Apply for Next-Generation Digital Learning Tools for Community Health Workers Challenge

Deadline Date: March 22, 2024

Donor Name: AMREF Health Africa

Grant Size: $10,000 to $100,000

https://innovationexchange.ktn-global.org/challenges/302

AMREF Health Africa is looking to transform its digital learning and data collection tools for community health workers, using next-generation technologies to create a more user-friendly and intuitive system.

Their goal is to improve responsiveness, functional optimization, and performance measurement of new and existing tools, including interactive voice response (IVR) and short message service (SMS), and smartphone usage, all of which cause daily problems. Such problems include:

• Inability to use in multiple languages
• Slow response times to fix user issues
• Limited functionality for users living with disabilities
• In-house capabilities to make code changes is slowed down
• Lack of connectivity problems
• Integration with multiple platforms
• Limited harnessing of AI benefits
• Limits to 2-way communication

AMREF would like to enhance their existing learning tools via additional or alternative functionality. They also require solutions to interface with their existing data collection platform. They would like to explore gamification, video and embedded visual aids to attract younger users.

Sectors

Solutions can engage with any suitable touchpoint (software, device, infrastructure, etc.) and are invited from, but not limited to, the following sectors:

• Digital
• Telecoms
• AI
• Data
• Creative
• Design
• Sensors
• Imaging

AMREF is currently using 2 key tools

• Learning Platform
  • AMREF’s mobile learning solution for training community health care workers employs an appropriate mobile learning approach to train and empower health workers. They can learn at their own pace while in the community, providing both interpersonal and community aspects of learning.
  • The platform provides access to timely and appropriate training by reaching learners on any smart or basic device. It measures learner’s progress and provides performance reports; delivers health content; allows learners to interact through group chat; and can provide limited multi-lingual content.
  • Text and audio interactions for learners include:
    • SMS – they can receive and respond
    • Peer learning – to chat among themselves
    • IVR – instant voice recordings
• Data Collection Platform
  • This proprietary toolkit incorporates a mobile application for capturing data from the household level and transmitting it online to a web-based database. Through this platform, community health promoters have been able to cut the turn-around time for transmitting data from several weeks to a few minutes.
  • CHPs collect data on mobile devices (any network) during their regular household visits and submit this data, from where healthcare teams can review the data for decision making and planning purposes. CHPs ask household questions using a short form to guide data collection.

Rewards & Benefits

• Up to GBP 25,000 seed funding (Subject to T&C)
• Opportunity to pitch your solution to AMREF
• Collaboration/partnership with AMREF
• Technical support from AMREF team
• Sector expertise from Innovate UK
• Support in the development of a prototype or pilot
• Invitation to attend or present at Innovate UK events
• Investor introductions (if investment is required)
• Application support for any Innovate UK or similar competitions that are relevant.

Functional Requirements

The identified solution must/should address the following:

• Solution must integrate with the learning and data collection platforms
• Solutions must be downloadable via online platforms
• Solutions must be low cost for designated users (between $7-$15 per user per month)
• Solutions should be available via personal mobile phones, though other platforms and devices will be considered also.
• As a minimum, solutions should be viable with Android devices and a basic version for feature phones
• Solutions benefitting users (Community Health Workers and the community they serve) with physical, mental and social obstacles are desirable

Technical Requirements

• Solution may be integrated with AMREF’s existing systems or may operate as separate systems alongside it.
• Please detail any new infrastructure requirements for your solution
• Solution must be applicable in modular format, to scale progressively
• Solution should be able to work across a wide range of devices
• Solution should not require heavy mobile data usage
• Solutions must operate securely with data privacy aligned with existing AMREF policies
• Technological maturity: preference for late-stage solutions (TRL 7+) that have passed proof of concept stage, are in pilot, ready to commercialise or commercialised. However lower TRL ideas will also be considered.

Eligibility Criteria

• Entrants to this competition must be:
  • Established businesses, start-ups, SMEs or individual entrepreneurs
  • Africa-based entrants, UK-based entrants and those from RoW are invited to apply
• Due Diligence requirements for seed funding:
  • UK applicants must ensure that receiving the £25k seed funding will not exceed the £315,000 state aid threshold under UK Minimal Financial Assistance regulations over the current and last 2 fiscal years
  • Further information will be required later relating to company policies, financial history and recent grant funding received.

For more information, visit AMREF Health Africa.