Honlon App

Honlon App is an instant messaging application between an artificial intelligence and isolated depressed people, which aims to combat the chronic loneliness they face.

Various mental health studies published between 2008 and 2020 on 97,616 African adolescents gave the following results: depression (26.9%); anxiety disorders (29.8%); emotional and behavioral problems (40.8%); PTSD in one study (21.5%); and suicidal thoughts (20.8%). An article in the Pan African Review points to the root cause of depression among these young Africans, which is culture and the belief in competition as a fundamental ethic in human relationships. This led these young people to loneliness and then to depression, where they finally gave in to the temptation of suicide. Many of these young people leave suicide notes that testify to the absence of someone in their lives who accepts them unconditionally and the stigma against them when they are seeking for help. And for most of them, the parents had unwittingly transformed themselves into figures representing an unbearable pressure, whose main concern was the economic success of their children.

Honlon App is a free downloadable application on the stores and also on medical recommendation. It contains an artificial intelligence system that sets up a discussion space with the registered user, and connect them to professional psychologist. The goal is to fight loneliness and isolation among depressed young Africans in order to prevent suicide and also connect them to psychologists for appropriate therapy. The application works as follows: the depressive user downloads it, enters his personal information to register or log in. He is then redirected to a friendly user interface in order to select his preferences in terms of subject or discussion options: - discussion topics: self-love, self-confidence,... - discussion options: attentive ear which consists of a chat bubble where the IA acts as someone who listens without intervention and is grateful at the end of the discussion. This option is valid for those who are just looking to free themselves without wanting to interact. The second option is the honlon mode where the AI connect the user to a psychologist in order for him to receive appropriate help.

Honlon App targets young people located on the African continent, starting with Rwanda, between 15 and 25 years old. Research has proven that depression is one of the leading causes of illness and disability in adolescents, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-19 year old. and that 50% of mental disorders appear before the age of 14 and 75% before the age of 25. What makes this age group the perfect users for our application.

Our app seeks to provide the emotional support and the medical follow-up that isolated, depressed people need in order to prevent suicides .

The founder and team leader Samuella knows entrepreneurship thanks to her university studies and knowledge in Human Centered design thanks to the online courses she took. Having been diagnosed a few years earlier with severe depression and having undergone therapy afterward, she noted, thanks to this experience, how it was difficult to find and afford a psychologist, and also what she lacked or sorely desired the omission of information despite the atmosphere of transparency that the psychologist wanted to establish between them and the fear of judgment. Among her relatives, one of her friends was also diagnosed with depression. To escape her loneliness, she locked herself into an instant messaging romance game that gave her the impression of chatting with real people.
The co-founder, Zita Nyanutse, has essential experience in IT and law. As the founder's sister, she learned how to live and interact with a person who quickly changes his mood and has negative or even suicidal thoughts.

We conducted secondary research about the causes of depression among African youth and their needs. And we engaged with three particular users, two of whom are 20 years old, and one who is 17 years old, to consolidate our research and ask for their opinion on our concept.

What makes our solution innovative:
The subject of mental health is still considered taboo and mystical in many African countries. Depression, being more common than suffocated, is, above all, minimized, which locks these patients into an absolute social solitude which turns most of the time into isolation and then into suicide in certain extreme cases.
The lack of medical resources, namely professional psychologists, a support center for patients with depression, etc., is a significant problem that does not prevent the suicide rate from falling.
Honlon App seeks to overcome this deficiency by offering a mobile instant chat application with built-in artificial intelligence that provides a private space for discussion with people with depression to offer them an area where they can free themselves from the different thoughts they have by talking with artificial intelligence to give them this feeling of human presence and also provide them with psychologist who are ready to help them at minimum cost.

By 2024 we want to extend the use of the Honlon App within three major universities in Kigali and have at least 1500 active users; because students are prone to develop more stress in the face of social pressure.
To achieve these objectives, we will contact the target universities to organize discussion sessions with the students who will follow the following agenda:
- introduction to mental health
- emphasis on depression
- what is the Honlon app?
- the contribution of the Honlon App and its use
We will set up an ambassador program made up of students from said universities so that they promote the brand in their entourage and help boost the notoriety and reputation of Honlon App.

We will use the service subsidy model
offer a minimal consultation cost via our application to generate income that will allow us to develop our application and recruit more professionals for the follow-up of our customers.