What is the name of your organization?
FriendnPal
What is the name of your solution?
AI mental health ally
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Leveraging AI for 24/7 stigma-free mental health support via multilingual chatbots, predictive analytics, human therapists, and offline access.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Lagos, Nigeria
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
NGA
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
Film your elevator pitch.
—
What specific problem are you solving?
Mental health care in Africa is severely underfunded, inaccessible, and burdened by stigma. With only 1 therapist for every 50,000 people, over 85% of individuals lack access to the mental health support they need. High costs, cultural stigma, language barriers, and a lack of professionals further widen this gap. Women, youth, and marginalized groups, including individuals with disabilities and survivors of trauma, are disproportionately affected.
Globally, 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health disorder in their lifetime, yet in Africa, mental health services receive less than 1% of national healthcare budgets. This leads to increased suicide rates, substance abuse, and untreated trauma. Many individuals suffer in silence due to fear of discrimination, while limited infrastructure and unreliable internet access make digital therapy inaccessible to rural and underserved communities.
FriendnPal addresses this crisis by leveraging AI-driven therapy, predictive analytics, and multilingual support, ensuring affordable, 24/7 mental health care via chatbots, human therapists, and offline accessibility through WhatsApp, and voice assistants in local African dialects. Our solution eliminates cost barriers, provides early mental health risk detection, and ensures culturally relevant support to underserved populations.
What is your solution?
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/aMpsUNMVxxg
FriendnPal is Africa’s first AI-powered, multilingual mental health platform, providing 24/7, stigma-free, and culturally relevant support to underserved communities. Our solution integrates AI-driven therapy, human therapists, predictive analytics, and offline accessibility to bridge the mental health care gap in Africa.
At its core, PAL, our AI mental health companion, offers real-time conversational support, guiding users through mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD. PAL provides evidence-based coping strategies and personalized recommendations, transitioning users to licensed therapists when needed.
Our predictive analytics monitors user behavior to detect early mental health risks, enabling timely interventions. To ensure accessibility, FriendnPal works both online and offline via WhatsApp, and voice assistants in multiple African languages, making mental health care available even in low-connectivity areas.
By combining AI, human expertise, and culturally tailored interventions, FriendnPal ensures that no one suffers in silence, delivering scalable, affordable, and accessible mental health support across Africa.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our solution primarily serves underserved and marginalized communities in Africa, including youth, women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and people in rural or low-income settings who face barriers to mental healthcare. These groups are often excluded due to stigma, cultural misconceptions, language limitations, limited infrastructure, and a shortage of qualified professionals.
For example, in Nigeria, over 60% of people experiencing depression or anxiety never seek help due to stigma or lack of access. Rural areas have almost no mental health professionals, while traditional services often neglect the realities of gender-based violence, substance abuse, or identity-related trauma.
Our AI-powered, multilingual mental health platform provides 24/7 support via chatbots trained in African languages and local contexts. It connects users with peer communities and licensed therapists, while also offering offline access for those with limited connectivity.
By breaking the silence around mental health, reducing cost and distance barriers, and delivering culturally aligned, private support, we empower users to take control of their mental wellbeing.
