Venture Spotlight: BetaLife Health

Founders: Ayanniyi Mubarak and Mathew Okwoli

The Africa Health Collaborative, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, will be welcoming the Health Entrepreneurship (HENT) African Impact Challenge’s second cohort for their upcoming visit to Toronto, where they will continue their implementation phase through activities targeting business development, expanding entrepreneurial networks, and facilitating exposure to potential investors.

The University of Toronto’s Health Collaborative Internal Communications Working Group caught up with the ventures to learn more about the origins of their companies, what they’ve learned to date, and what is coming up next…

Category: Spotlight
Pillar: Health Entrepreneurship
Tags: African Impact Challenge; Health Entrepreneurship; Venture Spotlight

BetaLife Health

In 2022, Mubarak Ayanniyi found himself grieving the loss of a friend’s mother. She had tragically passed away as a result of a post-partum haemorrhage. He recognized that this death, like many across Africa, could be prevented by creating a long-lasting solution to the blood donation shortages found across the continent. Ayanniyi knew that for many, a timely blood transfusion is the difference between survival and death, and that availability of donated blood is the missing piece in so many preventable tragedies. Solving this issue is especially vital for those in rural settings, whose local clinics may lack donations of their blood type and for whom hospitals are many hours away.

Ayanniyi joined co-founder Okwoli Mathew to create BetaLife Health, an innovative software solution aimed at tackling this healthcare crisis. Their solution is using artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize blood supply management across Africa. Their platform uses predictive analytics to optimize blood inventory levels, distribution logistics and donor engagement, thereby improving the timeliness and availability of blood for transfusions. To bring their platform to the healthcare field and maximize impact, BetaLife Health is forming strategic partnerships with healthcare facilities and blood banks to streamline operations, reduce waste, and save lives.

What is the accomplishment to date that your team is most proud of?
” We are proud to be the change-makers driving blood supply in Africa, our innovation has benefitted thousands of ill people, mothers experiencing labor complications, fathers undergoing heart surgery, children undergoing chemotherapy treatments, premature babies and accident victims. Money can’t buy life, but we have been able to give these patients an extra life on earth with our innovation.”

If you could give advice to another founder getting started, what would that be?

““Focus on solving a specific, pressing problem that has a significant impact on your target market, and be relentless in your pursuit of innovation and excellence in addressing that problem.”

Having launched their MVP, the BetaLife Health team is now focused on fundraising with a goal to strengthen their digital supply network, and onboard more healthcare facilities and blood banks onto their platform. By employing subscription plans and connection fees, cultivating strategic partnerships and executing expansion initiatives, the team looks forward to continuing to improve healthcare outcomes across the continent.