“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.” _Adeloye Olanrewaju (TIME, 2018)

TIME’s 95 years of groundbreaking weekly reports that have amassed over 3 million circulation of content worldwide (the largest for a weekly news magazine) makes any recognition from the New York based publication reflect the prospect of a pot of Gold. It is no wonder the recognition of Nigerian tech start up company, Babymigo, amidst Kenya’s BRCK and Ona, Ghana’s Bitland, and South Africa’s AgriProtein, for TIME’s  “50 Genius Companies of 2018”, feels like a validation of an imminent blessing for Adeloye Olanrewaju.

But to say that TIME’s acknowledgement of Olanrewaju and his good works is the first of its kind, will be speaking with tunnel vision in all matters concerning Olanrewaju’s life. In 2016, Olanrewaju was crowned Young Leader by Queen Elizabeth II. In 2017, he met with Mark Zuckerberg, who described him as an entrepreneur strengthening African communities and creating opportunities at large. He also holds a certificate in “Leading Change” from the University of Cambridge and a certificate in social sector management from EDC, LBS, Pan Atlantic University.

The struck-match genesis for Babymigo was “to help alleviate the problem of pregnancy and childbirth”, which kills “830 women every day, with 99% of them in developing countries such as Nigeria”, Aryn Baker writes for TIME. The short article begins with such striking figures that immediately spark curiosity for accuracy. Nonetheless, the resulting solution to the enormous problem was an SMS subscription service, which Olanrewaju created “for pregnant women, to inform them of prenatal appointments and their babies’ development”, Baker continues.

With Olanrewaju’s authentic idea, Google offered his team a grant of $10,000 through its Africa Launchpad Accelerator platform, earlier this year. This made Olanrewaju financially capable of bringing Babymigo.com to life, co-founding it as an online community that connects mothers-to-be with information, medical experts, services and other parents. Baker adds in the TIME-article that “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”.

TIME’s seems to always know a torchbearer before anyone else, even Google too —shinning the light on Natives from our very own country and continent before we even deem it fit to skyrocket them further towards the gate of stratosphere. Yet, as people related not by blood, but by one motherland, we immediately take great pride in Adeloye Olanrewaju’s achievement for Babymigo.

Featured Image Credit: LinkedIn/Adeoye Olanrewaju

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Fisayo is a journalist in search of words. Tweet at her @fisvyo

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