Founders: Abakar Mahamat and Ahmed Kotok
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…
Telemedan
Abakar Mahamat and Ahmed Kotoko, co-founders of Telemedan, were inspired to start their venture based on a passion to address the glaring challenges to healthcare access in underserved, remote communities and promote healthcare equity using technology. They observed that a shortage of medical professionals and adequate infrastructure leads many communities to face significant delays in receiving essential medical care. These delays in care can worsen healthcare outcomes; which is why Mahamat and Kotoko took it upon themselves to harness existing technology to improve healthcare delivery.
Their kiosks facilitate video conferences between patient and doctor. They are equipped with medical devices for taking vital signs, such as ECG analysis, temperature measurement and blood oxygen saturation. Further, they feature stethoscopes, dermascopes, an HD camera and a scanner for the easy sharing of documents and lab results. With a focus on ease-of-access, Telemedan’s kiosks are user-friendly and accessible to those of varying levels of technology literacy. For those who are less comfortable with technology, the Telemedan team created a training program for the healthcare workers at each installation site who can in turn help patients in need of assistance. To date, Telemedan has installed three telemedicine kiosks in underserved communities in order to move toward closing the healthcare accessibility gap.
What is the accomplishment to date that your team is most proud of?
“Our team is most proud of successfully deploying three Telemedan kiosks in underserved areas, facilitating access to essential healthcare services. This accomplishment demonstrates our commitment to improving healthcare accessibility and marks a significant milestone in our mission to make quality medical care available to all, regardless of geographic location or socioeconomic status.”
If you could give advice to another founder getting started, what would that be?
“ Stay focused on your vision and remain resilient in the face of challenges. Surround yourself with a supportive team and seek guidance from mentors who have experience in your industry. Embrace failure as a learning opportunity and never lose sight of the impact your venture can make.”
Telemedan hopes to expand its reach to more underserved communities by installing more telemedicine kiosks and improving its platform’s features and capabilities. Telemedan also aspires to continue forging partnerships that will help it continue to innovate and move closer to its goal of improving access to essential healthcare.
You can learn more about Telemedan
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