M'Care

M'Care, short for "mobile care", operates as a health-tech entity focused on bridging healthcare gaps in underserved regions, particularly rural communities in Africa. The company was founded by Opeoluwa Ashimi, who serves as the CEO. Ashimi's background, with a dual degree in Pharmacy and an MBA and experience with organizations like the WHO and Novartis, provided the foundation for this venture. The inspiration for M'Care stemmed from a personal loss; Ashimi's godfather passed away due to a delayed cancer diagnosis because of inaccessible medical care in his rural community. This event catalyzed the mission to provide sustainable and quality healthcare in low-resource settings. The initial concept for M'Care was developed in 2015 during a digital health entrepreneurship course at the University of Sheffield. After a soft pilot launch in 2017 across eight communities in Nigeria to test the product, the platform officially took off.

The core of M'Care's business is a B2B model, targeting clients such as Primary Healthcare Directorates, Ministries of Health, pharmaceutical companies, and large NGOs with networks of community health workers. Its revenue model is straightforward, charging a fee of $1 per case for patients and the Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) who use the service. The platform provides these health workers with a mobile application that uses AI to offer real-time decision support for diagnosis and treatment. This system effectively gives CHEWs access to specialist-level support within minutes, a critical service in remote areas. For health officials, the technology offers a web-based data management dashboard to monitor disease trends and facilitate timely public health interventions. M'Care has demonstrated significant impact, including reducing mortality rates, increasing the rapid detection of contagious diseases, and improving access to medicines and vaccines through better supply chain insights.

The company's leadership team includes women with substantial experience in the healthcare and technology sectors. Dr. Wolesola Kukoyi, the CMO, has a background with the Cleveland Clinic and the World Bank Group, while CTO Maryleen Ndubuaku, a data scientist, has experience with the Alan Turing Institute. M'Care has successfully secured grant funding from organizations like the Tony Elumelu Foundation and has gained support and endorsements from entities such as Microsoft, the European Commission, and the UN by winning several startup competitions. The company has also collaborated with students from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) to analyze its data to enhance nutrient delivery and reduce patient loss to follow-up for children under five in Nigeria.

Keywords: digital health, mobile healthcare, AI diagnostics, community health workers, rural healthcare Africa, primary care support, health-tech Nigeria, AI decision support, telemedicine, public health data, healthcare access, eHealth, remote diagnostics, healthcare data management, disease surveillance, child health, health equity, low-resource healthcare, health worker empowerment