I always say to my team, “Digitisation has become a necessity in a world consumed by mobile devices”. Our digital mental health platforms aim to promote mental wellness by being up close and personal in your mobile device. – Kesego Mosime, CEO and Co-Founder, First-Aid Counselling.
In a country with a population less than 2.5 million people, approximately 296,650 people fail to access counselling services on a monthly basis. Under normal circumstances, those that are able to access counselling services take one (1) to 14 days (the quickest being private counsellors). Launching in a nation dominated by many mental and social health issues, we were inspired to create digital platforms that allow people to get professional help instantly.
Simply defined, First-Aid Counselling is an award-winning digital platform that helps people to access Mental Health services instantly and conveniently, with 100% anonymity. This is inspired by our vision to provide access to mental health services in just one click and our mission which is to create convenience, instant gratification and affordability in the access of mental health services.
How it began?
A tech enthusiast met a mental health practitioner who together discovered the huge potential in providing instant mental health services leveraging on digital solutions. My business partner had been running her counselling centre for four (4) years when we met and the evidence was there – the mental health industry was at its brick and mortar stage and we believed that through disruptive technology, we could bring an element of convenience, accessibility and affordability to an industry in dire need. What better way to achieve this than targeting solutions accessible via mobile devices.
Fast forward two (2) years later, we have won the Botswana Innovation Fund which provided us the seed capital to develop our digital platforms (USSD application and mobile application) and develop mental health content in both our native language (Setswana) and English. In addition to our mental health content, our platforms also offer mental health assessments for those interested in identifying their mental health status, mental health challenges for those that aim to boost their mental health, a diary feature that enables one to journal their feelings and an anonymous chatting platform that allows peer-to-peer counseling encouraging users to share experiences, advices and moments together.
We have also won the Southern African Innovation Summit (SAIS) BoostUp National Pitch Competition and have gone on to participate in the Alibaba eFellowship Programme. Our significant achievements also include our partnership with Orange Botswana, a subsidiary of Orange, a multinational telecommunications company. Through this partnership, we aim to provide accessible and convenient mental health services to Orange users across Botswana.
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Our goal is to grow beyond our country’s borders and into other African states before penetrating global markets. We believe through an inclusive approach such as the development of sign-language mental health content that we recently commenced, we shall leave no stone unturned in ensuring that mental health is accessible to all. Localisation is also a key aspect of our growth hence we strive to translate our mental health content to various local languages in order to penetrate communities across the world.
