Tanzania - Startup under 3 years old

Describe your project or startup in a few words

Tanzania’s first teleradiology platform which allows health facilities to send X-ray images to radiologists who then analyze the image and write reports remotely, via an online platform.

01.01 Describe your startup in more detail

MionziTech is Tanzania’s first and only teleradiology platform. The platform allows health facilities to send radiological investigations (e.g x-rays, CT scans) to radiologists via an online platform. The radiologists can then analyze the investigation and report it through the platform where the health facility can access the report. A key feature of the platform is the hospital module where the hospital can sign up, create a new request for analysis and interpretation, upload the x-ray image, history and patient particulars. Another key feature is the admin module which regulates the hospital and radiologist accounts. It keeps record of the investigations analyzed by each radiologist and requests sent from each hospital and distributes cases to different radiologists. The final key feature is the radiologist module which allows radiologists to view and download images, and send their reports to hospitals.

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

Tanzania is plagued by a severe lack of radiologists. The Citizen reported in 2021 that Tanzania has 60 radiologists for 60 million people showing a massive shortage. With such high demand & low supply, various problems arise. Firstly, juggling jobs leads to inaccuracies. Many radiologists work multiple jobs with a primary full-time one and 2-4 part time ones due to the shortage. This high work load makes them overwhelmed, leading to inaccurate reports. Secondly, there are long waiting times/delays. Due to multiple jobs, radiologists take a lot of time in reporting. This increases patient waiting times patients & decreases patient satisfaction. This leads to revenue loss as patients will avoid investigations. It also puts patients at risk of worsening medical conditions due to delayed medical intervention. Thirdly, there is a widespread use of untrained professionals in interpretation due to the shortage. This leads to lower quality reports with more inaccuracies & misdiagnoses

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your startup provides (at least 3).

By using an online platform, we solve the above mentioned problems as we have a faster turnaround time of around 20 minutes which reduces patient waiting times and quickens medical interventions, leading to improved patient satisfaction and fast treatments, thus reducing complications. Due to patient satisfaction due to lesser waiting times, patients will be more willing to do radiological interventions, leading to increased revenue and profitability for hospitals. Also, since we work with certified radiologists, we produce high quality and accurate reports and reduce misdiagnoses.

01.04 Please describe who exactly your startup’s product/service is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

We use a B2B model where our main clients who pay for the value are health facilities including hospitals, health centers, polyclinics and radiological services. Revenue sources are from fees from radiological interpretations and reporting by our radiologists. Beneficiaries of our project include patients who will wait for shorter times, and receive medical intervention earlier than before, leading to better health outcomes. They will also receive more accurate reports since we solely use certified and experienced radiologists instead of other unexperienced health professionals in reporting our x-rays. This will lead to accurate diagnoses and treatment regimes, leading to better health among patients.

01.05 When was your company established?

2024-05-20

01.06 Are you already selling your product/service?

Yes

01.07 How many other owners are there within your startup?

1

01.08 Among the other owners, how many are female?

0

01.09 Please describe the profile of the other owners within your startup (skills, experience, etc.)

The company has 2 shareholders who have extremely relevant backgrounds in this industry. Dr. Ali Khatau is a medical doctor and health innovator. He completed his medical degree from Kairuki University in 2019 and did his internship at Aga Khan hospital in 2020. He has over 7 years of experience in the medical field and in using technology to solve health and education problems. He identified the problem of long waiting times and inaccurate reports after working as a general practitioner over 5 years and decided to create a solution. With a strong background, skills, experience and networks in health and telehealth fields, he leads this solution and company. Mr. Sabato Owigo is another cofounder and is a website developer by profession. He has more than 4 years experience in website development and design and works on the technical aspects of the website. He holds a degree in Computer science and has extensive skills, knowledge and experience in we development and fixing bugs.

01.10 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link(s) here:

https://mionzitech.com/

01.11 Which industry best describes your project?

f) Healthcare (healthcare equipment and services)

02.01.01 My startup contributes to the No poverty goal

6

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification for my startup

Our teleradiology platform provides faster and more accurate results since we use certified radiologists instead of non-certified and inexperienced health professionals. This leads to accurate and timely medical intervention which can initiate timely treatment leading to cure of the condition. Restoration of peoples health conditions maximizes work productivity and income and thus, reduces poverty. In current conditions which have delays of hours to a few days in X-ray reporting and regular inaccuracies, patients suffer due to wrong treatment and diagnosis as well as long wait times leading to poor health and subsequent loss in productivity and income, leading to poverty.

02.02.01 My startup contributes to the Zero hunger goal

6

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification for my startup

Building on the above point on SDG1, our platform ensures correct diagnoses are made, and they are made on time/no delays, leading to correct treatment and early treatment. This leads to higher recovery rates of patients, leading to good health, and subsequent ability to work/be employed and earn a living. This subsequently leads to ability to afford food items and achievement of SDG Goal 3 of Zero Hunger.

02.03.01 My startup contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification for my startup

2 Major issues currently faced by health facilities and patients with regards to radiology are inaccurate diagnoses and delayed reporting of X-rays. Use of inexperienced health workers leads to inaccurate diagnoses and work overload due to shortage of radiologists leads to delays. This leads to delayed and wrong medical intervention and progression of disease/poor health. Our platform ensures accurate diagnoses which leads to correct treatment and timely diagnosis which leads to timely medical intervention, thus, improving health and contributing to SDG3.

02.04.01 My startup contributes to the Quality education goal

6

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification for my startup

Building on points the justification on points 1 and 3, our platform promotes good health and enables people to earn a living, leading to reduced poverty. This allows them to have enough income to provide for a good quality education for their children. Good health also ensures children can focus and study properly, leading to quality learning and achievement of SDG4.

02.05.01 My startup contributes to the Gender equality goal

3

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification for my startup

02.06.01 My startup contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification for my startup

02.07.01 My startup contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification for my startup

02.08.01 My startup contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

3

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification for my startup

02.09.01 My startup contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

4

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification for my startup

02.10.01 My startup contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification for my startup

02.11.01 My startup contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

5

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification for my startup

In a 2021 article, The Citizen article reported that Tanzania has only 60 radiologists. It also has a giant population of 60 million which means there is 1 radiologist for every 1 million people. This shows a massive shortage of these professionals and their services. With Tanzanias population rapidly increasing, it needs more radiologists or teleradiology services to ensure sustainable growth. Without this, the ratio will increase and the limited number of radiologists will not be able to serve much of the population.

02.12.01 My startup contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

3

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification for my startup

02.13.01 My startup contributes to the Climate action goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification for my startup

02.14.01 My startup contributes to the Life below water goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification for my startup

02.15.01 My startup contributes to the Life on land goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification for my startup

02.16.01 My startup contributes to the Peace Justice and Strong Institutions goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.16.02 Peace Justice and Strong Institutions- Justification for my startup

02.17.01 My startup contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

4

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification for my startup

06.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

3

06.02 The product/service represents an entirely new type of product/service.

6

06.03 The product/service could be described as a new technology.

6

06.04 The product/service is an improvement on an existing product or service.

7 - Strongly Agree

06.05 The product/service could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

6

06.06 The product/service responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

6

06.07 The product/service is a new version of an old product/service.

7 - Strongly Agree

06.08 Justification for my startup

We are a new technology but not entirely as there are a few teleradiology companies in the country, however, they are not wide spread and most hospitals do not use them. We are addressing a demand that has not been satisfied by other services and are actually improving on these services.

06.09 Competitive Analysis

There is only 1 teleradiology platform we know of which serves some of the big hospitals in Dar-es-Salaam. This platform focuses mainly on health facilities located in Dar es Salaam city centre and has not expanded to other regions. We will have an advantage since we will market our product and acquire customers from other regions as well. Secondly, we will beat them with regards to the price point. We have a better pricing for reporting which is cheaper for hospitals and that will encourage more hospitals to work with us. This platform also takes a lot of time in reporting while we guarantee reports within 30 minutes which will be another advantage.

11.05 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?