DAKAR, SENEGAL (May 21st, 2020) -- Reach for Change Senegal has launched a national competition called the "Innovating for Mothers Challenge" aimed at finding and supporting innovative and entrepreneurial initiatives for maternal and newborn health in Senegal that are ready to grow their impact.

The Challenge has been made possible by Mothers at Risk, a Brussels-based non-profit organization committed to helping save lives in pregnancy and childbirth and The Ella Fund, a philanthropy fund that seeks to empower girls and women through education, healthcare and entrepreneurship.

The Innovating for Mothers Challenge invests in social entrepreneurs and innovators who want to see improvements in maternal and neonatal health which ultimately contributes positively to the country's development.

By nurturing innovators and entrepreneurs in skills they need to scale their impact, Mothers at Risk and The Ella Fund are helping leverage social entrepreneurship and innovation for maternal and newborn health.

The social innovations can deliver solutions such as providing respectful care at birth, addressing neglect or abuse during childbirth, providing transportation for women to reach prenatal care and delivery in a timely manner, in particular facilitated via digital technology, and providing maternal accommodation (waiting homes or apartments, formal and informal, to ensure proximity to care for women before and after delivery).