Samahope
Q: Please tell us how your business idea was conceived. Was there an "aha" moment or did it evolve gradually?
On a trip to Sierra Leone, co-founder Leila Janah learned that across
the country, 1 of every 14 women die during childbirth. There,
debilitating birth injuries that rarely happen in the U.S. are a fact of
daily life. And with only 3 Ob/Gyn specialists in a country of 6
million people, most of the women affected by these injuries suffer with
no end in sight.
On that same trip, Leila met Dr. Darius Maggi,
an Ob/Gyn surgeon from Texas who travels to Sierra Leone multiple times
per year to treat women with a birth injury called obstetric fistula. On
each of those trips, Dr. Maggi performs as many as 100 fistula repair
surgeries—up to 400 per year.
When Dr. Maggi told Leila that he
funds fistula treatments for patients by raising money from members of
his local church, she immediately saw an opportunity to help: what if,
instead of devoting resources to marketing and fundraising, doctors like
Dr. Maggi could just focus on treating patients, building clinical
infrastructure, and training local staff?
Leila joined forces
with fellow co-founder Shivani Garg Patel, and the idea for Samahope—a
crowdfunding platform that raises money for these heroic doctors—was
born. The "aha" moment for both founders came when they realized that
there are hundreds of doctors like Dr. Maggi, all with the capacity to
treat more patients in need but without the funds to do so. Samahope
aims to enable these doctors to reach more patients through its
crowdfunding platform.
Q: What's the most inventive, innovative, or disruptive aspect of your initiative?
In addition, no crowdfunding platform is dedicated to supporting doctors and clinics that cater to the underserved; this is Samahope’s niche. The funding opportunities on our website focus on supporting medical professionals and partner medical clinics. Our model reinforces existing infrastructure in disadvantaged regions, while preserving patient privacy. Our doctors have extensive experience serving the communities in their areas, and our goal is to help them expand the reach of their life-saving care. This also enables a more direct donation flow and closer tracking of donor dollars and resulting impact. Our monthly doctor reports to donors show the staggering impact that increased medical resources can have on patients served and entire communities.
Q: How will it help people live to their greatest potential or contribute to making the world healthier?
For donors, Samahope hopes to enable each of these individuals to create a healthier and more equitable world. By pooling together donations, each donor can impact the life of another in need for as little as $5. By building this empowered community of donors, we aim to help each donor live their giving potential.
Q: Five years from now, what would you like to be able to say has been your most important contribution to health?
Samahope was founded by women for women. We pride ourselves in being a mission-driven tech startup that operates with an ambitious and relentless team. Our team has the combined experience and commitment, with our operational, entrepreneurial, technical, and social-impact backgrounds to reach our goals.