When it comes to raising a child, worrying about parenting is inevitable. Should the newborn be tied to the chest with a cloth? What are the things to be aware of while breastfeeding? Which products are perfect for your baby? Doctors, older family members, friends, books, and the internet have a wide range of popular and modern advice about that stuff. Some advice may match with one another; sometimes, some parents may even get completely contradictory advice on the same subject. And, parents often have to be in a dilemma due to that confusion. Anika and Maruf, the founders of ToguMogu, had to face this kind of trouble when their first baby was born in 2016. To bring out the solution for new parents, they started ToguMogu.
What is ToguMogu
ToguMogu.com is the first online platform in Bangladesh where you will get children’s products as well as various parenting-related services.
It is mainly a service and product platform that offers a wide range of support for expecting, new, and young Bangladeshi parents who have children from 0-5 years old. The services include baby products, connecting with the doctors, capturing the memories with your baby, get education about parenting, counseling, and more. ToguMogu ensures healthier, happier mothers and kids. It works as a one-stop solution that brings all kinds of help and support for a new parent.
How did it all start
Anika Rahman and Maruf, one of the co-founders of ToguMogu, had their first child born in 2016; they realize the obstacles to raising a child and think about how to reduce the costs for all new parents in society. So, without delay, Anika started the online platform ToguMogu.com.
After graduating from East-West University, Anika Rahman Mou, the chairman of the organization worked for Asia Tech, a well-known company in the country, for some time, and after retiring from her job, she concentrated on her family. Besides, she established ToguMogu with the aim of doing something good for society.
Next year, they thought of providing a technology-enabled solution for young parents all over Bangladesh. Initially, they were looking for a name that would make people curious and make them smile at the same time. Hence, selected ToguMogu, which was derived from “Togu, a tiger cub, and Mogu, a human child.”
In the beginning, they spent enough time to understand the needs and the pain point of the new parent, their target customer. Additionally, they also conducted some research on how parenting works in Bangladesh and how to combine technology with parenting.
In the beginning, ToguMogu was a content platform that provided authentic information. Later they gradually introduced other services such as e-commerce shops, doctor booking, caregiving, and photography one by one. Now they have a fully functional app for the smartphone in which parents can track the growth of their children while accessing other features.
ToguMogu Features and Services
With ToguMogu, parents will have a 5-year long journey starting from the pregnancy period. During this time, ToguMogu will be there as a constant wellbeing partner though offering different services to make the parenting journey easier. Currently, they offer five different services. Read on to know the list of the services.
ToguMogu E-Shop
The e-shop provides expert-recommended products for newborns and makes life easier for new parents. The products are available for babies up to 5-year-old. Then they have a wide range of products which include food and nutrition, children’s books, baby products, brand toys, learning toys, crafts and drawing items, and school stationery. Parents can choose from a variety of options from numerous brands while searching for products on the e-shop. They also started selling corona safety products for children and adults.
Baby Pixels by ToguMogu
It is special concept-based photography for the baby and pregnant moms to keep the memories. ToguMogu offers different services for photography which include, pregnancy sessions, newborn sessions, baby & toddlers, birthday and outdoor sessions. Pregnancy sessions photography starts from Tk. 5,990, while the newborn photography starts from Tk. 8,990. Other types of photography also have the more or less same price range as the former.
Education Contents
ToguMogu has numerous articles on various aspects of pregnancy, parenting, birth, and early childhood developments. Expecting parents and new parents can get self-education from those contents and make themselves ready for the upcoming days. Besides, Bangla books and e-books on parenting are also available.
Parenting Services
Under the parenting service, ToguMogu offers parent and children counseling through Lifespring, which is a “leading professional child psychology and mental wellbeing service provider in Bangladesh.” Further, you will also get the consultation service from the child specialist via Doctorola, a healthcare service provider. If you need nanny service, you can contact Amar Astha Ltd. through ToguMogu. Furthermore, parents can take parenting courses, and a child’s creative courses are also available to develop your children’s creativity.
Day Care & Pre-School
Parents will find a recommendation on daycare and pre-school or after-school services available around Bangladesh. This service will provide a list of the best suitable daycare based on the requirements and the performances. So, daycare and pre-school recommendations will be a great help for working parents.
Challenges ToguMogu Faced
All the co-founders have invested from their personal funds to set up the venture. So, ToguMogu has seen slow growth, which they are trying to cover up in recent days by seeking external investments.
Initially, they struggled with the deliveries in 2017-18 as they did not have a mature logistics service. Occasionally, co-founders had to work on deliveries initially. Since the co-founders left their job to create a trusted platform and they were new in the business world, they thrive to improve the service. So, they had to make a continuous investment from their own fund. And until 2020, they did not even think of raising the external fund. So, they have seen steady growth.
ToguMogu started pitching about their venture in 2020 and managed to raise an angel round of investment in late 2020. ToguMogu now aims to solve all kinds of problems of all parents, mothers, and children in the country through the platform.
Source: United News of Bangladesh