Venture Spotlight: MOTO

The Health Entrepreneurship (HENT) Challenge’s first cohort is visiting Toronto this summer, where they are continuing their implementation phase through activities targeting business development, expanding entrepreneurial networks and facilitating exposure to potential investors. 

The HENT Communications team 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... 

MOTO - MAURITIUS

While experiencing difficulties with accessing healthcare during medical emergencies on campus, the lack available ambulances left MOTO Co-Founders struggling to get the care they needed. Together, these students (Nomboh Evans Kunchu, Busisiwe Magae, Ruth Nyarindo, Samkeliso Dlamini, Caleb Ndunda, Shaun Oodoomansaïb, and Frankline Misango) were inspired to create MOTO, a quick and affordable solution for individuals experiencing minor medical emergencies, especially for those in remote and under-served areas.

MOTO provides a platform that allows individuals to easily call first-aid trained taxi drivers to attend to minor medical emergencies. Their solution results in care arriving ten times faster than an ambulance. MOTO provides an alternative to traditional ambulance services and healthcare facilities, making it more convenient and affordable for individuals who need medical attention.  

Showcasing impressive growth, MOTO completed nearly 2000 transfers using two taxi-ambulances in their first year and a half of operation and were able to obtain a 14% profit margin for re-investment into the company for further growth. 
Marketed towards individuals who live in areas where there are few healthcare facilities or who have difficulty accessing traditional healthcare services due to mobility or transportation issues, MOTO aims to make healthcare more convenient and accessible for all. 

What is the accomplishment to date that your team is most proud of?   
Among the many things that our MOTO team is proud of, one  
that stands out is the incorporation of our venture in Mauritius. This has given us a legal framework upon which we can use to build and scale our idea, working towards a global reach.

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

It takes an "A" team to make the most basic idea work in an extraordinary way. Spend substantial time building a quality team. 

Looking forward, MOTO is working on making their application more comprehensive in health services. This will allow users to reserve appointments with healthcare professionals who can provide medical consultations via video calls, or in-person visits at the patient's location. MOTO will also offer a service where prescriptions can be uploaded onto their site, to which a MOTO driver will deliver the required medication in a timely manner. To assist in this growth, the MOTO team is working to onboard 20 drivers a month in their second year, expand to Rwanda, and offer service to cover 9000 people with a 1:250 taxi to person ratio. 

You can learn more about MOTO by visiting their website.  

Venture Spotlight: Emergency Response Africa

The Health Entrepreneurship (HENT) Challenge’s first cohort is getting ready 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. 

In the meantime, the HENT Communications team caught up with the ventures from the first HENT Challenge cohort to learn more about the origins of their companies, what they’ve learned to date, and what is coming up next... 

Emergency Response Africa - NIGERIA

In 2017, Folake Owodunni called 911 after her one-year-old son awoke in the night in excruciating pain. Paramedics arrived quickly to the scene and delivered care. Within an hour her son was safely and comfortably asleep once more. After the incident, Owodunni, who had immigrated to North America from Nigeria, reflected on how different the outcome of this situation would have been back home. Shortly after she met Co-Founder Maame Poku, who had lost a family member in Ghana due to slow emergency response. Together, they started Emergency Response Africa and are saving lives by connecting the largest network of first responders, emergency vehicles, and hospitals to patients in needing urgent emergency care, within minutes of the call. Their solution relies on smart dispatching, seamless communication, and data transfer to make care as quick and effective as possible.

What is the accomplishment to date that your team is most proud of?   

Since launching in 2021, we have addressed several thousand emergency requests for individuals and organizations and trained more than 500 individuals in the community with first aid skills. Our network size has grown immensely.  

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

Starting a business is a rollercoaster of emotions, with highs and lows, successes and failures. Surround yourself with a supportive network, learn from your mistakes, and stay focused on your passion. Believe in yourself and your ability to succeed and remember that with every challenge comes an opportunity for growth.  

Looking forward, Emergency Response Africa’s team aims to work towards their mission of making quick emergency response services to all of Africa by reducing average wait times by 80%. A second milestone for their team is to launch a major public sector partnership before the end of 2023, a goal which would enable the venture to collaborate with government agencies and other stakeholders to provide improved emergency services to vulnerable populations. 

You can learn more about Emergency Response Africa by visiting their website.