AXA searches for startups to help it build a FemTech Accelerator

AXA is looking for Female Technology (FemTech) startups in the seed or series A rounds of funding that are headed by women, to help it build its FemTech Accelerator Program (FTAP).

Female Technology (FemTech) refers to innovations designed to improve women's health. FTAP is a personalised support program that will provide three types of support for a new generation of companies in this area: mentoring, including the creation of a network of mentors to provide support and assistance in raising capital; learning; and acceleration, providing opportunities to grow the business.

The ten startups AXA selects will help build FTAP to ensure it delivers on the specific needs of FemTech, a market that AXA said it expects to reach $50 billion by 2050.

AXA noted FemTech has traditionally been underfinanced because overwhelmingly male investors have treated it as a niche market, despite women representing 50 percent of the world’s population.

“If we want the next wave of healthtech to circumvent bias against women in diagnosis and treatment, we must do more to make sure that FemTech products and services are built by women, who can better identify the issues and pain points that need to be solved,” AXA said in a statement.

Thomas Buberl, CEO of AXA, said: “Women are key to developing our overall vision of being an ever closer partner for all our customers, since women engage us and push us to answer their specific needs in innovative ways.”