A Nigerian youth-led health technology startup, SereniMind, has launched a pan-African mental health awareness campaign aimed at challenging stigma and promoting emotional wellbeing among young people across as many as 25 African countries.
The Lagos-based startup, founded by entrepreneur Ridwan Oyenuga, said the initiative, known as the Africa Wellness Voices Initiative (AWVI) will run throughout February and feature daily wellness messages spotlighting a different African country each day.
The campaign will be delivered through digital platforms, youth-led conversations, and contributions from partner organisations across the continent.
“At SereniMind, we are building more than awareness; we are building a new way for young Africans to connect, speak, and support one another around mental wellbeing. As a young Nigerian founder, I have seen how stigma keeps people silent. With AWVI, we are using digital platforms, youth networks, and AI-supported coordination to amplify African voices,” Oyenuga told BusinessDay.
What You Need to Know
SereniMind said the campaign is designed to make conversations around mental health more culturally grounded, relatable, and accessible, particularly for young Africans who often face social stigma, misinformation, and limited access to professional mental health support.
By centring youth perspectives and local contexts, the startup hopes to encourage open dialogue around emotional wellbeing and mental resilience in communities where mental health remains a sensitive topic.
Before its expansion across Africa, SereniMind said it had reached over 300,000 young people in Nigeria through digital campaigns, community discussions, and online advocacy focused on mental health awareness.
The launch of AWVI marks a strategic shift for the startup, transforming it from a Nigeria-focused youth mental health platform into a pan-African, technology-enabled social impact venture. According to the company, the initiative reflects its ambition to scale youth-centred mental health interventions beyond national borders.
Technology-driven Coordination at Scale
Under the AWVI programme, SereniMind will curate content that includes youth-generated stories, country-specific wellness messages, and contributions from partner organisations across Africa.
The campaign leverages digital storytelling, cross-border youth participation, and AI-assisted coordination tools to manage messaging across multiple countries simultaneously.
This approach, the startup noted, demonstrates how African technology companies are increasingly using digital tools to address complex public health challenges at scale, particularly in areas traditionally underserved by formal healthcare systems.
Addressing a Public Health Challenge
Mental health conditions remain among the most under-recognised health challenges affecting young people across Africa, despite growing evidence of their social and economic impact.
Cultural stigma, limited access to care, and chronic underinvestment in mental health services continue to restrict support options in many countries.
SereniMind said AWVI seeks to complement existing advocacy efforts by creating a sustained, youth-driven conversation that normalises discussions around mental wellbeing and encourages peer support.
The startup noted that the campaign aligns with global and regional development frameworks, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on health, inequality, and partnerships, as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which emphasises youth-led development and a healthy population.
Throughout February, AWVI content will be distributed via social media platforms and partner networks, with SereniMind collaborating with media organisations, youth groups, and health-focused institutions to extend the campaign’s reach and sustain engagement beyond its initial rollout.
Talking Points
SereniMind’s Africa Wellness Voices Initiative reflects a growing shift towards youth-led, technology-enabled mental health advocacy across the continent. By targeting young people in up to 25 African countries, the campaign addresses the scale at which mental health stigma operates and the need for cross-border conversations.
At Techparley, we see AWVI as an example of how African startups are moving beyond awareness campaigns to build sustained, culturally relevant engagement around emotional wellbeing.
The use of digital storytelling and AI-supported coordination highlights how technology can enable social impact initiatives to scale efficiently despite limited health infrastructure.
SereniMind’s transition from a Nigeria-focused platform to a pan-African initiative signals rising ambition among youth-led startups to tackle continental challenges. Mental health remains underfunded and under-discussed across much of Africa, making initiatives like AWVI critical in normalising conversations and peer support.
As partnerships with media organisations and youth groups deepen, the long-term impact of the campaign will depend on consistency and the ability to sustain engagement beyond February.
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