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Healofy has created a vernacular social network exclusively for Indian women to feel informed, safe and empowered, allowing them to consume, connect, and transact in a trusted space
BANGALORE, India, Nov. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- India has around 451 Million smartphone users, and this number is estimated to grow to 859 million by 2022. Even though 42% of Indian Internet users are women, their presence on major digital content companies and social platforms is a meagre 10%, on average. A Google Report, Research with the Next Billion Users, April 2019 states that Indian women are reluctant to network on social platforms due to the lack of safe and purpose-driven communities, the challenges of finding relevant women-centric content online, the fear of harassment, and the poor availability of information in Indian regional languages. Currently, 9 out of 10 new smartphone users look for regional language content, with the need being higher for women.
In the offline world, married Indian women are the decision makers and controllers of household expenditure, and currently spend more than $200 billion annually on household goods. On the contrary, less than 5% of Indian women Internet users transact online.
As India's Largest Women Social Network, Healofy is addressing this hugely under-served online space for married Indian women by offering them a strong and safe environment of trust. With 3 million downloads, and 500,000 Daily Active Users (DAUs), and an additional 1.5 million monthly website users, the regional-language and community-focused mobile app intends to connect millions of women across different stages of life – from getting married, to becoming mothers, and their life beyond that.
Conventionally, most Indian women get married by around 22 years of age, and this is typically when they start owning smartphones. Marriage is a life-altering milestone for women with huge demands on their roles and responsibilities. Around 80% of newly married women conceive within the first year of their marriage and take on the role of primary caregivers for their children. In India, only 1 out of 4 women work, and 70% of these working women leave their jobs to take care of the family and raise children. During this time, they seek strong emotional support and credible information around topics like mother and child health, nutrition, fitness and lifestyle. Also, due to persistent social taboos, women hesitate to discuss sensitive and intimate issues like menstruation, conception, safe sex, breastfeeding etc. and they seek trusted connections to discuss these aspects of married life.
Healofy acquires women at this crucial stage of their lives, where they can consume and create content on the app in 8 Indian regional languages, in addition to English. The content includes questions and answers, images, videos and live videos that are relevant to them on the basis of their life-stage, language and interest areas. They can also chat in personalised groups with other like-minded women on the basis of location as well. The app also enables every woman to express herself freely in her own language by making conversations easier. Even though current smartphones don't support typing in Indian languages easily, Healofy's communities enable a user to type regional-language words using English characters, which the app converts instantly into the regional script.
Women spend about 5 million minutes on the Healofy app every day. With a growing sense of trust and confidence in Healofy, women are building stronger communities with active discussions on multiple topics beyond pregnancy and parenting, like fashion, food, fitness, lifestyle, and learning different skill sets etc.
This community-driven behaviour is the basis on which Indian women make purchase decisions in the offline world, which is highly social, and influenced by their connections and a trusted peer group. Healofy's approach is to mirror the offline experience of networking and 'shopping together' in the online world, to help more women transact online, and ultimately monetise via network e-commerce and enable Indian women attain financial independence.
About Healofy
Healofy was founded in September 2016 by Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2017, and Asia One 40 under 40 2019 awardees Gaurav Aggarwal and Shubham Maheshwari respectively. Gaurav, the CEO, is an alumnus of IIT Guwahati and Shubham, the CTO, is an alumnus of NIT Warangal.
Healofy has raised $9.5 million in funding from Omidyar Network India, a leading investment firm focused on social impact that has backed several content-led models like Dailyhunt, Pratilipi, Vedantu and 1MG; the BabyTree Group (Baobaoshu); and BAce Capital - a fund anchored by Alibaba's Ant Financial Services Group; and most recently, an undisclosed sum from Hiro Mashita-led Japanese investment firm, M&S Partners.
Healofy App - www.healofy.com/app
Contact
Aakriti Goel
Media Relations, Healofy
WeChat ID - AakritiGoel92
aakriti@healofy.com
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