This women’s health tracker app from India just got some 💓 from Sheryl Sandberg

Maya, a mobile app launched by Bengaluru-based Plackal Tech, won Facebook’s FbStart Asia-Pacific App of the Year award, and an invaluable endorsement to boot on Tuesday.
The app, which helps women track their menstrual cycles and health, got the the approval of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who posted a photo of Maya’s Bengaluru team along with a brief on its impact.
“Women all around the world use Maya The App, this year’s Asia-Pacific App of the Year. It’s helped 7 million (!) women stay on top of their health by tracking their menstrual cycles, setting health reminders, monitoring pregnancies and getting in touch with doctors — all from their phones. Maya was founded in India in 2014 (their team is pictured here). It’s now available in 14 languages and has been downloaded across 190 countries,” Sandberg wrote.

Launched in 2014, FbStart is Facebook’s global programme to help early-stage mobile startups build and grow their apps. The competition recognises FBstart mobile app startups that demonstrate exceptional growth and potential for continued success, deliver great consumer experiences and design, and leverage the Facebook developer product to drive engagement.

Maya was adjudged the winner among 900 FbStart app submissions to the award from across 87 countries. The entries were judged by a panel of mobile development experts, investors, startup founders, and executives at Facebook.
“The award comes with $15,000 in cash, but for us, what was more important here is the fact that we get to partner with Facebook, and grow along with them, and use their ecosystem to build a better product and reach out to a larger audience,” said John Paul, cofounder of Plackal Tech, in a phone chat with FactorDaily.
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“FbStart gives you access to services, membership, and other kinds of exposure. Learnings which Facebook themselves (sic) had while building their product, and growing new markets, we have access to all of that mentorship from the Facebook ecosystem,” he added.
Maya, formerly known as LoveCycles, received a Rs 5 crore seed round from Prime Ventures in March 2016. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.

The 15-member startup, based out of Bengaluru, plans to add new features to the app in the coming weeks, including a pregnancy tracker, besides enabling discovery of products and services on the app, said Paul.
SoloLearn, an app that lets users learn the basics of computer programming won the Global App of the Year prize, which has a payout of $1,50,000. ReservaTurno, a beauty service booking app and Mondly, a free language learning app won the Regional app of Year award for Latin America and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) respectively. Golden, an app that lets users search for volunteer opportunities won the Social Good App of the Year award.
Lead visual: Angela Anthony Pereira