The Accelerating FemTech: Accelerate programme is for companies with early-stage products solving women’s health challenges. It is a competitive programme which will allow successful companies whether established businesses, start-ups or just founded by entrepreneurial-minded academics to test their ideas and develop concepts with support from key stakeholders from the innovation ecosystem.

The programme is one of four pilot accelerator programmes with different areas of clinical focus being established by Innovate UK. Find out more.

Applications to the Accelerating FemTech: Accelerate programme are open to UK registered companies that fit the criteria of a small/medium-sized enterprise (SME). You need to be developing an innovative product in the FemTech space and would be interested in Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst grant funding to help businesses test and develop innovative health and care projects.

FemTech is broadly defined as innovative solutions which address women’s health and can include digital products, medical devices and diagnostics. FemTech covers a wide range of clinical areas and aims to improve women’s health in female-specific conditions, such as maternal health, female cancers, menopause, menstrual health, pelvic pain, fertility and sexual health. However, FemTech also includes general health conditions that effect women disproportionally or differently, such as orthopaedic knee injuries, cardiovascular disease or osteoporosis.

The Accelerating FemTech programme is about developing products for women’s specific health and care needs (whether cis or trans). We would like the programme to be inclusive of innovations for transwomen, and we would encourage any innovators creating products in this space to apply to the programme.

The Biomedical Catalyst programme provides funding to help businesses test and develop innovative health and care projects.

The Biomedical Catalyst supports ideas for:

• disease prevention and management
• disease detection and diagnosis
• tailored treatments that change a disease or offer potential cures

The Biomedical Catalyst was established in 2012 to achieve three key objectives:

• deliver growth to the UK life sciences sector
• deliver innovative life sciences products and services into healthcare more quickly and effectively
• provide support to academically and commercially led research and development

The programme provides funding to help UK SMEs speed up bringing new products to market and secure onward investment. The programme is run by Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council.

To obtain Biomedical Catalyst funding for a project, you will need to carry out all of the project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK.

More details on the Biomedical Catalyst programme.

If your application is successful and you are selected to join the Accelerate programme, companies will be provided with two  two-day, in-person learning events in London (5 and 6 September 2023) and Leeds (4 and 5 October 2023), as well as a showcase in London in November 2023 (date to be confirmed). These face-to-face modules are compulsory.

We also be holding weekly virtual workshops and meetings with business coaches and mentors, as well as regulatory, market and clinical subject matter experts who provide bespoke support to accelerator companies. The aim of the programme is to provide knowledge around key areas of importance for early-stage FemTech innovations. This includes topics such as regulatory hurdles, commercialisation, NHS structure, investment, legal and communications amongst others.

A list of pre-accelerator “Inspire” events and dates can be found above.

Applications for the accelerate programme are open now and close on 25 June 2023 at 11.59pm, with successful companies being notified by early August.

The Accelerate phase will begin for successful applicants on 3 September 2023 and run for ten weeks. Face-to-face events are compulsory, so please diarise 5 and 6 September 2023 in London and 4 and 5 October 2023 in Leeds. We will let participant have the date of the showcase in London in November once confirmed.

Yes. We are looking for early-stage innovations that fall into the FemTech space. You can also apply if you are a slightly more developed company, with established products (whilst still fitting the SME criteria here) as long as you are developing a new innovation in the FemTech space

No, the Accelerating FemTech programme is utilising Innovate UK funding as part of the Biomedical Catalyst in collaboration with the Medical Research Council which means that it is only open to UK registered companies. In addition, to apply for the subsequent Innovate UK Biomedical catalyst funding for a project, you need to carry out all of the project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK.

You will need to form a company to be eligible for the Accelerating FemTech: Accelerate programme. If you are academic or clinical researcher/practicing clinician interested in FemTech and don’t want to set up a company or you would like to partner with a company to develop a FemTech solutions, please join the face-to-face Accelerating FemTech: Inspire events as we hope to facilitate collaborations.

We aim to accept up to 12 companies onto the Accelerate programme.

No, the Accelerator Programme is equity-free and cost-free, utilising Innovate UK funding as part of the Biomedical Catalyst in collaboration with the Medical Research Council. Please note that that the Programme will give benefit to the participating companies, so it is classed as a subsidy. The programme has been valued at £15,000 and will be awarded under the de minimis exemption. Find out more.

The 10-week programme will require you to commit to spend at least two days per week in order to benefit from the programme.

The programme will require physical attendance at the Induction in London (5 and 6 September 2023), Residential in Leeds (4 and 5 October) and the showcase in London in November (date to be confirmed). 

Otherwise, during the ten-week Accelerating FemTech: Accelerate programme the two days of your time each week will be primarily virtual. The formal learning, office hours sessions and action learning sets are likely to amount to a day per week, and we will aim to share most of those dates and times by the start of August. The other day will be required for preparation, mentoring sessions, meetings or implementing learning, and will be more flexible.  

No, the Accelerating FemTech programme is utilising Innovate UK funding as part of the Biomedical Catalyst in collaboration with the Medical Research Council which means that it is only open to UK registered companies. In addition, to apply for the subsequent Innovate UK Biomedical catalyst funding for a project, you need to carry out all of the project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK.

The projects that successfully graduate from the Accelerating FemTech programme will be eligible to enter a specific Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst closed grant funding competition.