Meet the FemTech Founders Redefining Women’s Health at Work

From AI-powered benefits to culturally competent care, these innovators are closing racial health gaps and launching a new era of workplace wellness. Chaste Inegbedion writes

Increased access to high-speed internet, the normalization of telemedicine, and a rising demand for women-centric care have ignited a revolution in healthcare delivery. The femtech sector, once niche, is now booming—backed by over $240M in venture funding and a wave of startups eager to reshape how care reaches women, especially in the workplace. Sanicle.Cloud — a first-of-its-kind AI-powered digital benefits platform tackling menstrual and menopause care with unprecedented precision and empathy. And now, in partnership with IBM Watsonx, Sanicle is officially leveling up.

From Taboo to Tech: The Sanicle Origin Story

Founded by Chaste Inegbedion (Chief Period Officer), alongside COO Cecilia Omole and Chief AI Officer Daryl Hall, Sanicle.Cloud was created with one core belief: no one should lose a job, a day of productivity, or their dignity because of menstruation or menopause.
 As Chaste puts it: “The average woman loses $7 in productivity per hour during untreated menstrual symptoms — and nobody’s tracking it. Until now.”

During a virtual consultation with Ask Sani, users can get a five-minute OBGYN telehealth appointment, powered by IBM’s generative AI and integrated with FSA/HSA compliance. Employees no longer have to choose between suffering in silence or taking a sick day. Meanwhile, employers access a dashboard that shows anonymized trends in absenteeism, stress, and productivity dips — a first-of-its-kind benefits plug-in for HR systems like Workday or UKG.

The Bigger Picture: Femtech Backed by Policy, Purpose, and AI

The rise of telemedicine post-2020 created a seismic shift. Patients became more comfortable seeking care from their homes. Providers adapted. Platforms like Sanicle didn’t just ride the wave — they built the surfboard. “This isn’t just about tech,” Chaste says. “It’s about power. About giving women and marginalized genders access, privacy, and data-driven dignity.”

Sanicle has already distributed over 29,000 biodegradable period kits, secured LOIs from Fortune 500s, and launched a state pilot program in the U.S. It’s now eyeing expansion in Canada, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, aligning its mission with SDGs 1, 3, 5, 8, and 9.

IBM ANNOUNCEMENT: Sanicle Becomes an IBM Business Partner

Sanicle.Cloud is proud to announce its official entry into the IBM Business Partner Network — a milestone that marks a powerful leap forward in transforming workplace wellness for women across the globe.

“We’re thrilled to be working with IBM,” said Daryll Hall, Chief AI Officer at Sanicle. “With Watsonx’s generative AI, hybrid cloud integration, and secure data tooling, we’re creating a scalable, privacy-first solution for menstrual and menopause care. This isn’t just SaaS. This is infrastructure.”

By embedding IBM’s advanced technologies, Sanicle empowers HR leaders with:

• $7/hour productivity gains per supported employee
  
  
• 5-minute OBGYN telehealth visits through Ask Sani AI
  
  
• Plug-and-play integration with major HRIS platforms
  
  
• Predictive absenteeism dashboards and real-time wellness support

The result? Better data. Better care. Healthier, more empowered teams.

We Sat Down with Chaste…

In the lead-up to Menstrual Hygiene Day, we sat down with Chaste Inegbedion, Chief Period Officer at Sanicle.Cloud, to ask five critical questions about period poverty, culture change, and policy reform in Nigeria.

What we got in return wasn’t just data or insight — it was a call to action.

From the staggering cost of pads to the silence that still surrounds menstruation, Chaste’s answers make one thing clear: we cannot build a future of dignity, innovation, or equity without first addressing the red tape around menstrual health. So whether you’re a policymaker, employer, investor, or changemaker — the time to step in is now. Because as Chaste puts it: “You can’t build a smart Nigeria if your girls are bleeding through mattress foam.”

Let’s turn promises into policy — and silence into systems.

How big of a barrier is affordability when it comes to menstrual products in Nigeria?

Let’s stop sugarcoating it — menstrual products in Nigeria are a luxury for millions. A single mother in Mushin told me she chooses between feeding her child and buying pads. That’s the brutal reality. The average pad now costs between ₦700–₦12000 — and that’s for non-organic brands like Always or Molped. Imagine paying ₦9,000 for imported organic options like Honey Pot because of tariffs. It’s outrageous. Girls are bleeding through school uniforms. Women in rural communities use feathers, newspapers, or rags. This isn’t just about health — it’s about human dignity, economic justice, and a system that continues to fail Nigerian women.

What role does storytelling and community dialogue play in breaking taboos around menstruation?

You can’t fight silence with silence. In Nigeria, periods are still whispered about like they’re shameful. But when a girl in Kaduna stands up in front of her community and says, “I missed school for five days because I bled through my skirt,” people listen. That’s the power of storytelling. At Sanicle, we’ve seen how film, radio drama, art, and even barbershop conversations can normalize menstruation. This is a call to Nollywood, TikTok creators, broadcasters — join us. Shift the culture. Because when people talk, stigma dies — and policy is born. Look at mtv shuga and period end of sentence on Netflix and the Padman movie that inspired me.

What partnerships or policy changes are you pushing for?

We’re demanding—not requesting—a National Menstrual Health Policy that includes tax-free pads, free menstrual products in all public schools, and paid menstrual leave in the workplace. Anything less is a betrayal to millions of women living in poverty.

Let’s be honest: when 65% of Nigerian women can’t afford pads, and schoolgirls are forced to bleed into mattress foam, old rags, or even chicken feathers, what we’re witnessing is not just neglect — its state-sanctioned violence against the bodies of poor girls. Against rural women. Against single mothers scraping by on ₦10,000 a month.

But we’re not waiting for permission. We’re partnering with state governments, NGOs, and daring innovators like Joy, who crafts reusable pads from banana trunks. We’re proposing solar-powered menstrual dispensers and piloting AI-backed supply chains with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Women Affairs to track and deliver products where they’re needed most.

This is also a direct call to the First Lady: embed menstrual dignity into the Renewed Hope Agenda. Don’t let this be another photo-op — make it legacy.

If Kenya can provide free pads in schools, Nigeria has no excuse. Let’s use platforms like Menstrual Hygiene Day (May 28), championed by WASH United, and this year’s Redvolution gathering by Masterpiece Resource Development Centre, to ignite action. Because we can’t keep “singing Standing on the Promises while sitting on our premises.”

It’s time to rise — for the girls bleeding in silence. For the women suffering in shame. For a country long overdue for its redemption through red dignity.

If you could change one thing immediately to end period poverty, what would it be?

Abolish VAT and import duties on all menstrual products — today. Why are tampons taxed like perfume while condoms are handed out for free? Periods aren’t a choice. Every extra naira on pads is a nail in the coffin of a girl’s education and a woman’s dignity. Let’s stop taxing menstruation like it’s sin.

What’s your urgent message to government, private sector, and civil society?

I wrote an open letter on June 14, 2023, published on BellaNaija, pleading with the President to treat menstrual equity as a national emergency. It still stands. Mr. President, sign a law now that shifts the cost burden from women to the government. Release a plan to roll out eco-friendly pads with AI-backed distribution — and fund it. Not next year. Now.

Menstrual equity is not charity. It’s infrastructure. You can’t build a digital economy, a smart Nigeria, or an empowered workforce if your girls are dropping out of school because they’re bleeding without help. Enough is enough.

.Inegbedion is the Chief Period Officer at Sanicle.Cloud