Nigeria accounts for nearly 10% of maternal deaths worldwide, and Helium Health is putting AI to work to change that number. The Lagos-based healthtech company has received a $2.5 million grant from Google.org to scale HeliumMum, its maternal health programme, with a goal of reaching 1.9 million pregnant women over the next three years.
HeliumMum combines AI-driven risk detection with electronic medical records and clinical decision-support tools, helping community health workers spot potential complications early and connect expectant mothers to the right care. The programme launches in Lagos before expanding to Delta, Kano, and Oyo states. Helium Health says it has already reached more than 3.5 million women through its maternal health work, and the company is targeting a 30% reduction in maternal mortality through this new push.
The funding comes from Google.org's $30 million Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation, announced in September 2026. Helium Health was the only Nigerian organisation chosen among the 15 recipients. Alongside the grant, the company will receive technical support from Google engineers and AI product experts through a dedicated Google.org Accelerator.
CEO Dimeji Sofowora, a co-founder who stepped into the top role in August 2025 after co-founder Adegoke Olubusi stepped down, described the grant as a chance to build on a decade of work. "Google.org's support gives us an opportunity to build on that foundation, scale what works, and reach even more women with quality maternal healthcare," he said. Sofowora is now the last founding team member in an active leadership role, following the earlier departure of co-founder Tito Ovia in 2022.
With the infrastructure already in place and government partnerships baked into the model, the real question now is whether the results will match the ambition once HeliumMum moves beyond Lagos.
Originally published by TechCabal.