Ira Pastor, ideaXme exponential health ambassador and founder of Bioquark, interviews Sanga Kanthema, 24 year old electronics specialist and founder and CEO of two Malawi-based companies, Dolphin Health Innovations and QubiX Robotics.
Ira Pastor comments:
On today’s show, we are going to continue our “virtual global road trip” and our discussions about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) initiatives, and about ways they are disrupting the status quo. In doing so, we are heading back to the continent of Africa.
But first, we are going to start with some disconcerting statistics on the healthcare front.
Frugal Innovation in Robotics
It estimated that there are only 25 consultant oncologists to service all 160 million Nigerians; only 1 pathologist per 700,000 Sudanese; only 1 pathologist per 1.5 million Ugandans; Niger only has 288 doctors for 14 million people; and Mozambique only has 548 doctors for 26 million people.
Needless to say, mobile health technologies (smart phones, telemedicine, medical drones, etc.) all offer the potential for disruptive solutions, especially in conditions where instead of relying on traditional infrastructure and healthcare models, populations need access to inexpensive, easily accessible, problem solving technologies, especially when the nearest doctor is a couple hundred miles away.
Doing More With Less in Malawi
The republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa, bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west, and has an estimated population of around 18 million people.
Of the world’s lesser developed countries, the government faces many challenges in terms of lower life expectancies, high infant mortality, a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, and the World Health Organization (WHO) recently ranked it’s healthcare system at 185 out of 191 countries rated.
However, with all of those challenges, we still see the emergence of young thought leaders and entrepreneurs who are looking to change the status quo utilizing STEM thinking, business innovation, and the tools that are available to them.
Sanga Kanthema Helps Develop Medtech in Africa
Sanga Marcarios Kanthema is a 24-year-old electronics specialist, and founder and CEO of two Malawi-based companies, Dolphin Health Innovations Inc., a digital health startup developing online ECG and stethoscope technologies, as well as QubiX Robotics Inc., which is developing bionic prosthetics, all from inexpensive, discarded electronics devices.
He is also the Malawi Ambassador for TME Education, an international program that looks to popularise electronics and technology-related knowledge around the world, especially in regions where access to proper training is quite limited.
On this episode we hear from Mr. Kanthema:
About his background, how he developed an interest in electronics, STEM, biomedical device development, and entrepreneurship. The current state of affairs related to technology education and development in Malawi. His work at Dolphin Health Innovations and QubiX Robotics. Finally, about his Malawian tech ambassadorship for TME Education.
Credits: Ira Pastor interview video, text, and audio.
Follow Ira Pastor on Twitter: @IraSamuelPastor
If you liked this interview, be sure to check out our interview with Ósìnàkáchì Ákùmà Kálù on technological development in Africa!
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