Jacaranda Health
Newborn mortality is still high across Africa. But small changes in care-seeking behavior by moms can make a big dent in this problem.
The Idea
Two-way Chat for Moms
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Total Investment
950000
Grants
0
Equity/SAFE
0
Debt/Convertible Debt
Funded Since
2010
Geography
Sector
Structure
The Mission
Healthier moms and kids in Africa.
How It Works
Jacaranda supports mothers across the continuum of maternity and newborn care. Their package of low-cost solutions is anchored by an AI-powered 2-way chat for pregnant and new mothers. Mothers receive critical advice, risk screening, and nudges via SMS that can save lives and improve health systems.
The Dream
Healthtech companies enable a market for AI-enabled 2-way conversations in Africa that governments pay for and administer.
Why We're In
Jacaranda has persuasive evidence, from serving 3M moms in Kenya, that two-way chat helps moms to seek care. With their AI, moms get personalized and proactive advice in their hands. They recently launched in Ghana, Tanzania, and, importantly, in Nigeria—where maternal health outcomes are far worse than in Kenya, so the upside is huge. Jacaranda is exactly what is needed: low-cost, effective, and scalable. This is a digital health solution that African governments will actually pay for.
The Model
A solution that works and can scale.
Standardized content
Evidence-based content on PROMPTS spans the spectrum of care that engages mothers at critical milestones, both digitally and at the facility. Content in multiple local languages includes advice on pregnancy and danger signs, to reminders on pre and postnatal facility visits and immunization.
Enrollment
Pregnant women and new mothers sign up for 2-way chat service at public facilities they frequent.
AI-enabled helpdesk
PROMPTS is powered by an AI-enabled helpdesk that sends timely nudges to mothers and responds to thousands of incoming messages via SMS. AI plays a key role for triaging and screening mothers for risk, with trained clinical nurses in the loop to ensure quality and support. Data from the helpdesk feeds into government-managed dashboards to improve decision-making and resource allocation.
Potential for Impact at Scale
Mulago uses four criteria to gauge potential for exponential impact. The model must be:
This is about impact and evidence. 88%of moms self-reported the recommended 4+ antenatal visits vs. 57% nationally inKenya in 2025. A 2023 independent Randomized Control Trial showed 20% gain in recommended 2+ postnatal visits, and a 2019 RCT showed a 2x increase in uptake of family planning. Literature shows increase in care-seeking behavior can reduce mortality, and Jacaranda’s targets a 10% reduction. What is unknown is the potential of AI-enabled care across conditions / layered on interventions.
This is about scope. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest neonatal mortality rate (27/1000 live births), with babies 10x more likely to die in the first month of their life vs babies in high-income countries. In Kenya, the rate is 20/1000 live births, with 33% of maternal deaths caused by delays in care-seeking. Smartphone access is growing, but data costs remain high and vulnerable populations don’t own them. Jacaranda’s nudges are sent by SMS but can be switched over to WhatsApp. Jacaranda already serves ~40% of pregnant moms in Kenya and has replicated to Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania, where government can be a payer.
This is about whether businesses can deliver the model. The underlying tech of PROMPTS is inherently scalable, with Jacaranda likely managing the product long-term and government administering (enrolling mothers, managing the helpdesk, negotiating with telcos). Kenya still remains largely a Jacaranda-run model. In other countries governments and NGO partners are committing to take on more of the administration.
This is about what the model costs if delivered by businesses and whether customers are willing and able to pay. PROMPTS costs ~$2.50/mother. Counties in Kenya pay for 10% of that (rest by philanthropy). There’s momentum for telcos to zero-rate the SMS costs, and the Ghanaian government has committed to covering additional costs (e.g., helpdesk staffing). Jacaranda targets a reduction to $1.50/mother in 2026 via reduced compute, messaging, and enrollment costs.
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Jacaranda is at mid-growth.
Our Take
Jacaranda have shown that multiple governments want to deploy PROMPTS and there’s interest in the full potential of AI and multiple use cases. Government administering the product is still in progress, but Ghana should show what’s possible. Costs are expected to fall in new places and at an eventual $1/mother, governments should be able to pay much more than they currently do. What lags behind is their evidence and they need to make a stronger case towards reduction in mortality.
Are you a serious funder and want to learn more?
This is just a snapshot of what we know about the organization. If you're an investor or funder that might send some serious dough their way, we're always delighted to share more. Reach out and we'll connect you with the right person on our team.
*this is not monitored for funding requests.
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