Nigeria’s Mytherapist wants to close the gap between needing therapy and getting it

Nigerian startup Mytherapist is helping people find qualified therapists, book appointments and attend sessions via video, audio or chat, while also offering tools to support their wellbeing between sessions.

Founded in 2021 by Oluwaseun Raphael Afolayan and Dedoyin Ajayi, Mytherapist launched a pilot in October 2022 before going public and beginning paid therapy bookings in January 2023.

“The idea came from the difficulty of finding reliable, affordable support during the pandemic and the aftermath of the EndSARS protests. That experience affected me and people around me,” Afolayan told Disrupt Africa.

Mytherapist is built around what Afolayan describes as the practical questions people face when looking for help. “Who should I speak to? What will it cost? When are they available? How do I fit a session into my day?” he said.

“We saw a gap between deciding you need support and actually receiving it. Someone may be willing to try therapy but still struggle to identify a suitable professional, understand the price or arrange an appointment.”

Alongside therapy sessions, the platform offers mood tracking, journaling, meditation and breathing exercises. “These give users ways to reflect and support their everyday wellbeing alongside professional care,” said Afolayan.

The startup serves individuals and couples, and also offers access pathways through employers and health maintenance organisations (HMOs).

“Our approach combines therapist discovery, booking and remote sessions with tools people can use between appointments. We also now offer routes through employers and HMOs, so access does not depend entirely on someone paying out of pocket,” he said.

Mytherapist makes money by taking a commission on therapy sessions booked through the platform. It also offers paid corporate wellbeing services and Prime, an optional membership, which provides additional features and benefits.

Traction has been solid. The startup has more than 25,000 users and over 4,000 completed paid bookings, and has onboarded more than 120 therapists, with over 90 active. Afolayan, however, was careful to put those figures in context.

“Those measures represent different things. Users are not the same as paying clients, and bookings are not the same as completed sessions,” he said. “The next stage is improving how reliably people move from signing up to receiving care and returning when they need further support.”

The startup was initially bootstrapped, and in 2024 received a US$5,000 grant from 54Collective, as well as around US$7,500 in combined grants from Wema Bank Nigeria, ABC Health and FATE Foundation. Afolayan cited the launch of paid bookings, the introduction of couples sessions and corporate wellness services, and the addition of Prime as key milestones.

Nigeria remains Mytherapist.ng’s core market, though it has seen users access the platform from abroad.

“We distinguish that cross-border usage from establishing a local operation in another country,” said Afolayan.

“Our priority is to strengthen the care experience and distribution in Nigeria. Any expansion needs suitable professionals, workable payments and dependable delivery, and we’re currently working on expanding properly, while still maintaining low operational costs, with the help of Paystack and the Startbutton Africa team.”

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