By Indrani Kashyap, Associate Director, Regional Communications for Asia, Jhpiego

Nineteen-year-old Madhuri Kumari, who lives on the outskirts of Ranchi—the capital city of Jharkhand province in India—remembers her not-so-pleasant experience when she needed a gynecological consultation last year. “I was getting some vaginal discharge. I found it quite uncomfortable discussing my issue with the doctor. I would have preferred consulting an expert in the privacy of my home, maybe someone online,” she recalls.

Madhuri is not alone in her discomfort in seeking sexual health information and services. A country assessment by India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in 2018 quotes a study that says, “Young people are often subjected to invasive questions about their private life when they try to access these services, including their marital status and sexual preferences. This is not only a humiliating experience for them but also impedes their health-seeking behavior.”

Madhuri then discussed her experience with a close friend, who suggested she download a mobile phone application that promised immediate confidential answers to reproductive health questions. The app, Pinky Promise, is an Android and iOS app featuring a chatbot that walks a user from a symptom, such as painful periods, to potential causes of that symptom. The platform offers other services, including chatrooms to connect with others and connections to gynecologists who can provide consultations.

Madhuri downloaded the app and has used it consistently. “The best thing I like about the app is that we get a lot of privacy,” she says, “And if we have any problem, we can access the best experts at a very nominal cost.”

The brain behind Pinky Promise is a young woman entrepreneur—CEO and co-founder Divya Kamerkar, one of seven recipients of a special incubation grant by MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership: India-Yash called Yash Entrepreneurs Program (YEP). The grant supports young social entrepreneurs to create impact and improve health outcomes for Indian adolescents through innovations in the sexual and reproductive health (SRH), mental wellness, and menstrual hygiene space. Five of the seven entrepreneurs are women, working towards ground-breaking digital solutions in SRH and boosting gender equality through digital innovation. YEP is providing resources and helping these entrepreneurs ensure youth voices are heard, including those from vulnerable communities who face significant challenges in accessing equitable SRH information and services.

“I realized that when it comes to women’s health, we really need to turn the system head over heels and figure out ways in which we can provide highly private, context-specific care, especially in circumstances where women are hesitant and not able to really come out and tell people about their issues,” says Divya.

This gave birth to Pinky Promise, an online platform linking clients with reproductive health needs to professional care. “We realized that due to complex social factors and limited physical access, women between the ages of 18 to 35, especially those in small cities and towns, tend to first turn to online platforms to search for information on reproductive health issues,” explains Divya, “We also found that in a given month, reproductive healthcare keywords are searched more than 100 million times in the English language alone.”

Madhuri corroborates Divya’s findings to her personal experience: “Many girls my age are sexually active. They have many unanswered questions, but they don’t talk to anyone about it. Therefore, such online apps are very needed so that young girls feel comfortable and secure to discuss their issues and get their queries answered by reliable and knowledgeable experts.”

Starting July 2022, the YEP helped Pinky Promise and the other entrepreneurs develop detailed needs assessments and create individualized incubation to help them mature. They also participated in a human-centered design exercise to strengthen their abilities to be client-centered, well-rounded, and robust. Regular reviews and supervision, learning labs, partner introductions, and mentor engagements continued through the one-year incubation period.

“The program has helped my team develop a robust business plan and revenue model and ensures impact for our customers. With support from YEP, Pinky Promise has launched the app in Tamil, Hindi, and Marathi, besides English,” says Divya and adds, “Having our users at the center of our care model has been very, very important. So today, when a client tells us, ‘Pinky Promise is always in touch with me, and I feel like I’m not alone,’ a lot of that is because of the mentorship and expertise that we’ve received from MOMENTUM and the YEP program.”

The app has already reached a community of 70,000 women and has been growing at a rate of 120% to 150% since August 2022.

As for Madhuri, she has never met Divya but is a staunch advocate of Pinky Promise. “I have told so many of my friends about this app. I am certain that with time, it will grow more popular, and many other girls my age will start using this useful app, just like I do,” states the 19-year-old with a smile as she flashes the app on her phone.