Gazeta, in partnership with IT Park Uzbekistan, has initiated a series of interviews focusing on female entrepreneurs and startup founders across the country's regions. The inaugural participant is Maftuna Karimova, an Andijan-born developer and founder of the women's health application Femmy. She purportedly shared her journey of launching a startup inspired by her own maternity experiences, the hurdles of securing investment, and the cultural significance of providing women's health data in the Uzbek language.
According to Karimova's statements, the concept for Femmy allegedly originated during her pregnancy when she encountered a severe lack of localized resources. Relocating to Tashkent after marriage and lacking familial guidance, she realized that many local women struggled with language barriers and a lack of culturally appropriate medical information. Consequently, she designed a platform integrating cycle tracking, expert-reviewed articles, and community support tailored specifically to the regional lifestyle and norms.
The development phase was fraught with logistical and personal challenges. Karimova reportedly gathered an initial team of programmers who believed in the vision, often attending planning sessions with her infant child in tow. However, the path to financial backing was reportedly demoralizing, with the founder facing repeated rejection from potential investors who claimed the global market was already saturated with similar applications. The tide allegedly turned after winning a social category award and a $100,000 grant at the President Tech Award initiative, backed by IT Park Uzbekistan.
Despite this milestone, the subsequent implementation of strict one-year KPIs tied to the grant tranches proved to be an uphill battle for the fledgling team. Monetizing the user base remains a significant obstacle, as subscription habits are allegedly underdeveloped among local consumers. While Femmy has reportedly amassed over 100,000 users across more than 20 countries and coordinated with the Ministry of Health to refine its content, the startup continues to navigate complex financial and structural hurdles ahead of planned future fundraising rounds.
Source: www.gazeta.uz