'Nōni', India's First Online Startup For Women To Buy Contraceptives

In India, condom use has declined 52 per cent over eight years, while male vasectomies fell by 73 per cent. Moreover, female sterilisation continues to be the preferred mode of family planning among Indian couples between the ages of 15 and 49.

Kartik Rustagi, a graduate from the United States, learned how connected and informative women are about birth control, contraceptives and PCOS treatments in the country. Later, he found that in India, not a single platform focused on providing affordable and healthy birth control options to women, so he started his own FemTech startup called nōni (saynoni.com) with his best friend.

According to the 2021 UN AIDS report, COVID-19 limited access to contraceptives for 26 million couples in India which will have long term consequences. So, there is a need to introduce more modern methods for spacing and continue the quality of family planning. Currently, there are limited options for women in India to gain access to affordable and healthy birth control online. The process requires physical visits to a gynaecologist, waiting rooms, judgements and various unnecessary costs. Many working women who work and have families to take care of don't have the time to visit a doctor, and sometimes don't even have access to a reliable doctor or gynaecologist.

Online Contraceptives

To solve this problem, Rustagi wanted to design a first-of-its-kind platform in India that can be accessed by women across the country to buy contraceptives. "The goal was to give women the ability to buy birth control, PCOS medication and contraceptive pill from the comfort of their homes, and we have achieved that by encapsulating a physical visit to the gynaecologist in an online health form which is reviewed by one of our doctor partners, and then the prescribed medication is shipped to the patient," Rustagi, co-founder of nōni, shared with The Logical Indian.

"The whole process takes about 5 minutes, it's that easy. Our website in its first month has already received 5,000 visitors, and each user on average spends 3-4 minutes," he added.

90% Of Women Discussed Family Planning With Their Husbands

The young entrepreneur said that the power dynamic in Indian households is decided by age, gender and ownership of resources – all factors that usually favour men. More than 90 per cent of women discussed family planning with their husbands, but only 18 per cent of them had a say in the final decision.

"For us, it's all about helping women be the best versions of themselves and giving them a platform through which they can make their own decisions. We truly believe that access to contraceptives can help our society move forward, with equity and that every woman, irrespective of her/their education or demographic, should have access to affordable and convenient birth control in the most transparent way," Rustagi said.

The platform's goal is to help women connect with qualified doctors and experts who can help them make better decisions and learn more about what works best for their respective bodies.

Also Read: Punjab Govt To Provide Free Of Cost Sanitary Pads To Women Every Month