Nigerian startup Babymigo is providing access to expert-led health information and hyperlocal childcare services to pregnant women and parents via SMS, app and web in a bid to empower parents across Africa to raise healthy families and reduce avoidable maternal and infant mortality.
Formed in 2018 by Kemi Olawoye and Adeloye Olanrewaju, Babymigo allows users to ask questions and get answers quickly, from other users and verified medical practitioners. It also supports chat features, which allows users to interact directly with experts in the field.
Furthermore, users can access over 20 community groups specific to interest areas, filter for specific discussions and search for users or mothers within a particular age group or location. In addition, the platform allows users to book to attend various events and pregnancy classes.
“We also offer a range of products for mums, including Mamacare, a maternity care plan; Bloomcare, a digital family and women’s health clinic; and Classes by Babymigo, for new parents to get ready for labour, birth, caring for a new-born and parenting,” Olawoye told Disrupt Africa.
Every day, approximately 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, with 99 per cent of them being from developing countries such as Nigeria, where the lack of education is as much a cause of this issue as poor healthcare.
“Our platform targets women at different stages of their pregnancy and parenting journey to empower, equip and provide them with tools and resources that improve maternal and child health outcomes,” Olawoye said.
Uptake so far has been impressive. Babymigo currently has over 200,000 users, and has reached over one million parents since inception. The startup, which monetises via advertising as well as the direct to consumer services mentioned above, has plans to expand to other African countries.
“We have raised our pre-seed and been recognised by the Google Black Founders Fund for Africa, the Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa programme, the US Department of State’s GIST Outstanding Women Entrepreneur award, and the AXA FemTech Accelerator Programme, among several others,” said Olawoye.
