Michelle Ijomah, Co-founder, Agnes Health

My name is Michelle. I'm the co-founder of a health tech company called Agnes Health. Our focus is on women and children. We started in Nigeria and we're expanding.

We've adapted our value proposition for different stakeholders by primarily listening to them.

What is the value you provide your stakeholders?

We work with multiple stakeholders. For example, we work with the government and we work with beneficiaries on the other end, which in this case would be pregnant women.

The pain we address for the government or the hospitals in this case is giving them insights into what happens with the beneficiaries when they're out of the hospital.

For the beneficiaries, or the users in this case, we give them insights into what's happening in their bodies, a lot more insight than they get from the hospital. We're not in any way trying to replace the hospitals. We're just giving an added support, an added layer of support, so that they feel like they have that holistic care and service during their journey.

What is your primary value proposition: gain creator, pain reliever, or core product/service?

We tend to find ourselves working across the three, depending on the client or the stakeholder we're supporting. But I would say the core one we identify with is pain reliever.

For the beneficiaries, we come to a point where there's a gap between the time in the hospital and the time out of the hospital. There's a gap where they have questions, and sometimes maybe they can't reach their midwife in the hospital.

That's where we come in with services like a toll-free helpline where they're able to call and ask any question, so they get the call just when they need it. That also relieves the pain of giving them insights and understanding as to what's happening in their bodies before it happens, so preparing them for what's to come.

Then on the angle of the healthcare provider, or the government in this case, what we offer them is a lot more insight with data and a lot more education on what's happening with people, what the numbers look like.

How do you use your value proposition?

Knowing that we're a pain reliever has helped give more clarity for us. We don't run around like headless chickens anymore. We know where we're focused. We know who we're supposed to deliver service to. We know what type of service we're delivering to them and what the expectations are of us.

Understanding where we fall in that food chain has helped us now even understand how to strategize and how to grow.

Key takeaways 

• Your value proposition should be tailored to different stakeholders’ unique needs

• Understanding where you provide most value within the broader field helps you streamline efforts, develop strategy, and grow