Upon returning to her native Ethiopia after her engineering studies in India, Samrawit Tarekegn discovered the challenges faced by women who were passionate about their careers but still needed to take care of their children. She then decided to set up what she describes as "The Uber for Nannies" to address those challenges. 

Mogzit In-Home Care is a technological solution developed by an Ethiopian start-up. It connects nannies with parents looking for people who will look after their children. The Addis Ababa-based start-up behind the app was founded in 2021 by Samrawit Tarekegn, Tigist Alene, Rahel Tarekegn, and Biniam Asnake. It aims to provide “flexible and convenient home service [...] at an affordable cost.” Its nannies are trained to, among other things, prepare meals, help with homework, tidy up children's areas, or administer medication with parental consent.

“As the youngest child in my family, I witnessed my older sisters, who are married and passionate about their careers, struggling to find reliable and consistent childcare when they returned to work after giving birth. [...] One of my sisters was forced to leave her child with neighbors whenever she went to work,” explains Samrawit Tarekegn, the originator of the Mogzit In-Home Care idea.

For the time being, the startup has no mobile app for its solution. Users must therefore access its services through its web platform. They can browse the profiles of the over 350 nannies listed on Mogzit In-Home Care. To book one, a user needs to press the "Book a Nanny" button and click on the profile of one of the many nannies on the page. They then click on the "See details" button to see all the information on the chosen nanny. This includes name, surname, age, languages spoken, neighborhood, rates, etc.

If the user validates the profile, he or she can go ahead and book the nanny. Then, the user needs to provide all their information on the platform, including the number of children to be looked after and their place of residence. "Following the booking, our team arranges an in-person or virtual interview in our presence to go over the needs of the parent as well as the services to be provided by the nanny. If an agreement is reached, a legal contract is signed between the two," says Samrawit Tarekegn.

In addition to the on-demand nanny service, the startup also offers on-demand cooks, tutors, and housekeepers services. It wants to introduce other profiles to provide even more comprehensive services.

"Currently, Mogzit is actively registering college graduates in Clinical Nursing, Social Work, and Psychology onto our platform, thereby expanding our workforce. Such graduates can come aboard Mogzit if they meet the criteria," said Samrawit Tarekegn.

Adoni Conrad Quenum