To bring a successful app to market, you need perseverance and a particular deafness to the word ‘no’. That’s according to Jacqueline Rogers, founder of the award-winning My Pregnancy Journey app. Thankfully, says Rogers, there are plenty of people prepared to help tech entrepreneurs succeed. My Pregnancy Journey (MPJ) won the inaugural ‘Category 15’ sponsored by Huawei at the 2020 MTN Business App of the Year Awards. In 2019, the app was jointly awarded the Best Women in STEM Solution.

MPJ was conceptualised when Rogers was pregnant, and learned of Africa’s high birth mortality rate for mothers. The app addresses the lack of information available to expectant mothers, such as knowing what’s normal and abnormal during a pregnancy. The app is used by both parents, and includes weekly exercises, sonar images, a BMI calculator, a ‘baby kick calculator’, a medical history tab and a directory list of service providers in the area. The app was also awarded the Best App and Best Social Impact awards at last year’s Huawei Apps Up MEA innovation contest.