NAIROBI, Kenya – A new digital platform seeking to make mental health support easier to find and access has launched in Kenya, bringing mental health professionals and people seeking care onto one platform.
Hona Africa, co-founded by digital creator Lydia Karleen Mukami, (popularly known as Lydia KM) and Hempstone Maroria, officially launched in Nairobi on September 22, 2026, with a focus on simplifying how people discover, compare and book professional mental health services.
The platform allows users to browse verified mental health professionals, compare their areas of specialty, pricing, therapy formats and availability before booking a session.
Users can also complete a guided questionnaire describing what they are experiencing and the kind of support they are seeking, helping them navigate the process of identifying a suitable professional.
For people seeking remote support, Hona provides secure live video sessions and end-to-end encrypted messaging. Users can also identify professionals who offer in-person appointments.
The platform additionally provides information on free therapy contacts, crisis resources and emergency support. Hona, however, states that it is not an emergency response service.
The launch marked the next stage of an idea that began with Mukami’s own search for therapy four years ago.
In 2022, Mukami spent months trying to find a therapist. She found that while mental health professionals were available, there was no straightforward place where she could find information about their specialties, fees, credentials and availability.
One of the resources she encountered was a screenshot containing therapists’ phone numbers, but it provided little information to help someone decide which professional might be suitable.
After publicly sharing her experience of looking for therapy, Mukami began receiving messages from people asking the same question: how to find a therapist.
That response prompted her to create a therapist directory.
What started as a simple list eventually grew into Hona Africa, as the founders sought to build a dedicated platform that could offer more information and functionality than a directory shared through social media.
Mukami previously described the early version of the project as a simple therapist list created after she realised other people were facing the same difficulty she had experienced.
She said the list contained therapists’ names, contacts and basic information, but eventually recognised that an Instagram-based directory could only go so far.
Hona now brings the discovery process, comparison and booking functions into one digital space.
“Sometimes the hardest words to say are: ‘I need help.’ But for many people, saying those words is only the beginning,” Mukami said during the launch.
The platform also seeks to address some of the administrative challenges faced by mental health professionals.
Practitioners can manage their profiles, services, pricing, calendars and bookings through the platform. They can also manage client information, payments and earnings and conduct secure virtual sessions.
The launch brought together mental health practitioners and advocates for a discussion on the wider barriers affecting access to mental health support in Kenya.
The panel, themed “Shaping Mental Health Access in Kenya,” examined the role of families, workplaces, communities and technology in improving mental health care.
Global mental health advocate and policy consultant Wanjiru Mutiso highlighted the need for greater mental health education while pointing to funding and resource limitations, including gaps affecting people in rural areas.
Counselling psychologist Lydia Karimi said mental health conversations should begin at home, with families creating environments where children can openly discuss their emotional wellbeing.
She also encouraged families to normalise pre-marital and post-marital counselling.
Workplaces also featured prominently in the discussion, with clinical psychologist and employee wellness expert Victoria Joseph calling on organisations to increase awareness of mental health, identify workplace triggers and create healthier environments for employees.
Psychologist and mental health specialist Kevin Kokeyo focused on the way masculinity can influence how men approach mental health.
He said men often approach problems from a solution-oriented perspective and encouraged deeper conversations around the issues behind the problems they initially present.
Suicide prevention also formed part of the discussion, with Mutiso calling for greater empathy and stronger communities around people experiencing mental health challenges.
Hona enters Kenya’s mental health space as digital platforms and startups continue to explore ways of improving access to care. The platform says it is starting in Kenya but has a wider ambition of contributing to digital mental health infrastructure across Africa.
Its founders also acknowledge that technology cannot replace the human relationship at the centre of therapy.
Instead, Hona is designed to make the first step easier by giving people a central place to find professionals, understand their options and arrange support.
