Hona
Africa co-founders, Lydia Karleen Mukami and Hempstone Maroria /ANDRIA KRYSTINAA new digital platform seeking to make mental health support easier to find and access has officially been launched, bringing together mental health professionals and advocates to discuss how technology, families, workplaces and communities can shape a healthier Kenya.
Hona Africa, co-founded by Lydia Karleen Mukami, popularly known as Lydia KM and Hempstone Maroria, was unveiled during a mental health breakfast in Nairobi on Tuesday, where practitioners and advocates explored ways of making mental health support more accessible, understandable and relevant to Kenyans.
The launch featured a panel discussion themed “Shaping Mental Health Access in Kenya,” bringing together global mental health advocate and policy consultant Wanjiru Karanja Mutiso, counselling psychologist Lydia Karimi, psychologist and mental health specialist Kevin Kokeyo, and clinical psychologist and employee wellness expert Victoria Joseph.
Hona Africa is designed to simplify the journey from deciding to seek help to actually connecting with a professional.
The platform allows users to browse verified mental health professionals, compare their specialties, pricing, therapy formats and availability and book sessions directly. Users can also complete a guided questionnaire to help identify support suited to their needs.
The platform grew from Lydia KM’s personal experience of struggling to find a therapist in 2022. With limited information available about professionals, including their specialties, pricing, credentials and availability, her search eventually inspired a therapist directory after people began asking her how they could find mental health support. That directory later developed into Hona Africa.
Speaking during the launch, Lydia said Hona was created to make the first step towards seeking professional support simpler, safer and less overwhelming.
The platform also seeks to support mental health professionals by bringing several aspects of practice management into one system.
Professionals can manage their profiles, services, pricing, calendars, bookings, client information, payments and earnings through a single dashboard, while also conducting secure virtual sessions. More than 50 mental health professionals had already been onboarded during preparations for the launch.
For users seeking online support, Hona provides end-to-end encrypted messaging and secure live video sessions. The platform also provides information on free therapy contacts, crisis resources and emergency support, although it states that Hona itself is not an emergency response service.
Beyond the technology, the breakfast created a space for professionals to examine how mental health can become a more natural part of everyday life in Kenya.
Wanjiru Mutiso called for stronger mental health education to help people understand mental wellbeing and recognise when they may need support. She also highlighted the importance of addressing resource and funding gaps while ensuring people in rural areas are not left behind.
The panel further explored the importance of making mental health care responsive to Kenya's cultural context.
Lydia Karimi said mental health conversations should begin within families, with parents creating safe environments where children can express themselves from childhood into adulthood. She also encouraged families to integrate mental health conversations into everyday life and normalise pre- and post-marital counselling.
Workplaces were also identified as an important setting for mental wellness.
Victoria Joseph encouraged organisations to increase awareness, examine workplace environments for possible triggers of distress and train employees in wellness. She emphasised the importance of creating workplaces where people can thrive rather than environments that contribute to psychological distress.
The panel also considered how traditional expectations around masculinity can affect men's willingness to discuss mental health.
Kevin Kokeyo noted that men often approach problems from a solution-oriented perspective and encouraged deeper conversations to understand what may be behind the difficulties they initially express.
Suicide prevention was another key part of the discussion, with Wanjiru Mutiso calling for greater empathy and more intentional communities around people experiencing mental health challenges.
The World Health Organization estimates that more than 720,000 people die by suicide globally every year, highlighting the importance of timely and accessible mental health support. (WHO)
The discussions also touched on the role of Kenya's Social Health Authority in expanding access to mental health services, reflecting the wider need for mental health support to become part of accessible healthcare systems.
With Hona now launched, the platform's founders are looking beyond simply creating another digital service.
Hona says its ambition is to begin in Kenya while contributing to stronger digital infrastructure for mental health access across Africa. The company also emphasises that technology is not intended to replace the human connection at the heart of therapy, but to make finding that connection easier.
The launch marks a new step in Hona’s journey from a therapist directory inspired by one woman's search for help to a digital platform connecting people and mental health professionals in one place.
