Startup Feature: Friendship Bench Taps into the Wisdom of Grandmothers to Battle Depression

Connecting the last mile is one of the biggest challenges in developing nations, often referred to as the Global South. If you’ve spent time in cooperative movements focused on humanitarian causes, you’ll know how much effort and resources go into solving last-mile connectivity issues in these regions.

Friendship Bench is one such innovation, addressing the growing mental health crisis in Africa. Founded by Professor Dixon Chibanda, a psychiatrist, the initiative was born out of tragedy—after losing a patient who couldn’t afford the $15 travel cost to see him, he realized mental health care needed to come to the people, not the other way around. Instead of relying on overstretched healthcare facilities, he built a network of grandmothers, training them to become neighborhood therapists. With their wisdom, empathy, and a listening ear, these community elders now provide accessible, life-changing mental health support right where it’s needed most.

Mental Health Challenges - Africa

Mental health remains a pressing concern across Africa, with over 116 million individuals estimated to be living with mental health conditions even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Suicide rates are particularly alarming, and there’s a notable increase in alcohol use among adolescents as young as 13.  Contributing factors include limited government investment, with many African nations allocating less than 50 US cents per capita to mental health, significantly below the recommended US$2 for low-income countries.  Additionally, a severe shortage of mental health professionals and pervasive societal stigma further hinder access to necessary care

Last Mile Innovation

The brilliance of Friendship Bench lies not just in addressing the urgent mental health crisis but in its elegant approach to last-mile connectivity. It transforms an overlooked yet invaluable resource—the wisdom of elders—into a scalable, community-driven solution. By training grandmothers as neighborhood therapists, it reintroduces the role of elders in society, strengthens intergenerational bonds, and simultaneously tackles the growing issue of loneliness among the aging population. This is a masterclass in business design—where impact, cultural wisdom, and practical execution come together to create a deeply human and sustainable solution.

Call to Action

Have you seen innovative solutions that blend ancient wisdom with modern thinking to tackle mental health challenges, foster ecological awareness, or elevate human consciousness? We’d love to hear about it! Reach out to us, and let’s share your story with the world.shashi@sacredstartups.co

Find out more about Friendship Bench here: https://www.friendshipbench.org/

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