Accelerating FemTech helps early-stage companies, university spinouts and academic entrepreneurs from across the UK who are focused on women’s health. The programme supports innovators to gain the commercial and funding momentum they need for long-term success. 

You will benefit from a collaborative learning programme, facilitated networking with key NHS and health sector stakeholders and funding preparation for Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst. The programme aims to enhance product development, entrepreneurship skills and stakeholder engagement across the NHS and academia.

At the heart of Accelerating FemTech is a 10 week programme that helps innovators with bespoke support, targeted workshops and mentoring to enhance product development, entrepreneurship skills and stakeholder engagement across the NHS and academia.

You will also be supported to prepare for a special closed-call feasibility funding opportunity through the Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst, delivered alongside a collaborative learning programme and facilitated networking with key NHS and health sector stakeholders.

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.

If your application is successful and you are selected to join Accelerating FemTech, you will benefit from bespoke support, targeted workshops and mentoring to enhance product development, entrepreneurship skills, and stakeholder engagement across the NHS and academia. The learning progamme includes:

Face-to-face learning;

Webinars, with topics such as developing a value proposition, evidence generation, investment, regulations and user-centered design;

Tailored support from expert business coaches;

Guidance from senior mentors across the healthcare system;

Access to subject matter experts across various specialities, including regulations, intellectual property and design; and

Peer support through Action Learning Sets.

Accelerating FemTech will also prepare you to apply for Innovate UK's Biomedical Catalyst grant funding and will help drive your innovation to make impactful change.

Accelerating FemTech will also prepare you to apply to the Biomedical Catalyst, Innovate UK’s flagship grant funding mechanism. This funding enables small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to test and develop innovative health and care solutions across life sciences, including therapeutics, medical devices and digital health. In 2023, Accelerating FemTech alumni were awarded more than £1m in funding through the Biomedical Catalyst.

The Biomedical Catalyst is run by Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council. The programme was established in 2012 and helps small to medium sized (SMEs) businesses based in the UK to test and develop innovative health and care projects.

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.

The Biomedical Catalyst supports ideas for:

Disease prevention and management;

Disease detection and diagnosis; and

Tailored treatments that change a disease or offer potential cures.

The Biomedical Catalyst has three key objectives:

Deliver growth to the UK life sciences sector;

Deliver innovative life sciences products and services into healthcare more quickly and effectively; and

Provide support to academically and commercially led research and development

Learn more about the Biomedical Catalyst.

Applications for Accelerating FemTech are now closed.

Interviews will take place virtually between Monday 28 October and Friday 1 November.

Applicants will be notified if they have been successfully selected for Accelerating FemTech by w/c Monday 4 November.

The first in-person residential will run in London on Tuesday 19 November and Wednesday 11 November.

The second in-person residential will run in London on Wednesday 22 January and Thursday 23 January.

Weekly business coach meetings, weekly webinars and monthly mentoring sessions will run from end November 2024 to mid February 2025.

The in-person showcase event will be w/c Monday 3 March.

No, Accelerating FemTech does not make investments in companies.

Accelerating FemTech is funded for by Innovate UK funding as part of the Biomedical Catalyst, in collaboration with the Medical Research Council.

No, Accelerating FemTech 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 10 week programme will require you to commit to spend at least one days per week on average in order to benefit from the programme.

The programme will require physical attendance to some events, with dates to be confirmed. For example, during the 10 week Accelerating FemTech learning programme, two days of your time will be required. 

The 10 week programme will require you to commit to spend at least one day per week on average from 18 November 2024 to the end of March 2025 to benefit from the programme.

The programme will require physical attendance at three events. These are Tuesday 19 November 2024 and Wednesday 20 November 2024, Wednesday 22 January 2025 and Thursday 23 January 2025, and Thursday 6 Mach 2025.

Accelerating FemTech helps UK-based, early-stage companies, university spinouts and entrepreneurial-minded academics focused on women’s health to gain the commercial and funding momentum they need for long-term success.

You should also be interested in Innovate UK's Biomedical Catalyst grant funding, which helps businesses test and develop innovative health and care projects. The likely award amount will be between £50,000-£100,000 so you will need to still have this value available in your MFA allowance.