New 'Femtech Accelerator Program' Targets Women in MENA Healthtech

Hitting two birds with one stone, global healthcare firm Organon and Flat6Labs joined forces to launch the Femtech Accelerator Program, geared at achieving greater gender equality and promoting economic development across the region. This newly-launched accelerator targets female-founded healthtech startups across the MENA region, harnessing the power of cross-industry collaboration to drive innovation 

Ten companies will be selected to participate in the two-month intensive process and will receive support from a network of seasoned experts as well as access to big data and technical training to help build products, test market fit and enhance businesses models to secure VC funding and turn their idea into a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Organon will mentor the participating startups by connecting them with global industry giants and giving them access to their entire business network. 

Dina El-Shenoufy, chief investment officer at Flat6labs, noted that the current healthtech ecosystem is largely male-dominated with minimal resources allocated to supporting female entrepreneurs.. “If we are to achieve greater gender equality, while supporting economic development across MENA, we need to do more to support female entrepreneurs and advance women’s healthcare. Our newly launched femtech accelerator will meet this need and that of greater digital innovation in the healthcare space while demonstrating the importance of cross-industry collaboration to further the goals of female economic empowerment,” she said.

Organon is a spinoff company from Merck that is tasked with improving women’s health globally. Partner Flat6Labs, on the other hand, is headquartered in Cairo. Since its launch in 2011, it has gone on to become the MENA region’s leading seed and early-stage investment VC firm.
Applications are now open. Head to Flat6Labs.com for mroe information.