News and Announcements
Finexia now representing a new opportunity Social Mama
- Published April 29, 2022 12:00AM UTC
- Publisher Wholesale Investor
- Categories Company Updates
Executive Summary:
‘Millennial Mothers’ accounted for approximately 90% of the 1.5 million new mothers in Australia in 2021. Increased feelings of isolation and loneliness among mothers, brought on by the restrictions imposed through the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighted a gap in the market which Social Mama has set about addressing.
Originally started as a Facebook group, the idea was to create a community for mothers to meet other mothers to discuss their experiences, concerns, feelings and ultimately provide a support network for women dealing with the same challenges. The community’s initial growth was overwhelming. In the 12-months from launch, the active members increased to over 900 mothers on the Gold Coast alone. The Facebook group demonstrated that there was a clear need in the community. Due to the limitations of the Facebook platform to monetise the opportunity, the Social Mama app was born. A fully integrated hub solution for the whole ‘mums and bubs’ community.
So why now?
Increased isolation during COVID-19 led to a 70% increase in mothers joining online parenting groups and a 40% increase in mothers using telehealth services.
In Australia, the market for mothers-to-be and mothers with children aged 1-5 years is huge. In 2021, the market was valued at more than $20B with a total population nearing 1.5 million and an annualised growth rate of 9.3% per year.
The Social Mama app is currently available on the App Store and Google Play. The business model adopted by Social Mama is multidimensional by capturing commercial opportunities across subscriptions, preferred partnerships, advertising and referral/sales commission.
The next stage of development is focused on enhancing the user experience and expanding on the app’s current service and product offerings. Key improvements will centre on introducing shopping functionality and expansion of the current pre and post-natal services, including advice and recommendations (e.g. on-call doctor, breastfeeding support, swimming classes etc.). Furthermore, user engagement will be improved with the hosting of chat forums on the platform and one-on-one messaging, allowing mothers to establish contact with friends, attend events, and feel a part of the ‘Mum and Bub’ community. Social Mama’s objective is twofold; a profitable compelling app solution wrapped up as a service, that being, a ‘one-stop’ platform designed to provide Mums with the support, advice, products and community right at their fingertips.
Problem & Solution:
Feelings of isolation and loneliness among mothers and mothers-to-be highlights the difficulty of finding support. During COVID-19, 72% of new mothers and pregnant women reported feeling anxious or depressed. Moreover, three out of every five mothers felt they were failing their child during the first year of life, which can be attributed to the amount of misinformation and information overload available. This exemplifies how difficult it can be for mothers.
The Social Mama app is designed to enhance the ‘mothering’ experience by creating a sense of ‘community’ to overcome these problems mums may experience, concurrent with capturing the commercial opportunities presented by this cohort.
The current platform has gone through extensive beta testing and has recently undergone a ‘soft’ launch to users in the original Facebook group.
Competitive advantage:
Social Mama has identified an unserved niche in the market with expectant mums and new mums feeling isolated and somewhat alone in their journey through early motherhood. In creating the app, Social Mama has established a unique value proposition in the form of a simple, easy to use tool Mums can use to aide and navigate the motherhood journey. Notwithstanding any first mover advantage that currently exists, Social Mama’s investment proposition is further strengthened by its genuine multi-channel revenue model, intrinsically tied to this sizeable cohort of consumers.
Investment offering:
Our company is looking to raise $500,000 for a 15% equity stake.