Parenting is sacred. The joy and reward of being a parent are not comparable with any other human experience. It is also an equally challenging job. A human child is born helpless and fragile and raising one takes a miraculous amount of effort and dedication. The entire project of child raising gets even more complicated because we care so much about our children when they are young that it comes with a ton of unknowns and unknown emotions. This is why the saying goes that it takes a village to raise a child. In the past, we lived in close-knit communities with loved ones and relatives around to help us in raising young children. It is no longer the case. Modern societies are utterly disconnected. People are busier than ever before. Not only the nature of our work has changed, but the nature of our societies and families has changed as well. These changes have exacerbated the challenges of child-rearing. It is more so for young and new parents.
Every interesting startup begins with a fundamental observation about human experience. For ToguMogu, it was the realization that parenting is a universal challenge, yet uniquely local in its manifestation. While the challenges of parenting have grown due to all these social changes over the years, the support available to raise young children has diminished during this same period.
The story begins with a personal experience. One of the friends of Nazmul Arefin, Co-founder and CEO of ToguMogu, became a parent in 2016. Nazmul himself was not a parent yet. But he saw the struggle of his friend as a new parent.
The problem wasn't just a lack of information. It was a lack of contextualized, actionable guidance tailored to the Bangladeshi parents. Digital resources on parenting in the local context were scarce. The existing ecosystem was fragmented, with parents navigating challenges through a mix of traditional advice, sporadic medical consultations, and limited digital resources.
"Back then, Bangladeshi parents mainly relied on their own parents, and relatives for advice," Nazmul recalls. "They tried those suggestions, some worked, some didn't." There were international digital platforms but most lacked contextual relevance for a Bangladeshi parent.
Nazmul saw an opportunity in this problem. That’s how ToguMogu was born in 2017 with an ambition to build a parenting platform for parents and children in Bangladesh.
For those of you who don't know, ToguMogu is an online parenting platform that provides content, products, and services for parents and children in Bangladesh. A subsidiary of education conglomerate Light of Hope, ToguMogu has become an important player in the vertical over the last several years.
The company initially focused on providing reliable and accessible parenting information in Bangla— educational content covering various aspects of parenting, from pregnancy to child development.
The objective was "to simplify the journey that parents embark on, starting from pregnancy until their child reaches the age of six, seven, or eight." This seven to eight-year journey became the focal point of ToguMogu's mission to make parenting easier, specifically tailored to the Bangladeshi context.
At its core, ToguMogu recognized a fundamental market gap: the absence of a comprehensive, localized parenting support ecosystem. While international platforms like BabyCenter existed, they failed to address the nuanced needs of Bangladeshi parents. The company understood that parenting isn't just about accessing information—it's about receiving contextualized guidance that reflects local realities.
The company has since gone through a series of unfolding and evolved its focus to building a comprehensive parenting platform that integrates content, commerce, and community.
The platform now offers a comprehensive suite of services including personalized content based on the child's age, week-by-week pregnancy and child development updates, e-commerce for age-appropriate products, and several services including doctor consultations, caregiver searches, school and daycare listings, extracurricular activity recommendations, and mental health support.
However, ToguMogu's journey wasn't linear. In its early years between 2017 and 2019, the company primarily focused on educational content and guidance. A pivotal transition happened between 2019 and 2020 when Nazmul realized that being merely an e-commerce or content-only platform wouldn't be sustainable. The platform began reimagining itself as a comprehensive parenting ecosystem, offering: baby growth tracking, pregnancy information, product and service recommendations, and specialized support services.
The COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly became a catalyst for digital adoption in Bangladesh. ToguMogu saw increased user engagement and started expanding its offerings, including e-commerce integration, service marketplace, community features, and partnerships with brands like Grameen Danone and Dettol.
The platform uses a unique approach to monetization while core content remains free. Bulk of its revenue comes from e-commerce, service commissions, and potential future premium features.
The current metrics are promising with over 200,000 registered users that is growing at 3-5% monthly conversion to paying customers.
It operates with a lean team of 20 people responsibilities strategically divided across tech, marketing and content, operations, customer service, and e-commerce.
Today, ToguMogu's strategic approach can be broken down into several key layers:
Personalized Content: Based on the user's pregnancy stage or the child's age, ToguMogu provides personalized content, including weekly updates on expected changes, tips for managing challenges, and age-appropriate product and service recommendations.
E-Commerce: Recognizing that providing information alone was insufficient, ToguMogu expanded to include an e-commerce platform offering a range of baby and parenting products. The company carefully curates the products to ensure quality and authenticity, providing parents with a trusted source for their needs.
Service Marketplace: Beyond physical products, ToguMogu has created a service marketplace connecting parents with various service providers, such as doctors for consultations, caregivers, tutors, day care, and after-school programs.
Community Building: ToguMogu facilitates a community forum where parents can connect and support each other by sharing experiences, asking questions, and offering advice. The company plans to further improve this feature by incorporating expert opinions from healthcare professionals and early childhood development specialists to provide more reliable guidance within the community.
ToguMogu's shift from a content-focused approach to a comprehensive platform reflects its understanding of the evolving needs of parents in Bangladesh.
By integrating these different features, the platform aims to create a one-stop solution that simplifies parenting and empowers parents to make informed decisions for themselves and their children.
"We want to help parents make better decisions," Nazmul states. The platform's core philosophy is about empowerment through knowledge, understanding, and localized support.
The rest of this essay looks into ToguMogu’s platform strategy, evolving business model, and long-term ambition.
ToguMogu faced several challenges in the process of finding a place in the market. In 2017, when ToguMogu started, the idea of a complete digital parenting platform was new and untested in Bangladesh. ToguMogu had to compete with well-established global tech products such as baby centers.
In Bangladesh, a significant portion of the population primarily uses digital tools for entertainment and community engagement, mainly through platforms like Facebook. Convincing them to use a new technology platform for parenting guidance, especially when traditional methods were still prevalent, was a slow process.
When ToguMogu finally managed to attract a meaningful user base for its free content and services, converting those users into paying customers proved challenging. The company had to experiment with different monetization strategies, including ecommerce, product subscription models and reward systems, to encourage users to pay for services.
Despite these challenges, ToguMogu has made significant progress over the past several years. The platform currently has over 200,000 registered users on its app and is working towards achieving better product-market fit.
"Surviving such times as an entrepreneur is a challenge in itself,” reflects Nazmul. “Building a new product with no guarantee of success and maintaining perseverance until it takes off was difficult."
One of the things that has been working for ToguMogu is its approach to building a platform at the intersection of content, commerce, and community.
The company has used content as a means for building a community and then building a commerce and services layer on top of the community.
High-quality parenting content attracts parents to the platform, ToguMogu then offers additional products and services to these users. ToguMogu’s community forum further strengthens the platform by offering parents a space to share their concerns, seek advice, and offer support to one another.
ToguMogu's goal remains to make parenting easier for new parents in Bangladesh, but its approach has adapted to the evolving market and the founders' own experiences as parents.
Let’s take a closer look at TogoMogu’s platform strategy:
Early Stages (2017-2019): Content as the Foundation
In its initial phase, ToguMogu focused on providing parents with reliable and accessible information on pregnancy, child development, and parenting in Bangla.
The primary objective has been to simplify parenting by providing a platform that offers parents guidance and solutions throughout their parenting journey, beginning with pregnancy and extending through their child's early years.
ToguMogu’s content educates parents about the challenges they may encounter at different stages of parenting and recommends age-appropriate solutions.
ToguMogu’s content is personalized based on the user's expected delivery date or the child's date of birth. The app provides parents with weekly updates on the physical and mental changes they can expect during pregnancy.
After the baby is born, parents receive weekly updates on their child's behavior and development, as well as critical information on topics such as feeding and bathing.
In addition to the weekly updates, ToguMogu’s app offers topic-based content, such as tips on managing speech delays or supporting children with disabilities.
Shifting Focus (2019-2020): Ecosystem Expansion
Around 2019, ToguMogu realized that solely offering content wouldn't differentiate them in the growing market. The company decided to shift towards building a comprehensive parenting platform that offered a wider range of services in addition to educational content.
ToguMogu incorporated an e-commerce platform within its app, offering a curated selection of baby and parenting products. The company prioritizes quality and authenticity, aiming to build trust and address the hesitancy associated with online purchases for baby products.
ToguMogu also created a marketplace connecting parents with service providers, including doctors for consultations, caregivers, tutors, and after-school programs. They facilitate these services directly within the platform, providing a seamless experience for users.
Building Community
ToguMogu focused on building a community from its early days. However, the company has ratcheted up its focus on community building in recent times. Its community feature allows parents to connect and support each other. Parents can post about a variety of topics, including their child's development, challenges they are facing, and positive experiences. Other parents can then comment on these posts, offering advice, sharing similar experiences, and providing support.
ToguMogu plans to incorporate expert advice into the community forum in the future, specifically on health-related issues.
Building a Complete Parenting Platform (2020-present): Platform Transformation
ToguMogu started rebuilding its app to offer a complete parenting platform that integrates various services. The platform now includes:
Future Direction (2024-2025): Expansion into Healthcare
ToguMogu is currently working on deepening its product-market fit, driven by organic user growth and recommendations. The company plans to expand its offerings into healthcare, introducing digital tools focused on preventative healthcare for parents and children.
Initially, ToguMogu offered all content for free while generating revenue through its e-commerce platform and service marketplace. Apart from regular ecommerce, the company has over time developed a multi-stream revenue model that includes:
Subscription Model: ToguMogu introduced subscriptions for certain products, such as diapers and books. This model ensures recurring revenue and simplifies purchasing for parents who need these products regularly.
Reward Systems: The company also implemented reward systems to encourage users to engage with the platform and make purchases. Users earn reward points for activities like consuming content and making purchases, which they can later redeem for discounts or benefits on products and services.
Potential Premium Packages: ToguMogu is considering bundling certain services, like doctor consultations and access to premium features, into paid packages. This strategy could offer users a discounted way to access a suite of services while generating additional revenue for the platform.
ToguMogu has come a long way from where it started. The company has a growing user base. But there is much more that it can do.
ToguMogu operates in a fascinating and growing market. Approximately 2.97 million babies are born each year in Bangladesh based on the 2022 crude birth rate. It means the number of parents and babies who need support and services is an ever-growing number.
Moreover, Bangladesh is experiencing a major economic and cultural shift that began decades ago. A new middle class has emerged with more economic power. The country's parents have changed too. Today's generation of parents is educated, wants the best for their children, and is willing to invest in the development of their children.
ToguMogu sees this opportunity and wants to take it. To that end, the company plans to expand into new areas such as healthcare, building on top of its existing platform.
The company has recently partnered with the online doctors' platform DocTime to offer online doctor consultations from the ToguMogu platform. It is also launching micro-health insurance packages as part of its comprehensive service offering.
ToguMogu expects that these new additions will increase its platform value to its users, improve the stickiness of its platform, and help build enduring competitive advantages. In the short term, however, the company has to find ways to deepen its market fit first.
Building a successful product in a new market takes time, especially when user adoption of technology is relatively slow and there is a lack of precedence in the market. ToguMogu has so far shown incredible tenacity and perseverance to find ways to survive and push the platform forward. The company has innovated on the business model side, found ways to gather resources from unassuming sources, and managed to build an operation that can adapt and navigate challenges. However, the real test for the company lies ahead as it sets eyes on expansion and meaningful growth in the coming days.