Ruth Apondi

Ruth Apondi Omondi is a maternal health nurse and the founder of Smart Mama, a digital health initiative that gives expectant mothers trustworthy, clinically sound guidance through pregnancy and childbirth. She studied nursing at Kenyatta University, and her student rotations at Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi, together with Kenya's maternal and infant mortality figures, convinced her to dedicate her career to mothers.

Smart Mama took shape at a university hackathon in April 2024. Instead of waiting to fund an expensive app, Ruth began with tools mothers already use: weekly Google Meet sessions on reproductive health, WhatsApp forums where first-time mothers learn from those who have been through it, and private consultations. She follows an early group of about 25 women closely and reaches many more through the forums and her hospital work. Her longer term plan is a full telemedicine platform offering nurse-vetted content, virtual consultations and peer support. She has also written a book, Trials and Triumphs: Chronicles of a Student Nurse.

In August 2025 Business Daily named her to its Top 40 Under 40 Women list, and she was reported as the winner of the Social Impact category. Ruth is candid that starting has been difficult and that not everyone understands her vision. Her aim is to provide virtual care early, before a problem becomes a crisis, and she says her greatest satisfaction is seeing a mother holding her baby.