Nestlé MaggiMami in Africa launched with AI

Nestlé is piloting Maggi Mami, an AI-powered business advisor created for the thousands of women who sell food ingredients in open markets across Central and West Africa (CWAR). Known as “mammies,” these women often have little or no formal training and learn through experience. Maggi Mami helps accelerate that learning by providing instant, practical advice based on the knowledge of more experienced mammies, the company says.

“More than 70,000 mammies across CWAR make millions of meals possible every day by selling food ingredients in the quantities families need and can afford,” said Marcin Poplawski, head of food strategic business unit at Nestlé SA. “They also account for over 70% of Maggi’s sales in the region. With MaggiMami, we are deepening our long-standing partnership with mammies by helping more women build the skills, confidence and resilience needed to grow successful businesses.”

Experienced mammies have valuable, practical know-how, but because they are often dispersed and work in isolation, that knowledge is not easy to share. Developed together with Viamo, a tech platform, Maggi Mami is designed for low-connectivity, low-literacy environments and can be accessed on any basic phone through a toll-free number, using voice recognition in local languages, without the need for internet or data. Mammies simply ask their questions and receive AI-generated answers drawn from a curated database of insights from seasoned mammies, making the advice relevant to local market realities.

For decades, Maggi has provided mammies with shop signage, product trainings and business guidance. Maggi Mami builds on this long-term partnership by combining local knowledge with new technology to support women food sellers in their everyday businesses.