The rise of mobile technology is reshaping industries across Africa, and healthcare is no exception. According to a Deloitte report, Sub-Saharan Africa is poised to be the fastest-growing region for e-health services, with mobile penetration surpassing 80%. Amid this shift, Greymate Care is bridging a critical gap by leveraging digital tools to make quality home healthcare more accessible, especially in remote areas.
Changing elderly care in Nigeria
Traditionally, caregiving in Nigeria has been a family affair. Daughters, wives, and mothers have long shouldered the responsibility of ensuring their loved ones are well looked after. But times are changing fast. More women are now part of the workforce, economic pressures are rising, and the expectation that a family member will always be available to provide care is no longer sustainable.
Yet, the system hadn’t evolved to match this shift. Families struggled to find reliable, vetted caregivers because there were no structured databases or trustworthy networks to turn to. Chika Madubuko saw this gap and set out to solve it through her brainchild – Greymate Care.
“When I was about to leave the UK, I toyed with the idea of creating a homecare startup. I was a certified caregiver, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it. Given my success in business development, I decided to give it a try, and some people told me this was a real problem Nigerians were facing,” Chika Madubuko shared in an interview with Forbes.
Founding Greymate Care
Born in northern Nigeria, Chika Madubuko pursued a degree in microbiology at Nnamdi Azikiwe University before earning a master’s in biotechnology and bioengineering from the University of Hertfordshire, UK.
Her journey into healthcare technology began with a deeply personal experience. When her grandmother in the village fell ill, her family faced immense challenges in finding a trained and reliable caregiver. The process was slow, and frustrating, and often resulted in dead ends. Madubuko began to wonder, if her family struggled with this issue, how many others might be facing the same problem?
That question sparked the idea for Greymate Care, a healthcare platform that connects Nigerian families with professional and background-checked caregivers.
How Greymate Care works
Greymate Care is an online platform where users can find qualified caregivers with just a few clicks. The platform offers nursing aid for medical care and companions to assist elderly parents with daily tasks. Families previously spent weeks or months finding a trusted caregiver, but that can now be arranged within hours.
To ensure safety and reliability, Greymate Care has strict vetting measures in place. Background checks are conducted in partnership with the Nigerian police. Two high-ranking professionals must vouch for each caregiver. Lastly, all caregivers are insured and trained before being deployed.
The platform also features an escrow payment system, ensuring caregivers receive their salaries only after completing their services. This level of transparency and accountability has helped thousands of Nigerian families find peace of mind when hiring caregivers.
Tackling unemployment
Greymate Care is also creating jobs for unemployed youths. Through a partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Greymate Care has trained and employed over 1,000 young people as caregivers.
Madubuko’s vision goes beyond Nigeria. By 2030, she hopes to expand into Kenya and South Africa, reaching 35,000 service users across Africa.
