Despite rapid growth in digital health, one demographic remains vastly underserved: Arab women. In the MENA region, cultural taboos, limited access to specialised care, and a shortage of localised health information have created a vacuum in women’s healthcare. With only 1.3 doctors per 1,000 people (vs. a global average of 3.4), the need for accessible, relevant, and empathetic solutions is urgent.
Globally, femtech is gaining momentum valued at $40.2 billion in 2020 and projected to reach $75.1 billion by 2025. While MENA’s segment is still emerging, it’s catching up fast, with forecasts projecting $3.8 billion in market value by 2031. With 70% internet penetration and a digitally connected population of over 53 million Arab women of reproductive age, the region presents a massive opportunity. Yet most digital health tools fail to serve this audience. Leading global apps like Flo, Clue, and Natural Cycles lack Arabic language support or cultural sensitivity, leaving a critical gap in care.
Daleela, meaning “guide” in Arabic, is a culturally attuned, AI-powered health assistant built specifically for Arab women. By blending local context with advanced technology, it offers a trusted, judgment-free space for women to access evidence-based guidance on topics often considered taboo, from sexual wellness and fertility to menstrual and mental health. In regions where stigma and misinformation have long silenced these conversations, Daleela provides clarity, confidence, and care.
Founding Story and Fit
The spark for Daleela by Motherbeing came from Nour Emam, a maternal health educator whose own traumatic childbirth experience revealed just how inaccessible and stigmatised women’s healthcare is across the Arab world. Determined to create change, she began sharing culturally relevant, evidence-based content online quickly becoming a trusted voice for millions. Within a year, she had built a community of over 3 million followers, proving there was not just demand, but urgency for a platform like Daleela.
To turn that demand into a scalable, tech-driven business, Nour brought on Ahmad Abou Hashem (CTO) and Yousef ElSammaa (CEO). Ahmad leads product and AI development, including Daleela’s Arabic-language health assistant trained on thousands of real-world consultations. Yousef drives the company’s operations and growth strategy, building partnerships and guiding market expansion.
Together, the team blends:
- Authentic founder-market fit, with Nour’s unmatched credibility and audience trust
- Technical depth, through Ahmad’s AI and product leadership
- Strategic execution, via Yousef’s commercial and operational focus
This is not just a mission-driven team, it’s a team with traction, vision, and the ability to scale.
Business Model & Early Traction
Motherbeing’s early performance shows a rare combination of strong engagement, clear product-market fit, and scalable monetisation.
The platform operates on a B2C freemium model: users access basic content and Q&A with Daleela for free, while a premium tier (~$20/year) unlocks unlimited AI queries, specialist consultations, and advanced health tracking. Despite the intentionally low price point kept accessible for MENA markets, the app is seeing impressive early conversion: 10% of users have already upgraded, contributing $31,000 in revenue within six months of launch. These early figures outperform typical freemium conversion rates, especially in emerging markets, and reflect strong willingness to pay for value-added services. Localised pricing pilots (e.g., slightly lower annual fees in Egypt) are also underway to boost accessibility without compromising monetisation.
At the heart of this model is Daleela, the region’s first Arabic-language AI health assistant, trained on over 7,000 real consultation data points. It delivers highly personalised, empathetic, and culturally fluent answers to women’s health questions driving sustained engagement and trust.
In just six months since launch, Motherbeing has achieved:
- 80,000+ registered users, with strong organic month-on-month growth
- 550,000 health questions answered via Daleela
- 2,000+ medical consultations with licensed professionals
- A community of 3.2 million+ social media followers, with 35% of users outside Egypt, spanning 15+ countries
These numbers aren’t just impressive for a pre-seed digital health startup, they're a clear signal of unmet demand for accessible, culturally relevant women’s healthcare in the region. With low acquisition costs, high engagement, and early revenue from a growing premium user base, Motherbeing is not only resonating with its audience, it’s retaining and monetising that trust. The foundation is in place for scalable, sustainable growth across MENA and beyond.
Roadmap & Growth Outlook
We invested in Motherbeing because we see a clear path to scale and a bold vision to lead femtech in the MENA region.
Next up: geographic expansion. With a proven localisation strategy and strong brand equity, Motherbeing is well positioned to replicate its Egypt playbook across both underrepresented and high-growth markets like Saudi Arabia and the broader GCC.
On the product side, the team is building toward a comprehensive women’s health platform. Over the next 12–18 months, Daleela will integrate new features, including AI-powered symptom checkers and condition screening tools, fertility and period tracking, and educational content for commonly misunderstood conditions like PCOS and endometriosis, many of which go undiagnosed in the region. Longer term, they will expand into wellness verticals like skincare, nutrition, mental health, and menopause, increasing lifetime value and relevance across every stage of a woman’s journey.
From our perspective, Daleela by Motherbeing offers a rare combination:
1. Mission-driven insight from a founder deeply trusted by her community
2. Early traction and engagement that validate product-market fit
3. Defensible tech with a culturally tailored AI engine
4. And a scalable model in a fast-growing, underserved market
With the right support, they are positioned to become the leading digital health platform for Arab women, delivering both strong financial returns and meaningful social impact. We’re proud to support Nour, Yousef, and Ahmad as they scale across borders, deepen their offering, and redefine how healthcare shows up for women in MENA.
