Expo City Dubai’s Women Pavilion Launches FemTech Hub

The Women’s Pavilion at Expo City Dubai has announced the launch of the FemTech Hub, an initiative aimed at advancing women’s health.

The hub has been developed in partnership with the Meem Foundation, a UAE-based philanthropic organization that works to bridge the gender gap in the MENA, alongside PeriCare, a boutique innovation studio focused on maternal health and wellbeing, and American Hospital Dubai, one of the UAE's leading healthcare institutions.

Femtech, or female technology, refers to technologies and solutions that support women’s healthcare needs, spanning reproductive health and fertility, through pregnancy, menstrual care, menopause, and hormonal wellness. Still largely underfunded, the global femtech industry is projected to hit $US267 billion by 2035, up from $51 billion in 2023. The FemTech Hub thus aims to address gaps in women’s health access, knowledge, and innovation across the Middle East and beyond by supporting expert-led learning, research-to-market programs, and entrepreneurship support.

Commenting on the launch the FemTech Hub, Marjan Faraidooni, Chief of Education and Culture and Chief of Human Resources at Expo City Dubai, said, “Women’s empowerment is foundational to thriving societies, and addressing the gaps in women’s health is a critical challenge that must be tackled. Through the FemTech Hub, and with Expo City Dubai as a platform for collaboration and innovation, we are bringing together healthcare leaders, innovators, and educators to create a safe, credible, and forward-looking environment where women’s health can be discussed openly, researched rigorously, and advanced meaningfully, generating impact that will have a positive ripple effect across society.”

Muna Eisa Al Gurg, Founder of Meem Foundation, added, “The launch of the FemTech Hub reflects our belief that prioritising health is integral to sustainable social change in the lives of women and girls, and will help ensure that safe primary care and greater health awareness for women are no longer a privilege, but a standard.”

Sherif Beshara, Group CEO of American Hospital Dubai, noted, “Transformative women’s health innovation starts by listening to women’s lived experiences and supporting wellbeing at every stage of life. This hub is about changing systems and ensuring women’s health innovation has a permanent home in the region.”

Perihan Abouzeid, founder and CEO of PeriCare, said, “Through the FemTech Hub, we are combining science, technology, and design to reimagine maternal and women’s health at every stage of life, ensuring solutions are grounded in evidence, empathy, and lived experience.”

First launched during Expo 2020 Dubai, the Women’s Pavilion at Expo City Dubai is an initiative committed to advancing gender equity and female empowerment that focuses on building a future where cities are shaped by and for women. The new Femtech Hub was first conceptualized in 2025 following the FemTech Hackathon, a two-day innovation challenge by the Women’s Pavilion at Expo City and Pericare, among other partners, which invited high school students to develop solutions for women’s health.

The FemTech Hub is now set to launch the second edition of the Hackathon in 2026, alongside other initiatives, including Her Health Summit (an annual convening of clinicians, scientists, innovators, and policy-makers), Her Health Majlis (monthly stigma-free education sessions that are open to the public), and Innvators Network (a platform connecting femtech startups, researchers, and investors across the MENA region.

In its first year, the FemTech Hub aims to support over 15 startups, engage with more than 1,000 women, train upward of 100 clinicians, and validate real-world femtech solutions.