The under-the-radar tech opportunities that are trending in Asia

This article is a collaboration between Betty Chum, Stefanie Yeo, and Doris Yu.

This is the first article in our brand-new series that will help you discover the next (but not-so-obvious) big thing in Asia.

In this monthly series, we aim to uncover the early signs of new or changing user behavior, nascent industries, and under-the-radar companies doing cool things. What we’re not going to do is make you go, duh by pointing out the obvious shifts in tech like teleconferencing, virtual events, and ecommerce.

With this information, we hope to keep our community one step ahead of everyone else 😉 and encourage aspiring founders to jumpstart their entrepreneurship journey.

Emerging Trends is also sent as a newsletter to TIA subscribers – like you, yay! – that you’ll receive at 10 a.m. every third Thursday of the month. Each issue will feature three trends, and each trend comes with a summary of what it’s all about, a chart depicting the growth trajectory, and potential areas to look at.

Let’s get into it!

Trend 1: Telehealth for sexual health

Telehealth has been touted as the future of healthcare in Asia Pacific, offering affordable healthcare that isn’t accessible to many people in the region. Beyond just providing medical advice, the “tele” aspect of telehealth means that people are more comfortable consulting doctors on topics typically considered taboo, such as mental well-being and sex.

In particular, telemedicine has enabled women to seek advice on their reproductive and sexual health, helping address some of the barriers they face when it comes to getting birth control, such as cost, inconvenience, and social stigma.

Additionally, telemedicine eases the stigma around other aspects of sexual health, such as testing for sexually transmitted diseases (STIs).

Current landscape

The global telehealth market for women’s reproductive and sexual health is expected to reach US$215.7 million in revenue by 2027, and the Asia-Pacific region is expected to see a compound annual growth rate of 18% over the same period.

In Singapore, several companies are tapping into this potential. Ferne Health provides home-based self-test kits that screen for cervical cancer and common STIs, with a primary focus on women. Ease and Dear Doc enable women to purchase contraceptives and STI tests discreetly and conveniently, while also offering remote consultations with doctors.

Some areas to keep an eye on are:

• Not just about the body: Sexual health isn’t just about physical issues; there’s also a psychological dimension to it. Sexual dysfunction can be pretty detrimental to one’s quality of life, but it’s not something that’s discussed much or openly due to the stigma and shame around the topic, especially in Asia. But that also opens up an opportunity, and Texas-based Rosy can serve as a point of reference. The company, which provides education and resources for women with low sexual desire, raised US$1 million in seed funding last year.
• And gentlemen: Telehealth services for women’s sexual health is just the beginning. Men face sexual health issues of their own, but they’re usually reluctant to bring it up with their doctors because of embarrassment. Singapore-based digital clinic Noah, which enables men to seek treatment for erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, and hair loss, currently has 6,000 users on its platform.
• Sex Education: No, not the Netflix show. It’s all well and good that people have access to contraception and other sexual health services online, but the lack of knowledge about sex among individuals remains a major barrier. And with the state of in-person sex education in Asia-Pacific leaving much to be desired, there’s definitely room for digital sexuality education to improve and ensure that younger generations have control over their reproductive and sexual health.

Trend 2: Freelancing boom

Trend 3: Randomly meeting strangers online