ERA: Africa’s Emergency Medical Responder
Donation protected
Help us build Africa’s Emergency Medical Response system!
In 2016, I (Folake) had to call 911. My 1 year old son had woken up in the middle of the night screaming. My husband was traveling for work so it was just the two of us; it was scary. Nothing I did stopped the screaming, so I called 911. Within 10 minutes two paramedics were in our home and in less than an hour, my son was back in bed fast asleep. Thankfully, it was nothing serious, but I couldn't help but imagine how different the scenario would have been if it was serious and I had been home in Nigeria with no one to call.
Have you ever been seriously injured or had a medical emergency and needed help? Who did you call? If you had access to trained paramedics, ambulances and good emergency care, you’re among the lucky few.
Millions of Africans die every year because emergency medical services are either non-existent or under-resourced. Many rely on kind strangers to drive them to hospital, receive no treatment on the way and may be rejected at the hospital because of payment issues, lack of the right medical staff or equipment.
Help us change that, beginning in Nigeria!
WHO WE ARE
Emergency Response Africa (ERA) is a healthcare technology company that provides medical care to victims at the scene of the emergency and facilitates access to advanced hospital care.
ERA combines training, technology and transportation to create a sustainable and scalable solution to the lack of emergency medical services in Nigeria.
We envision an Africa where everyone can recognize a medical emergency, call for help, and receive it within 10 minutes.
ERA was founded in 2018 in Canada by Folake Owodunni and Maame Poku.
Folake Owodunni
Co-Founder
Folake is originally from Nigeria, and in 2016, she had to call 9-1-1 for help with her one year old son. Thanks to a great team of paramedics and medical dispatchers, the emergency turned out fine and now she is passionate about ensuring access to emergency healthcare in developing countries. She has a BSc in Biology, Masters in Global Health & Development, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Business Entrepreneurship & Technology (MBET) at the University of Waterloo. She is a Certified First Aid & CPR Instructor with the Canadian Life Saving Society and has experience working in healthcare, nonprofits and consulting in Nigeria, the United States and Canada.
Maame Poku
Co-Founder
Maame is from Ghana and has personally witnessed the impact of lack of emergency care. A passionate technologist, she believes in the power of technology to improve health. Maame has a BSc in Management Information Systems from Ashesi University and a Masters in Business, Entrepreneurship & Technology (MBET) from University of Waterloo. She has experience working in a fintech and edutech, developing mobile and web applications as well as experience in database management, e-commerce and programming.
We are building our team and invite you to join us by contributing to this campaign!
HOW IT WORKS
ERA combines emergency response training with intelligent dispatch and communications technology and low-cost medical transportation to create a sustainable and scalable emergency response system.
Our system is designed to get victims help from the nearest, most qualified first responder who can treat them on site or stabilize the situation. If needed, the system also makes transfer of the victim to the most appropriate hospital possible, eliminating the risk of being rejected. How? Well that’s part of our secret sauce :-)
No more running to neighbors at night or begging bystanders for a ride to a hospital! No more arriving at hospitals only to be turned away because they are unwilling or unable to treat you! In other words, no more unnecessary deaths from easily addressable emergencies!
WHAT WE NEED
We are raising $15,750 to prepare us for the pilot. Every dollar counts!
We have taken some significant steps including market research, registering our business, designing our technology platform, and signing an agreement with a local partner to run a pilot project. Help us take the following next steps.
Build our first prototype - $6,500
Map healthcare facilities in our pilot area - $4,750
First Responder training - $5,000
WHAT YOU GET
In addition to laying the foundation for a life-saving business, your contribution can start saving lives now!
A $10 contribution (about 3,600 Naira) gives you access to a downloadable infographic on recognizing the signs of a stroke, one of the fastest growing causes of death in Africa.
A portion of every contribution above $50 (about 18,000 Naira) will be donated to Health Emergency Initiative, an organization dedicated to paying for the first 24 hours of care for accident trauma victims.
Contributions above $100 (about 36,000 Naira) will receive a personalized report on how your donation to Health Emergency Initiative helped save lives.
Contributions above $250 (about 90,000 Naira) will receive a free one year subscription to ERA’s services on launch, in addition to making a donation and receiving a personalized report.
QUESTIONS?
We are happy to answer them. Please email us at [email redacted] and we will be in touch. Thank you!
**Royalty Free Music from www.bensound.com**
In 2016, I (Folake) had to call 911. My 1 year old son had woken up in the middle of the night screaming. My husband was traveling for work so it was just the two of us; it was scary. Nothing I did stopped the screaming, so I called 911. Within 10 minutes two paramedics were in our home and in less than an hour, my son was back in bed fast asleep. Thankfully, it was nothing serious, but I couldn't help but imagine how different the scenario would have been if it was serious and I had been home in Nigeria with no one to call.
Have you ever been seriously injured or had a medical emergency and needed help? Who did you call? If you had access to trained paramedics, ambulances and good emergency care, you’re among the lucky few.
Millions of Africans die every year because emergency medical services are either non-existent or under-resourced. Many rely on kind strangers to drive them to hospital, receive no treatment on the way and may be rejected at the hospital because of payment issues, lack of the right medical staff or equipment.
Help us change that, beginning in Nigeria!
WHO WE ARE
Emergency Response Africa (ERA) is a healthcare technology company that provides medical care to victims at the scene of the emergency and facilitates access to advanced hospital care.
ERA combines training, technology and transportation to create a sustainable and scalable solution to the lack of emergency medical services in Nigeria.
We envision an Africa where everyone can recognize a medical emergency, call for help, and receive it within 10 minutes.
ERA was founded in 2018 in Canada by Folake Owodunni and Maame Poku.
Folake Owodunni
Co-Founder
Folake is originally from Nigeria, and in 2016, she had to call 9-1-1 for help with her one year old son. Thanks to a great team of paramedics and medical dispatchers, the emergency turned out fine and now she is passionate about ensuring access to emergency healthcare in developing countries. She has a BSc in Biology, Masters in Global Health & Development, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Business Entrepreneurship & Technology (MBET) at the University of Waterloo. She is a Certified First Aid & CPR Instructor with the Canadian Life Saving Society and has experience working in healthcare, nonprofits and consulting in Nigeria, the United States and Canada.
Maame Poku Co-Founder
Maame is from Ghana and has personally witnessed the impact of lack of emergency care. A passionate technologist, she believes in the power of technology to improve health. Maame has a BSc in Management Information Systems from Ashesi University and a Masters in Business, Entrepreneurship & Technology (MBET) from University of Waterloo. She has experience working in a fintech and edutech, developing mobile and web applications as well as experience in database management, e-commerce and programming.
We are building our team and invite you to join us by contributing to this campaign!
HOW IT WORKS
ERA combines emergency response training with intelligent dispatch and communications technology and low-cost medical transportation to create a sustainable and scalable emergency response system.
Our system is designed to get victims help from the nearest, most qualified first responder who can treat them on site or stabilize the situation. If needed, the system also makes transfer of the victim to the most appropriate hospital possible, eliminating the risk of being rejected. How? Well that’s part of our secret sauce :-)
No more running to neighbors at night or begging bystanders for a ride to a hospital! No more arriving at hospitals only to be turned away because they are unwilling or unable to treat you! In other words, no more unnecessary deaths from easily addressable emergencies!
WHAT WE NEED
We are raising $15,750 to prepare us for the pilot. Every dollar counts!
We have taken some significant steps including market research, registering our business, designing our technology platform, and signing an agreement with a local partner to run a pilot project. Help us take the following next steps.
Build our first prototype - $6,500
Map healthcare facilities in our pilot area - $4,750
First Responder training - $5,000
WHAT YOU GET
In addition to laying the foundation for a life-saving business, your contribution can start saving lives now!
A $10 contribution (about 3,600 Naira) gives you access to a downloadable infographic on recognizing the signs of a stroke, one of the fastest growing causes of death in Africa.
A portion of every contribution above $50 (about 18,000 Naira) will be donated to Health Emergency Initiative, an organization dedicated to paying for the first 24 hours of care for accident trauma victims.
Contributions above $100 (about 36,000 Naira) will receive a personalized report on how your donation to Health Emergency Initiative helped save lives.
Contributions above $250 (about 90,000 Naira) will receive a free one year subscription to ERA’s services on launch, in addition to making a donation and receiving a personalized report.
QUESTIONS?
We are happy to answer them. Please email us at [email redacted] and we will be in touch. Thank you!
**Royalty Free Music from www.bensound.com**
Fundraising team: Team ERA (2)
Folake Owodunni
Organizer
Kitchener, ON
Maame Afriyie Poku
Team member