LifeBank

LifeBank operates as a healthcare technology and logistics company, focused on digitizing the medical supply chain in Africa. The company was founded in January 2016 by Temie Giwa-Tubosun. Her journey into healthcare was shaped by personal and professional experiences, including an internship where she witnessed the tragic consequences of inadequate medical supplies for a young mother, and her own difficult childbirth experience, which highlighted the critical need for accessible blood transfusions. Before LifeBank, Giwa-Tubosun founded the "One Percent Project" in 2012, an NGO to promote voluntary blood donation in Nigeria, which later evolved into the for-profit LifeBank.

The company's core business involves a marketplace that connects hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities with essential medical products, initially focusing on blood and later expanding to include oxygen, plasma, and vaccines. LifeBank's platform uses data, technology, and a multimodal delivery system—including motorcycles, boats, trucks, and drones—to ensure the swift and safe delivery of these critical supplies. This addresses major challenges in the African healthcare system, such as blood shortages, inefficient supply chains, and poor infrastructure. The business model generates revenue by charging a logistics fee for each unit delivered, with a pricing structure designed to cross-subsidize deliveries to patients in low-income communities. The company also established the Blood and Oxygen Access Trust to secure funding for providing supplies to these communities.

LifeBank began its operations incubated at the Co-Creation Hub in Lagos, Nigeria. By January 2017, it had delivered over 2,000 pints of blood. The company has since expanded its services to Kenya and Ethiopia, serving over 1,000 hospitals and delivering tens of thousands of medical products. Significant milestones include winning the Jack Ma Foundation's Africa Netpreneur Prize in 2019, which came with a $250,000 award, and the founder, Temie Giwa-Tubosun, being named the Global Citizen Prize for Business Leader in 2020 for the company's work, including its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has raised funds through several rounds, including a $200,000 seed round in 2018.

Keywords: healthcare logistics, medical supply chain, blood delivery, oxygen supply, health-tech Africa, Temie Giwa-Tubosun, medical marketplace, last-mile delivery, emergency medical supplies, Nigeria healthcare, Kenya healthcare, healthcare data analytics, cold chain logistics, drone delivery medical, social enterprise, maternal mortality reduction, medical procurement, hospital supplies, digital health Africa