BetterMe is a company founded in 2016 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The company created two apps, ''BetterMe: Health Coaching'' and ''BetterMe: Mental Health''. Following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, BetterMe began offering various services freely to Ukrainians and collaborated with the

Ukrainian government The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine (), is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine. As the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, it was formed on 18 April 1991, by the Law ...

and other companies to set up various initiatives to help victims of the conflict.

History and app features

The company was founded by Victoria Repa in 2016 in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. The company's first product was the BetterMe: Weight Loss Workouts app, which was later renamed to ''BetterMe: Health Coaching''. By 2018 the app was renamed simply to ''BetterMe'', offering personalised fitness and

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

courses to users. User numbers grew quickly, reaching 10 million downloads within its first year. The app has since become known as "''BetterMe: Health Coaching''". The app contains free access to "over 1500 workouts", a personal coach, daily personalised meal plans and progress tracking. The app also offers specialised workouts for pregnant women, the elderly and the disabled alongside specialised diets for those with conditions such as diabetes. In 2018, the ''BetterMe: Meditation & Sleep'' app was released, the name of which was later changed to ''BetterMe: Mental Health''. The app contains a personalised daily

self-help Self-help or self-improvement is "a focus on self-guided, in contrast to professionally guided, efforts to cope with life problems" —economically, physically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. When ...

plan, breathing exercises, courses for meditation, a sleep section (including courses and sleep stories) and ambient sounds for "better focus, sleep, or relaxation."

Russian invasion of Ukraine

In March 2022, BetterMe, together with

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

Ukraine added a section for psychological assistance to children during the war within the BetterMe: Mental Health app. In addition, the company began cooperating with the

Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine () is the main body in the system of central bodies of the executive power of Ukraine. History On 28 June 1917 Ivan Steshenko was appointed Secretary of Education in the First Vynnychenko gov ...

to conduct online exercise classes in schools. In 2022, the company launched two charitable sportswear collections with 100% of the proceeds going to charitable initiatives, including prosthetics for soldiers, to the NGO "Zemliachky - Ukrainian Front" for sewing military uniforms for women in the

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

. BetterMe also contributed $15,000 to

United24 United24 () is a Ukrainian government-run platform launched on 5 May 2022 to raise money for Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War. History On 3 May 2022, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal announced that a platform for fundraising in suppo ...

for the purchase of an ambulance. In a 2023 interview with feastgood, Repa spoke about – among other things – the issues faced by the company due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She spoke on the various initiatives launched by the company in response to this, such as providing free access to both of their apps to Ukrainians. BetterMe also collaborated with the

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

in Ukraine,

Olena Zelenska Olena Volodymyrivna Zelenska (née Kyiashko; born 6 February 1978) is a Ukrainian screenwriter who is the current First Lady of Ukraine as the wife of President of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenska was named by Time (magazine), '' ...

and the

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

"Barrier Free" (itself formed in response to the invasion, advocating for the creation of an equal access mental health program in Ukraine) to create a digital self help tool called "Doing What Matters in Times of Stress". The illustrated guide aims to provides self-help techniques in times of stress, "wherever they live and whatever their circumstances." The company also had to make changes internally due to the invasion, such as helping to "relocate team members and their families to safer parts of the country" and "setting them up with remote workspaces" due to the unsafe nature of returning to office working. In 2023, BetterMe collaborated with Esper Bionics and Future For Ukraine to develop "Limb Loss Workouts" for

amputees Amputation is the removal of a limb or other body part by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it i ...

. The aim of the system is to help amputees regain limb functionality and to prepare for the use of prosthetics, providing "200 targeted training workshops for upper and lower limb loss". That same year BetterMe, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and as part of the "How are you?" initiative formed by Olena Zelenska, launched the Program for Improving Productivity at Work. In 2024 BetterMe collaborated with the

Superhumans Center The Superhumans Center is an specialist clinic for the treatment and rehabilitation of war victims with specialist in orthopaedic trauma, reconstructive and Plastics Surgery, Facial Surgery and Ear Nose and Throat Surgery as well as rehabiliation ...

, a specialist clinic for the treatment and rehabilitation of amputees, to create a course called "Communication without Barriers". The course aimed to improve people's communication skills with amputees and to destigmatise them.{{Cite web , title=BetterMe and Superhumans have created a course on ethical communication with people who have lost limbs , url=http://odessa-journal.com/betterme-and-superhumans-have-created-a-course-on-ethical-communication-with-people-who-have-lost-limbs , access-date=2024-03-31 , website=odessa-journal.com , language=en

References

Technology companies based in Kyiv Software companies established in 2016 Software companies of Ukraine Ukrainian companies established in 2016