Fertile ground

Women entrepreneurs reveal the opportunity for financiers willing to bridge the investment gap between female-led startups and their male-run counterparts, Li Yingxue reports.

Three years ago, 30-year-old American Sylvia Kang noticed her female friends were worried by the question of when to have a child.

"They always say you need to have a baby before a certain age, but I started to wonder whether it's true or not," says Kang.

Now, as the co-founder and CEO of Mira, Kang is launching her team's first product to the world-Mira Fertility, an at-home fluorescent immunoassay test for women, detecting the luteinizing hormone peak, which indicates the beginning of ovulation.

On Sept 15, Mira just achieved second place at the She Loves Tech 2018 Global Startup Competition in Beijing-the world's largest competition focused on women and technology which is held in 16 international locations including Berlin, Cape Town, Paris, Singapore and Beijing.

The competition is not just limited to female entrepreneurs, but also at startups with products designed specifically with female users in mind or those that address a problem which disproportionately affects women.

According to She Loves Tech's Co-Founder & CEO, Virginia Tan, the competition is looking for novel technologies in all areas, not just digital and wireless apps-they encourage entrepreneurs in areas as diverse as agriculture, artificial intelligence, finance and education, among a myriad others, to join the competition.

Canadian biotechnology venture, FREDsense Technologies, won the global final, receiving a custom Startup Booster Pack consisting of exclusive mentorships from leading investors and industry experts as well as consulting services, including China intellectual property protection guidance, financial advice, legal representation and human resources assistance.