Nadia Gamal El Din

Updated March 2020

“I Was so Lost!”

Right after Nadia Gamal El Din gave birth, she experienced feelings of isolation and near panic. “I was so lost! None of my friends had babies yet. I’m an only child and my mom couldn’t remember anything. I recall saying to myself, ‘What on earth am I going to do with this baby?’”

Nadia’s experience is all too common, not only in Egypt, but around the world. New mothers need a tremendous amount of support as they heal from giving birth and learn to care for a new baby. This intense physical, psychological, emotional, and mental transformation comes with urgent questions, and the isolation of new motherhood can have serious consequences. Up to 20 percent of new mothers experience postpartum or perinatal depression, which diminishes their ability to cope with the responsibilities of motherhood.

Bringing Peace to Egyptian Mothers

Nadia worked at P&G as a brand manager before she became a mother at 24. Although this is a common age for first births in Egypt, her friends did not yet have children and were focused on work, leaving her with no peer support. Surprisingly, she found no community groups or online resources for new moms. “I decided that I needed to put an end to this situation,” she says. “My ultimate mission is that I want every single mother in Egypt to find peace of mind.”

Her company, Rahet Bally—which translates to “peace of mind” in Arabic—was born in August 2014, not long after her son. “I started a Facebook group right then,” she says. She invited professionals, including psychologists, nutritionists, and pediatricians, to answer hashtagged questions. A mom could ask, “My child has a fever, what should I do? #pediatrician,” and receive an answer immediately. More than 100 professionals and 3,000 moms were using the platform within a month.

As of early 2020, more than 150,000 women in Egypt have been connected to Rahet Bally’s services, which encompass financial, physical, intellectual, and social support. The Rahet Bally discount card helps offset the costs of essential baby items such as clothes, diapers, and healthcare, which can be prohibitive. For physical support, the company offers fitness and nutrition programs in three Cairo-based facilities. And Rahet Bally’s online community provides the information women need to become confident mothers. “Moms need a lot of knowledge, from conception through when their kids are teenagers. We offer the first and only information platform in Arabic and English in Egypt,” Nadia says.

Rahet Bally’s newest offering, the Cloud, is a physical space where mothers can rest in napping pods, conduct business in work pods, attend workshops, socialize, and join book clubs while vetted babysitters care for their children. “It’s beautiful,” Nadia says. “Moms start crying when they come in because it’s the first time anyone is taking care of them. They can have a shower. They can drink a cup of coffee while it’s still hot. It’s a place where they can actually breathe again.”

Rahet Bally Supports All Mothers—and its Employees

Rahet Bally began with a focus on serving wealthier mothers but recently acquired the Ana 7amel platform and now serves poorer pregnant women and mothers as well. Beyond reaching more than 150,000 women through one of its four pillars of support, the company employs an all-female staff. This is unusual in Egypt, where it is hard to find women accountants and technicians. “We have almost 100 women working full time in the company divided between our headquarters and our other locations,” Nadia says. The company is mother-friendly, too. Employees can work from home any time and take advantage of flexible maternity leave, making it possible for mothers to get a decent job with a market-competitive salary.