Lifestyle and mental health - Nigerian startups empowering choice through tech

Buying electronic toys that speak your language or even a doll that looks like the proud owner is easy – that is if you’re white and speak English. It’s much harder to buy other ‘lifestyle’ products, for example, a child’s plate with Arabic writing on it, or a doll wearing a hiyab. Oyindamola Kazeem, realized this when she herself had children so she set up Hadiyang – the "one stop digital hub for Islamic products" in Nigeria. She was at Web Summit Qatar to expand her business to the MENA region.

Another Nigerian tech startup – “Howbodi” was also on a similar mission. Howbodi means “How are you?” in pidgin English and is also the name of an app and website that is using the latest AI tech, combined with human back up in the form of therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists to destigmatise mental healthcare in Nigeria. Dr. Maymunah Yusuf Kadiri and Zainab Kadiri are now looking for investors to finance standalone internet connected mobile mental health care booths, so people in rural areas can also have access to free mental health care.

This special edition was recorded at Web Summit Qatar in the exhibition hall. The audio quality is therefore different to our usual studio produced shows.

The programme is presented by Ania Lichtarowicz.

More on this week's stories:

Hadiyang

Oyindamola Kazeem

Howbodi

Dr. May

Zainab Kadiri

Production Manager: Liz Tuohy

Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz

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