Uche Kenneth Udekwe
CEO/Founder, NATAL Cares

Uche Kenneth Udekwe is a Social Entrepreneur, an SDG Advocate, and CEO/Founder of NATAL CARES. He has great passion in Public health and ICT4D. He is a graduate of Project Management from the Federal University of Technology Akure with a MASTERS Degree in ICT4-DEVELOPMENT. Uche has a variety of experience: He is an EDC Fellow, YALI Fellow, Tony Elumelu Foundation Fellow, Ashoka CHANGEMAKERS Fellow, GRATITDE Network Fellow, One Champion Fellow, Donors for Africa Fellow, World Merit Fellow and LEAP AFRICA Fellow. Uche has an excellent Human Relation and communication skills; he can speak SIX major Nigerian languages (Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Pidgin, English and Sign Language) fluently. He is also a Certified Classical Pianist/Organist and an accomplished Trombonist in The Apostolic Faith Choir and Orchestra since 2005.

In 2016 Uche lost his sister-in-law/Childhood friend at childbirth due to complication of pregnancy and delivery; it was one of the saddest moments in his life. It was even more painful knowing that her death was preventable. Since then, he has dedicated himself to take action to put an end to maternal and child deaths or at least reduce it drastically. To achieve this goal, he started Natal Cares.

Natal Cares is a digital social enterprise that leverages on the power of Mobile Technology, Machine Learning and Low-Cost Innovation to combat maternal and infant mortality in Nigeria. Primarily focusing on providing Live-Saving Healthcare Information, mental and emotional healthcare support, medical monitoring and emergency services to at-risk pregnant women, vulnerable children and nursing mothers reaching them in their hometowns and villages and advocating for better access to healthcare at primary healthcare centers especially in under-served communities.

At Natal Cares, Uche and his team have developed a holistic innovative solution that work across the entire care continuum (including education, prevention, detection, treatment, management, follow-up) to help improve maternal and child health and reduce the risk of maternal deaths and other adverse perinatal outcomes especially in under-served communities.

Uche’s work in combating maternal and infant mortality in Nigeria through NATAL CARES has received both national and international recognitions: in 2018 He was awarded the prestigious: FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA on HEALTH ADVOCACY. The following year, he was selected as a Nominee for Future Awards Africa “YOUNG PERSON OF THE YEAR” which he lost to BOUNA BOY. He was awarded The YALI Leadership Award in Health and Well-Being, The AFRICA 35.35 Award and The ACT FOUNDATION ChangeMakers Innovation Award. In

2019, he was personally awarded the “Africa Innovate for SDGs Award aka (THE PRESIDENT OF GHANA AWARD)” by the President of Ghana himself (His Excellency President Nana Akufo-Addo in Accra Ghana). In 2020 he was awarded the LEAP Africa Outstanding Fellow Award, The Migration Entrepreneurship Prize by the Swiss Government and The United Nations World Summit Award (WSA). In 2021, he was awarded The Active Citizen Award (Health Category) and The JCI Creative Young Entrepreneur Award.