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| Swiss Ambassador to Korea Dagmar Schmidt Tartagli delivers opening remarks during "Women Wellbeing: Cultural Context and Tech Developments" startup roadshow and open talk, part of the Swiss-Korea Innovation Week, at Space Sallim in Dongjak District, Seoul, June 8. Courtesy of Embassy of Switzerland in Korea |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The Embassy of Switzerland in Korea hosted the annual Swiss-Korean Innovation Week from June 7 to 10 highlighting diversity as a driver for innovation.
The centerpiece of the events was Startup Roadshow and Open Talk with Tech4Eva, June 8, raising public awareness in Korea on pioneering femtech, or technologies for women's health and wellbeing, in Korea.
The embassy's Science and Technology team joined hands with Tech4Eva, the first accelerator for global startups in the femtech sector in Switzerland, to bridge the Swiss-based program and Korean startups and the market.
Swiss Ambassador to Korea Dagmar Schmidt Tartagli noted how the Swiss-Korean Innovation Week is a step closer to a more diverse and inclusive world in her opening remarks.
"Repeatedly elected the most innovative country in the world, Switzerland counts diversity as one of its unique selling points... However, there are aspects of diversity which are still debated at the political and societal level, such as gender equality, which ask for special attention," ambassador Schmidt Tartagli said.
"When pointing to the need for measures guaranteeing equal professional opportunities for women and also taking into account their role in the society, the theme of women's health and wellbeing can't be forgotten. Indeed, there are still health disparities caused by the gender data gap, lack of female data or male bias and taboos around the open discussion on female health issues."
The ambassador introduced femtech as a method to pave the way for innovative solutions and technologies for women's wellbeing.
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| Panelists discuss the environment for femtech in Korea during "Women Wellbeing: Cultural Context and Tech Developments," organized by the Swiss Embassy in Seoul, at Space Sallim in Dongjak District, Seoul, June 8. Courtesy of Embassy of Switzerland in Korea |
Simone Theiss, program director of Tech4Eva, said they did a pre-study of the market in 2020 and defined the clear need for a femtech-specific accelerator in Switzerland to accelerate women's health and femtech technologies.
"The sector still lacks funding compared to others so it was important to also raise the awareness of the topic," Theiss said.
"Since Ida Tin then-CEO of CLUE coined the term 'femtech' in 2016, femtech interest has been on the rise. There are more startups being founded, more funding going towards these startups, even more exits and a great media buzz and momentum for the topic."
Tech4Eva startups fundraised approximately 60 million Swiss francs in 2021 and the global market investment opportunity in femtech worldwide is estimated to be at around $45 billion.
"We received a total of 124 applications from 30 countries and 80 percent of the applicants were women founders. The main areas applications came from: Mental health & wellbeing; Reproductive, menstrual and sexual health; Pregnancy & postpartum care; Prevention & diagnostics; Fertility; Female specific disease and Menopause," Theiss explained.
Among the applicants, four were from Korea and INERTIA was selected for the 2022 program. INERTIA is developing sanitary napkins using a 100-percent cellulose bio-absorbent polymer produced via electron beam technology.
"Tech4Eva also aims to be an inclusive community and raise the awareness of the topic of femtech and advance research in women's health. Breaking the taboos and talking about femtech is key to changing the market," Theiss said.
After Tech4Eva's presentation, Park Ji-won, CEO of Saib, shared her experience of breaking taboos in Korea. Additionally, startup and health experts in Korea, including Kim Ji-young of Startup Women, Shin Hyun-jung of Kinsday, obstetrician-gynecologist Chung Hwan-wook and Kim Chi-weon of Kakao Ventures, discussed the environment for femtech in Korea.
Lee Min-yong, a project manager at the Science and Technology Office, said that the cooperation with Tech4Eva aims to promote the concept of femtech in Korea.
"Femtech is a relatively new trend that just emerged recently and there are certain cultural differences between Western society and Korea. In Korea, there still are prejudices or taboos against women seeing a gynecologist regularly, unlike the Western countries where women understand physiological phenomena of their body and receive regular ob-gyn checkups," Lee said.
"This is not just about femtech, but we have to understand the social differences in women's health and wellbeing first. So we invited Tech4Eva to introduce how a Swiss accelerator specializing in femtech startups is upping the ante."
The event also aimed to enhance understandings on characteristics of the Korean market to global players who want to enter the market.
