MamaMate wins again, this time at the AI for Good Innovation Factory Grand Finale 2025

The Innovation Factory Grand Finale 2025 wrapped up at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, with MamaMate as this year’s winner.  

After a year-long global search for the most impactful AI-driven innovations, four standout startups advanced to the final stage of the Innovation Factory at this year’s 2025 Global Summit. Each finalist took to the main stage to pitch their solution live before an expert jury. With just two minutes to present and three minutes for Q&A, the pressure was on to make every second count. The finalists were evaluated on their solution’s potential to be implemented at scale, especially in underserved or marginalized communities. The jury looked for ideas that were practical, affordable, adaptable, and truly capable of translating the promise of AI into real world impact. 

The session was moderated by Peter Vanham, renowned business journalist, author, and Editorial Director of Leadership at Fortune, known for his writing on global economic shifts and the people driving them. The jury included Seizo Onoe, Director of the ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau; Werner Vogels, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President at Amazon; and Dr. Ebtesam Almazrouei, Executive Director for AI and Advanced Technology at the Department of Finance, Founder and CEO of AIE3, and Chairperson of the UN AI for Good Impact Initiative. After careful deliberation, the jury named MamaMate the winner of the Innovation Factory Grand Finale. The solution stood out for its bold yet deeply grounded approach to maternal health equity and was awarded the $20,000 prize to support its next phase of growth and scale. 

The Innovation Factory is a year-long startup pitching and support program organized by the ITU. It’s designed to help AI startups grow and scale their solutions that tackle real-world problems, such as climate change, health, education, and inclusion. Throughout the year, startups from around the world joined virtual and in-person pitching sessions, received expert mentoring, and connected with investors and partners. 

The Finalists 

From smartphone-based malnutrition detection to predictive surgical analytics and autonomous mobility aids, this year’s Innovation Factory finalists presented innovative AI-powered solutions transforming healthcare and accessibility worldwide.  

RevolutionAIze (India)

RevolutionAIze is transforming child healthcare with MAAP, an AI-powered app that measures a child’s height from a single smartphone photo, no special equipment needed. Designed for low-resource settings, the app captures geo-tagged, tamper-proof data that supports early detection of malnutrition and enables better nutrition tracking. Behind this innovation is Romita Ghosh, a MedTech entrepreneur whose ventures have already impacted hundreds of thousands of lives in India. By equipping caregivers and health workers with a reliable, affordable tool for monitoring child growth, RevolutionAIze is making a measurable difference in global child health. 

Predictheon (Spain)

Predictheon is reshaping surgical care through real-time predictive analytics that help clinicians anticipate patient risks before they occur. Originally developed by anesthesiologists, engineers, and data scientists, the platform uses AI-powered models to forecast critical changes during procedures, which helps prevent complications and improve outcomes. Now led by Eva Gubern, a global health leader with decades of experience scaling healthcare innovation, Predictheon is expanding its impact beyond the operating room. By embedding predictive intelligence into hospital systems, it empowers healthcare providers and policymakers to make smarter, faster decisions, advancing global health equity through data-driven care. 

Glidancen (UK)

Glidance is redefining mobility for people with sight loss through Glide, the world’s first autonomous guidance robot. Powered by robotics and AI, Glide intuitively leads users to their destination, offering a level of independence and confidence unmatched by traditional aids. For founder Amos Miller, who lost his sight in his 20s, this innovation is rooted in lived experience, and he brings personal insights to every step of Glidance’s journey. A leader in inclusive tech, he previously created Microsoft’s Soundscape app and now envisions Glide as the first step in a new era of accessible mobility. With Glidance, the future of freedom in motion is within reach for millions around the world.  

The winning startup: MamaMate

After earning the main spot at the Women’s Innovation Factory Pitching Competition, Ele-vate AI Africa returned to AI for Good’s main stage and came out as the winner once again. At the Innovation Factory Grand Finale 2025, Elevate’s solution, MamaMate, was named a global winner, earning recognition from a distinguished panel of experts for its innovative, community-centered approach to maternal health in underserved regions. 

Founded by Yvonne Baldwin, a social innovator from East Africa and a mother herself, Elevate AI Africa was born out of a deeply personal journey. When Yvonne became a first-time mom, she encountered a mix of joy and isolation, an experience shared by millions of women across Africa, especially those in rural areas with limited access to information, care, or emotional support. That lived reality became the seed for MamaMate: a pocket-sized, voice-powered device designed to support mothers through the critical early months of parenting. Built specifically for low-resource environments, MamaMate works offline, charges via solar or USB, and uses AI-powered prompts to track baby care activities, offer culturally relevant nutrition tips, monitor maternal wellbeing, and connect mothers through anonymous peer messages, all in local languages and in ways that are accessible to women with low literacy. The Ele-vate Africa team created this device because they understood what it felt like to be invisible in systems that are supposed to care for you. Yvonne said “MamaMate is a reminder that AI can be gentle. It can be kind. It can stand beside you when no one else does.” 

Now, MamaMate’s win at the Innovation Factory Grand Finale marks a powerful validation of that vision. The team expects to use the recognition and connections from the Women’s Innovation Factory to expand MamaMate’s AI model, called Birthright, into additional local languages, begin training frontline health workers, and build regional partnerships to enable large-scale, last-mile delivery across East and Southern Africa. 

Yvonne stressed the importance of building tools that center human dignity, explaining that we’re so used to talking about scale and metrics, but real impact begins with trust. “If a mother trusts this device, she will use it. And if she uses it, she’ll feel supported. And if she feels supported, her child will have a better start in life. That’s what matters most.” 

At the summit, Yvonne also reflected on what it meant to take part in AI for Good for the first time. “This was my first time attending AI for Good and my first experience with the ITU. From the moment I heard the Secretary-General’s opening remarks, I was filled with genuine hope that humanity still exists. Her commitment to bridging the digital divide resonated so deeply with me and affirmed that we are not alone in this journey. Being part of this global gathering surrounded by extraordinary innovations and purpose-driven finalists was the biggest and most meaningful stage I’ve ever stood on.” 

She continued, “The entire experience was absolutely incredible and deeply emotional. When MamaMate was named Winner of the Women’s Innovation Competition and Innovation Factory Champion at the AI for Good Global Summit, I felt the weight of every mother sitting in the silence of the digital divide. Every community health worker, every frontline midwife and doctor performing daily miracles with too few tools. Every woman who’s faced pregnancy and motherhood alone, afraid, and unseen. And I realized something profound: Innovation isn’t just about technology. It’s about justice and empowerment. This win is not just for me or my organization. It is a call to continue and fulfill the mandate placed upon us by the judges. Thank you to the ITU for giving our work a voice, and for creating a space where innovation truly serves humanity.” 

For Ele-vate Africa, winning the Innovation Factory Grand Finale isn’t just a career milestone, it’s a call to action. The team is now seeking strategic partners across the public and private sectors to help lower production costs, strengthen distribution networks, and adapt the device for refugee settings, where maternal health challenges are even more acute. 

Yvonne continues to mentor young innovators across the continent and is a strong advocate for ethical, locally led AI. At both Innovation Factory events, she reminded the global audience that Africa is not a passive recipient of tech innovation, it’s a source of creativity, resilience, and solutions that speak to the most urgent human needs. 

“We built MamaMate because no mother should feel alone,” she said. “Technology should never replace care, but it can extend it. It can translate it. It can hold someone’s hand when no one else is there. That’s the future we’re building, and we’re just getting started.” 

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This edition of AI for Good Insider was written and curated by AI for Good Communications Intern Ariana Acosta.