This medtech startup is breaking taboo around women’s health

It’s a big challenge for women in India to find the right medical help at the time of need due to the taboo and prejudices attached to it, especially around their sexual and reproductive health. A medtech startup, which launched amid the Covid-19 pandemic in November 2020, offers an end-to-end healthcare solution for women health.  The app brings diagnosis, consultation with doctors and lifestyle changes together to address the sexual and reproductive health issues in women. 

“The platform is mainly for sexual health-related problems among women. Women can track their sexual health from puberty to the menopause stage using this digital platform. They can track their periods and other health issues digitally and also find solutions to the issues. We have started with PCOS and it is seen in one between three women. The symptoms include lifestyle disorders like irregular periods, acne problems and facial hair. PCOS can lead a woman to infertility and diabetes. The app is the number one app on PCOS in India now,” says Mehak Malik, founder and CEO of Uvi Health. 

Uvi Health app is the brainchild of Mehak Malik, a Harvard University alumnus. She returned to India after working for four years in the United States and she started working towards finding a solution to women health issues like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). 

“As I have been suffering from PCOS for a decade and I know the symptoms. After coming back to India in 2019, I ran a survey to understand the problems among the women. There is a taboo that no one talks about sexual health. So we try to provide contacts with non-judgmental doctors to seek help,” says Mehak.

However, there were many challenges for this medtech startup initially as Mehak was not from a medical background and she needed someone to help with technology. 

“I am not from a Medical background. I spent a lot of time identifying the right doctors who can guide us in the clinical field. We built a panel of 8-10 experiences doctors. Our application provides a user-friendly solution. I was a solo founder. I spent 3 to 4 months finding co-founders from technical backgrounds,” says Mehak. 

“At the initial stage, I bootstrapped with personal savings to validate the idea. We raised 2.5 crores from the Titan capital and the 9Unicorns along with some angel investors like mama earth and Ziva,” adds Mehak. 

Within a short span of time Uvi Health app is gaining popularity and it targets to reach a million users in next one year. 

“We have reached 15000+ women. We have a team of 15 people. Our app plan starts at Rs 999 per year but there are so many free features also. We are targeting to get 1 million in the coming 12 months. Now we have roughly 1000 paid users. And we need 2-3 years to reach the company level break-even.” 

Mentors of Global Bharat programme is a unique initiative by TV9 Bharatvarsh and SAP to offer mentorship to 20 entrepreneurs across the country. Uvi Health is one of the startups to be groomed under the guidance of the experts from different sectors. 

“We want mentors who have already worked with a seasoned industry background and I think they can help us with their experience. We are also seeking medical mentorship to guide us with a clinical background and push us in the business thinking ahead,” says Mehak about her expectations from the mentorship programme.