Nigerian Healthtech Startup LifeBank Wins At The 2018 MIT Solve Challenge
Nigerian Healthtech startup LifeBank has emerged as one of the winners at the 2018 MIT Solve Global Challenge which was held in New York City. The Solve is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that advances real-time solutions from tech-enabled entrepreneurs to address the most pressing problems all around the world.
The Solve Global Challenge is tailored to finding solutions for prominent issues by supporting and funding innovative ideas from around the world. The challenge is split into four major categories – ‘Work of the Future,’ ‘Teachers and Educators,’ ‘Coastal Communities’ and ‘Frontlines of Health.’ LifeBank emerged winner under the 4th category ‘Frontlines of Health,’ which is targeted at startups that are developing technology for health workers and services to improve communities access to adequate and affordable healthcare.
The solutions brought about by team LifeBank in the competition are tailored to provide services for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment where alternatives either do not exist or are inaccessible to cost, distance or stigma.
The category received about 265 solutions, from which 8 teams were shortlisted for the finals. They were LifeBank, Ada4CHW (Germany), Akiba ya Roho (Kenya), E-Heza Digital Health Record (Rwanda), MediCapt (USA) Neopenda (USA) Refuge Health Workforce Answer To Global Skill Shortahe (Switzerland) and Sexperto (Mexico).
LifeBank uses smart data logistics and a combination of low and high technology such as AI and blockchain, to discover and deliver vital medical products in the bid to save lives across hospitals in Nigeria. The startup would be receiving up to UAD 50 K in equity-free funding which would be utilized to accelerate its expansion timeline.
The Solve platform issues four Global Challenges to discover the most promising Solver teams that will drive transformational change. Solve then builds and convenes a community of leaders and changemakers to collaborate with these teams in order to scale their impact.
This development was first reported by technextng.
This article was updated on September 27.
