In recent years, there has been a significant rise in women leading innovation, technology and digital entrepreneurship. This is a positive trend that reflects the growing recognition of the important contributions that women make in these fields. As International Women’s Month comes to an end, we consider the increasing availability of resources and opportunities for women to pursue careers in the digital space.
This year’s theme, ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’, recognizes and celebrates women and girls who champion the advancement of transformative technology and digital education. The growing number of women in the technology and the digital industry has resulted in more creative solutions and has a greater potential for innovations that meet women’s needs. This success is not only attributed to women’s willingness to persevere in the areas they’re passionate about or their desire to help others but can also be credited to the increasing programs, initiatives and organizations that provide support, tools and mentorship, to help women launch and grow their businesses.
Digital entrepreneurs, apps and the need for support
Jacqueline Rogers, founder of My Pregnancy Journey, created an app when she came across alarming statistics of pregnancies in South Africa and on the African continent. The digital publication and app work together to provide pregnant women with a comprehensive suite of resources, that help them stay informed, connected, and healthy throughout their pregnancy and parenting journey.
Speaking on the role technology has played in helping to create an engaged community of women, Roger said, “The advance of technology has helped the team create an app, allowing for mass communication and reach. It now serves as a progressive tool that is used to deliver valuable information and provide support to the local community.”
With Huawei running several programs and initiatives to support tech developers, including the Huawei Developer Program and the Apps Up contest, Rogers took a chance in 2020 winning the Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) Best App of the Year.
“We learned about Apps Up when we signed up our app onto the Huawei AppGallery and decided to enter. Being a women tech entrepreneur from Africa is not an easy task, so winning has pushed us forward in our project,” said Rogers.
HMS provides resources, training and support for developers to build and market their apps on Huawei devices, which has a reach of over 8.5 million users in South Africa. The tech brand has also established several innovation centres around the world, where developers can access cutting-edge technology and collaborate with other developers and experts.
Unpacking the significant user journey and features of the award-winning App
The My Pregnancy Journey app offers users a digital handbook that they can rely on to make their unique pregnancy journey a beautiful one. It is interactive, with over 30 features that educate and provide up-to-date information at each stage of pregnancy.
Pregnant women can add their due date and begin a digital journal that enables them to document all their precious milestones. You can add multimedia, like images and ensure that you keep all your special memories. If you have a medical card, you can also input all your medical information and test results on the app. This information will especially come in handy when you move from one healthcare provider to another.
Other features consist of a baby kick counter, which is one of the important ways to monitor your little one’s health. Labour, signs, stages, positions, breathing techniques, premature birth, vaginal birth, caesarean delivery, water birth and emergency labour at home is included. This content is presented as weekly articles, which cover topics like ovulation, pregnancy test, morning sickness, gestational diabetes, ectopic pregnancy, postpartum, depression, pregnancy symptoms, prenatal, breastfeeding, adolescent, and HIV.
There’s more, the app has a hospital bag checklist for mom, baby and partner. Along with a contraction counter to track and save your contractions as soon as they start, so you’re better positioned to provide concise information as soon as you arrive in hospital.
It is known that giving birth is daunting and as a first-time mom one may be overwhelmed when making the decision on how they will give birth. To stay informed and feel at ease, users can consult the birth plan guideline, which helps one feel more prepared and in control. And for the fun part, the My Pregnancy Journey app has Gynaecology and Womb Yoga videos, a 26-page nutrition section on what to eat, what not to eat, common complaints, healthy BMI and Vitamins and Minerals.
Continuous advancements that match the needs of users
Huawei’s efforts in supporting and uplifting tech developers have helped to promote innovation and drive the development of new technologies within the industry. In addition, its Analytics Kit, a data analytics tool, further helps developers to understand user behaviour and make data-driven decisions to optimize their apps. Since the app is progressive and always looks to new innovations to better empower pregnant women and new moms, there are a couple of advancements and development on the My Pregnancy App.
“At the end of 2022, we released a whole new look on our app, we have also added some more valuable features like the community chat groups where moms can chat with one another. There’s also a directory listing that lists local small businesses, providers and products on the app, creating a whole digital eco-system and linking everyone to each other,” said Rogers.
For more information, download the My Journey App today. You can also visit AppGallery to learn about their tech developers and programs.