Every day, approximately 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth— 99% of them in developing countries such as Nigeria, where lack of education is as much a cause as poor health care. Local entrepreneur Adeloye Olanrewaju wanted to help alleviate the problem with an SMS subscription service for pregnant women that informed them of prenatal appointments and their babies’ development.
The response was huge, and Olanrewaju discovered a massive, unmet demand for Africa-centric pregnancy, birth and baby information. With a $10,000 grant and mentoring from Google’s Africa Launchpad Accelerator platform earlier this year, Olanrewaju co-founded Babymigo.com, an online community that connects mothers-to-be with information, medical experts, services and other parents. Babymigo’s app has been downloaded 30,000 times and its mobile-friendly website has 90,000 registered users—most from Nigeria, with the rest from Sub-Saharan Africa.
Babymigo offers access to some 7,000 local service providers, from gynecologists to lactation consultants. The company gets a small commission for every referral, but most revenue comes from advertising. Olanrewaju has great expectations for Babymigo’s growth. “There are 10.4 million babies born every year in Nigeria, and every one of those mothers is hungry for the kind of information we provide.” —Aryn Baker