Herconomy paid mothers interest for every month they breastfed instead of buying formula.

In Nigeria only about 34% of infants are exclusively breastfed, well below the 48% global average, and families that do not breastfeed can spend up to 34% of household income on formula. So the choice is both a health and a money problem.

Herconomy's Breastmilk Money is a savings sub-account with a milk-to-money calculator. It moves the value of the formula a mother would otherwise buy out of her main balance and into a sub-account that earns 14.3% annual interest.

The account gives an unpaid, routine act a visible financial return, and by design it saves the money the family is already not spending rather than asking for new deposits.

The launch was shortlisted in seven Cannes Lions categories and won three Silver Lions in 2025, plus a One Show award.

Pay interest on the money a mother saves by nursing

It anchors savings to an expense avoided, so the money already exists for the household

A visible interest rate rewards a behaviour that is otherwise invisible and unpaid

It turns a health recommendation into a financial incentive a mother controls

It gives a women-focused fintech a product that is genuinely about women's economic independence

To monetise an unpaid behaviour, attach the savings to the expense it avoids rather than asking people to save out of their own surplus.

The feature drove a 2.5x increase in Herconomy signups after launch and was projected to redirect millions of dollars of formula spend to mothers, while winning multiple Silver Lions and a One Show recognition as the first financial product to pay interest on breastfeeding.