bubbME.AI

Indonesia has a population of 66 million male and female adolescents or about 24% of the total population of Indonesia. This number has great potential to bring a much better change for Indonesia, but also has the potential to be the opposite if the problems that surround adolescents do not get serious attention. A harrowing statistics provided by the Ministry of Women and Children in 2021 states that 52% (11.040.000) of females under age 16 has experienced sexual violence. We highlight two main factors why this problem continues to exist: 

1) The lack of knowledge of sexual, reproductive and maternal health (SRMH) education for females restricted by religious and patriarchal values to both male and female parties. It is still considered a taboo among Indonesians to receive an unbiased and science-centric knowledge. Therefore, this fact leads to problems of sexual violence, extramarital pregnancies, early marriages, and maternal and child deaths due to early childbirth.

2) Modern adolescents' mental health problems, physical and cyber-bullying and gender-based violence have not been considered as the overarching influence . All of these problems intersect with each other, causing complex problems in children and adolescents during puberty.

Coming from an psychoanalytical perspective, what this number truly means is that more than half of our nation's future mothers carry deep trauma that is passed on to their future children. The worsening conditions of having severe depression, personality disorders, or the decision to end their life. This invisible wound creates permanent damage for the individual. At a large scale, it becomes a vital consideration of the nation's future in economy, poor health, generational cycles of trauma in poverty, and suicidal rates.

bubbME's estimates Indonesia's economic loss with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center 'Lifetime Cost of Rape' framework to be $13.5B [Figure 1]. 

bubbME.AI (means "loveME", Figure 2) is a mobile game that pays to play to its users and provides on-demand digital first-aid for teen girls' SRMH and mental health. We designed key features based on the Disaster Management Cycle framework [Figure 3] to place gender-based violence (GBV) as its problem. The gamified aspect creates seamless Gen-A user adoption to get credible information and resources related to SRMH and mental health in a way that is convenient, engaging, and most important of all, effective. The more Indonesian females are informed about the various forms of SRMH and violence, the more that they can instill courage from within to use their voice and protect themselves. 

These are the 3C (Challenge, Counsel, Care) key features of bubbME (Product Demo here)

1. CHALLENGE (Prevention, Mitigation): This technology is a lecture and quiz edugame. Users are motivated to finish the quiz by each end to get their token rewards. The curricula designed contains issues of sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, adolescent mental health, bullying and body positivity. These issues are expressed in the form of fun learning games so that learning materials can be conveyed well and easily understood by children and adolescents. 
2. COUNSEL (Response): The AI-Powered Chatbot is your anonymous and secure 2AM friend, by using Sentiment Analysis, NLP, and ChatGPT API. A character named anTEENa is an extraterrestrial who befriends humans (in this case, application users) who is on Earth to learn and give knowledge from what it has learnt about SRMH and mental health. To counsel, to get guidance, to ask about the most uncomfortable questions about growing up. It is a two-way relationship as the game is based on Tamagotchi. Counseling is ultimately human-powered behind the mascot, to minimise the err of mental health counseling. It also monitors mood, growth and changes in children and adolescents during puberty. 
3. CARE (Rehabilitation):  This technology is a social media-based feature. The internal social platform where survivors can share their joys and woes to get and give moral support. This is the kindest social platform one can build.

To introduce our secret sauce, the bubbME.AI Ecosystem has an endgame of achieving 'Herd E-munnity’ (Herd Electronic Community for Immunity against GBV) status, which is a a digitalised form of sisterhood that takes a stand to a problem they are facing against. I coin the term inspired by Covid19, where one of its strategies to combat the virus is "herd immunity‟. Like a health virus, GBV offline and online is equally a rampant behavioural virus that can be handled with the mental concept of online-based herd – in this case, communities and strong sisterhoods that is strategically cultivated with our activities and curriculum.

bubbME.AI serves to break the cycle of GBV under age 16 and therefore focus on prevention of the next generation, the Gen-A, from age 8 (first period) to 17 across the nation. Because experiencing menarche is a non-negotiated aspect of an adolescent girl, we enter the market by becoming their go-to friend who guides and educates them about what it means by menarche and to grow up as a female. We are better than just Googling; we interact, monitor and guide your health cycle. 

Because Indonesia is a religious-driven and Asian-influenced nation, where 

• SRMH education is very limited and conversations are not encouraged,
• patriarchal values,
• Expressions of the body positivity and sexuality is very restricted,

bubbME.AI breaks the barriers effortlessly, like a soft diplomat, through a mobile game designed with the kawaii (cuteness, also a synonym of innocence and All Ages) factor. While we address crucial knowledge to make women of the future be informed, it is packaged in a harmless way where any girl and any religion can safely be seen to play around their peers, family, or religious areas. With the platform, they can voice out their innermost problems, find credible solution from licensed counselors, get moral support from peers, and build themselves as a courageous individual that advocates gender equality.

Because GBV and SRMH education is a social taboo, it needs a collective to break the taboo, hence, the Herd E-munnity strategy.

The product bubbME.AI is derived from the research and data of the non-profit foundation "Yayasan Payung Tagar Tegar" I founded. How I started the movement was because I was a design lecturer at the time, and I was observing the differences in productivity and quality of work of my students. At the time their levels were low, I started to question them if there's something bothering them outside of their academia life. In parallel, 3 of my closest friends confided to me their "bad romance" with their guys, thinking that they deserve better. With more insights about having "a bad romance" and "toxic friendships", I used the Human-Centered Design method to design a solution, an online movement launched in August 2018. The campaign titled "#TimeToSayBadbye - because he doesn't deserve a goodbye" immediately had over 200 volunteer sign-ups to help as counselors within 3 days. 

We have been providing free helpline service to guide survivors through their issues and find balance to make a decision, mainly from cases of dating violence. With a team of 31 psychology student volunteers across the archipelago, and this becomes our empathetic approach to understand various sociological situations young adults face in different regions of Indonesia through meetings and forums we hold with our team. Together with Debora, head of counseling, we been at the forefront of receiving submissions of their issue. Our data collection is from between 2018-2022 with a rough estimate of 800 cases. 

By two years, we have reached 7000 followers mark organically on our social media platform - but in reality, to have more followers is not a good statistics for our nation! The more who are aware of gender equality and toxic relationships, the more cases we receive. It shows the growing concern of the overlooked problem. 

bubbME's idea first came to MVP at a startup competition during the rise of Covid19 in 2020, seeing the supply-demand of our team and the drive to create a more efficient solution with technology. The period had accelerated our helpline service's demands and the rise of online harassment and physical violence around the world. Fast-forwarding 3 years later, bubbME.AI is built with a team of animators, AI hackers, educator and psychologists, we believe that the time is just right to deliver this tech-driven product.

The past 6 years of our NGO, we have received:

• roughly 800 cases of teenager issues and dating violence,
• 7000 community members combined on social media,
• 200 views per video on TikTok
• 30,000 organic outreach in a single Instagram post

bubbME.AI comes as an integrated solution, intersecting between social impact, mobile game, health tech, and entertainment.

Firstly, we're addressing the youngest cohort of the generation, the Gen-A [as seen on Figure 4], bubbME.AI will subliminally and effectively these teenagers going through puberty to understand the changes they are going through an interactive gamified way of learning. Textbooks are 70% less effective with the advent of video-based content proliferating as social media. In order to earn tokens that they can exchange with female hygiene and lifestyle goods with brands we exclusively partner with, They are motivated to earn tokens by finishing the quizzes in high score, but as a company, we have achieved Daily Active Users and Brands will be interested to partner with us as our business model.

Figure 4

Secondly, the chatbot feature will allow app users to interact directly with anTEENa and express what they are experiencing and feeling about things that they may feel embarrassed to tell  and ask someone. This will reduce the mental burden of the users, which is good for the mental health of children and adolescents faster, non-intrusive, and will grow to be more effective as Generative AI continues to upgrade its quality.

Thirdly, we learn from Sweatcoin's business model, where we motivate users for a positive change in their lives, and get paid, too. Our audience mainly do not have spending power. Thus, bubbME.AI as a platform where female brands and audience can meet in harmony - we mainly operate with brand sponsors and their products to be provided to the users with their tokens - a win-win situation. The brands are equally happy with being associated with bubbME that serves for the greater good and the users are motivated to play for as long as they can - and getting educated!

All in all, what distinguishes bubbME.AI in the competitive landscape is what we focus in: human, love, and instilling innate courage. We invest in each individual to find their shine with confidence.

The basis of the brand bubb and bubbME.AI strongly reflects its outcome to fulfil three global discourses - the United Nations Women and Children; its Sustainable Development Goals No. 3 (Health and Well-being) and No. 5 (Gender Equality), Behavioural Sciences and Women Empowerment in the light of #MeToo. This will not change, as seen on our Manifesto [Figure 5].

Figure 5 - bubb's Manifesto

In the immediate next 12 months, we are focusing on:

• Community: bubbME.AI to grow and have 50,000 DAU
• Product: Chatbot, Vibe check analyzer feature rollout, and more game levels
• Revenue: Exclusive Partnership with up to 10 Brands
• Exposure, Credibility and Reach: Local and global booths, as we are in the talks to present at SXSW 2024 with our Ministry of Creative Economy.

In the next 5 years, we aim to continue to adopt latest technological offerings and build an immersive digital space for mental health [see Figure 6]. Product-wise, we have expanded globally to developing countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, and LATAM. It means we are serving more than just 23 million teen girls in Indonesia; we're making a generational difference all around the world within our user's fingertips.

This ambitious plan is going to be achieve through 

1) our global investors' networks and outreach; 

2) increase the number of brand partners, governmental and institutional partnerships and educational non-profits, and international organizations who share the same vision and mission; 

3) activating Herd E-munnity across different geographies

4) multiplying word-of-mouth marketing

Figure 6 - bubbME.AI's five year timeline

In the long run, our product aims to provide credible knowledge by having a team of interdisciplinary approach, consulting knowledge and industries from cybersecurity, design, new media, business and marketing, and psychology. 

bubbME.AI's insights will be indispensable to influence policymaking and awareness towards UNSDG 3 and 5. While we aim to heal Indonesia's next generation, imagine how the system can be implemented around the world, where everyone deserves the right to self-bubb and developers, counselors and experts behind it receive fair wage.

End of Program Outcome: The kindest social platform, tool and brand that guide teen girls to navigate their puberty phase  and achieve Herd E-munnity to reduce the number of GBV cases per nation.

Intermediary Outcome #1: Product KPI is based on the 1) Stickiness of app, 2) DAU and 3) Retention rates of User

Intermediary Outcome #2: Sociocultural impact on SRMH, GBV, mental health, depression, suicides

Output #1: Mobile App

Output #2: Growth and solidity of the brand's social media community channels

Output #3: In-person trainings to advocate change within their social community and platform.

Full-time staff: 2

Part-time staff: 7

Contractors: 18

We launched our initial pilot in August 2020, and we went on hiatus to go back to the drawing board.

The current reiteration of the product, bubbME.AI, is officially registered since 1 February 2023 and has been in development ever since with our Angel Investor.

In total, we have prepared, researched, and formulated this for 3 years. Moreover, with the advent of Generative AI, the solution can come to reality swifter than we have intended in our previous timeline.

Our company culture has always been DEI without its western-labeling - such efforts are not part of the Asian company culture. Being the founder and is responsible to foster a safe environment for survivors, counselors and staffs, I am fully hold accountable to deliver my promise that everyone is human and welcome without the necessity of having an exact ratio for public relations necessities seen in the West. I am a creative practitioner who studied fashion, worked in entertainment, and produced various forms of theatre, festivals, events, catwalks, and parties, being involved with the disabled and marginalised community is first-skin.

Like a social media platform, users use our product for free - and even more so, they can earn tokens in exchange with real items in relation to female hygiene and lifestyle goods.

Our main revenue stream relies on Brand Sponsorships on a retainer.

Our secondary revenue stream is Google Ads and In-App purchase from the end user.

Like Sweatcoin, our users are encouraged to play. The more you play to earn, the more you slay to protect your day. The more the app is sticky, the more Brands come on board, and their brands are 'sold' through our platform with token exchange.

In the next 12 months, we aim to:

• Raise Pre-Seed. The funds will be for tech development and marketing.
• Partner with up to 10 brands

In addition to those milestones, we will continue to:

• Look for donations and grants through brand's CSR and companies, through our non-profit work
• Raise Seed round for further expansions in product development