? Aunt Flo, the red river, the crimson wave, that time of the […]
PODCAST: Find the Right Birth Control Option For You with Reya Health – Episode 158
FemTech Focus is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded to empower, equip, and bring together healthcare professionals, life-science entrepreneurs, and forward thinking investors to revolutionize women’s health and wellness. FemTech Focus elevates the FemTech industry through increased awareness, providing resources to FemTech founders, & creating opportunities to support FemTech startups through exposure, networking, and access to […]
These 3 Women Are Shaping The Future Of Women’s Health By Bringing Next Generation Of Femtech Products To The Market
It’s not a secret that finally, after years of being overlooked, women’s health is having its moment. According to Frost & Sullivan’s report, the femtech (female technology) market revenue is expected to reach $1.1 billion by 2024, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.9%. The report states that, through solutions targeting early diagnosis and leveraging […]
Is Social Egg Freezing The Future Of Motherhood?
As a rising number of young women seek to preserve their fertility, Sirin Kale investigates the risks and rewards of “social” egg freezing – and what it could mean for the future of motherhood. Thirty-one-year-old Alice, a public health consultant from London, has an unusual birthday present lined up for herself this year: a course […]
Koble and CBC – The importance of funding women-led startups
In this segment for CBC, our CEO, Swati Matta, had the opportunity to share her insights on women-led startups. Here, Swati shares her story: she talks about how Koble was founded with the mission to improve the health and well-being of parents. Thanks to investors and angel collectives like Backbone Angels, who support BIPOC and […]
Kt launches a crash course in menstruation for teens with their Period 101 Guide
Kt by Knix, little sister brand to Global intimates and apparel brand Knix, is excited to announce Period 101: A Crash Course in Menstruation for Teens – a free guide to provide accessible period education and fight period stigma among teens and their peers. This guide is built on the premise of removing all taboos and […]
Interview with Rachel Bartholomew, Founder & CEO at Hyivy Health
Rachel Bartholomew has been involved in the start up community for the past 10 years working in various roles in small businesses, venture capital, innovation labs and ecosystem partnerships. She is currently working on her second business, Hyivy Health, focused on creating a medical device for women with pelvic floor conditions after her own cervical […]
Why this Period-Care Brand is Offering a “Cradle to Grave” Analysis
Period-care company Aisle, which sells reusable pads, tampons and menstrual underwear, has created a reporting system to self-monitor its CO2 emissions, energy and waste and give consumers a “cradle to grave” analysis. “We believe in a world where everybody matters and that nothing and no one is disposable,” says Aisle founder Suzanne Siemens. “As a […]
Undu Wearables Launches Its Sustainable Menstrual Pain Solution in Canada
Toronto-based femtech startup Undu Wearables has recently launched their unique wearable menstrual pain management products across Canada. Period pain impacts 84% of women resulting in 9 days of productivity lost every year. Yet people looking for relief from menstrual pain have felt that this problem hasnot been adequately addressed and are looking for non-invasive options. […]
How This Canadian Intimates Company Is Proving That Women Have What It Takes
Women have struggled with our periods for years. When Joanna Griffiths, Founder and CEO of Knix, created the world’s first leakproof underwear in 2013, you bet she had our attention. Since then, Joanna has built an entire intimates company based on empowering women in all stages of life, regardless of age, body size, color, race, […]
Eli Raises $1.9 Million CAD in Seed Funding to Develop At-Home Hormone Monitoring Tech
Eli Science Inc. has raised a $1.9 million CAD ($1.5 million USD) seed round to target the historically underserved women’s healthtech market via its saliva-based daily hormone tracking technology. The round, which was co-led by Hong Kong’s Vectr Ventures and 2048 Ventures, closed in late December 2020. Other investors included Real Ventures, Techstars, Panache Ventures, Ramen Ventures, MEDTEQ+, and Steven Arless, who joined Eli […]
Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics and Agency Sid Lee Win the First-Ever Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity in Advertising (IDEA) Competition
Cheekbone Beauty awarded $1 million worth of media inventory for its “Right the Story” campaign in support of Indigenous communities. TORONTO, June 10, 2021 /CNW/ – Bell Media announced today, from its Upfront 21 presentation, that Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics and its agency Sid Lee have won the Institute of Communications Agencies’ (ICA) inaugural Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity in Advertising (IDEA) competition, held in […]
Ivey Grads Turn School Project on Tampons into Startup with $500K Backing
When you think of great ideas born at business schools, chances are a better tampon doesn’t spring to mind. But for a group of London women, that was just the point. Recent graduates of the Ivey Business School at Western University, the five entrepreneurs have turned a class project into a startup company to sell […]