Fail fast, learn fast, keep moving and be consistent: Gitanjali Banerjee of Fertility Dost

Note to readers: Moneycontrol, India’s leading financial news digital platform and CommsCredible, an integrated communications consultancy, have come together to partner with Grant Thornton Bharat, one of the largest fully integrated Assurance, Tax & Advisory firms in India, to launch Faces of Vibrant Bharat (FoVB), an initiative that tells stories of organisations making an impact on India's social fabric with their work at the grassroot level.

Every year, one in every four couples in India face infertility issues and one in every eight girls go through PCOS at the adolescent age of 18-20, often escalating to fertility problems or cancer at a later stage. Fertility Dost aims to change the way people manage fertility and the societal behaviour towards it.

“We are trying to bring awareness and accessibility of the problem with patient-centric behaviour in the fertility domain,” says Gitanjali Banerjee, founder of Fertility Dost.

According to Banerjee, there is a huge gap between patients and fertility specialists. With a vision to bring fertility into the proactive segment, Fertility Dost aims to make fertility or infertility treatments as common as any other disease or problem in India.

By combining modern science, technology, behavioural science and social support, the platform provides end-to-end management comprising preventive healthcare, natural fertility, pre-IVF treatments, adoption or support to a couple’s decision to not have a child.

The enterprise that was born out of Banerjee’s personal experience, today, counsels over three lakh women every month and has reached out to over 10 million people through their digital campaigns.

It has sold over 1,000 plus fertility coach programmes and 40% of their users are from the Middle East, US, Australia, Singapore and UK. The team works with top doctors and gynaecologists and has tied up with over 25+ IVF brands in the country.

According to a report by Frost & Sullivan, a research and strategy consultancy, revenue from femtech will grow to reach $1.1 billion by 2024. Banerjee believes the femtech space has immense opportunities for a venture to scale up quickly on the digital side, as wellness has become a top priority for people having gone through the pandemic experience.

"The best part about our online fertility screening tool, is that it's accessible from home. It's a preventive tool that saves great cost and time, which is otherwise spent on consultations and tests," she added.

The Nexus Incubator-trained, Banerjee recalls how she sat over the idea of setting up the enterprise for almost two years. No background of start-ups or business and fertility being a taboo subject, she knew she would have to share her own journey to build a community. The fear of judgement pushed her to procrastinate on an idea that could make a huge difference in the lives of millions of women.

Looking back, Banerjee considers it her “biggest mistake” and advises all budding entrepreneurs to “not procrastinate thinking and perfecting the idea”. “Fail fast, learn fast, keep moving and be consistent. Be sure of your vision. If that is clear and so is your goal, you will succeed,” concludes Banerjee.

What made Banerjee a Face of Vibrant Bharat?

“Fertility Dost is an inspiring story of pain and bouncing forward by breaking the taboo and changing societal behaviour towards managing fertility and its issues. Through their innovative programs, community outreach and use of technology they reached over 10 million people and continue to be a change maker,” said Amit Kumar Bajaj, Partner, Grant Thornton Bharat.

"In India, the burden of infertility has always been put on women. Fertility Dost has been an early entrant in India's femtech space, and has created social awareness to allow couples to face this problem with dignity and privacy, as well providing them with holistic solutions. Gitanjali's continuous efforts to empower the couples with right knowledge for fertility success in a socially conservative society like ours, is what makes her a face of vibrant Bharat." said Aman Dhall, Founder, CommsCredible.