In Africa, access to quality healthcare still proves challenging for many residents. To address the situation, tech entrepreneurs are developing solutions to complement government initiatives. 

Damu-Sasa is an e-health solution developed by a Kenyan startup Damu Sasa System Limited (DSL), founded in 2017. It supports blood supply, inventory, and transfusion management. It also helps improve haemovigilance. 

To easily create its blood bank database, the solution has an Android app, allowing donors to join an e-community of blood donors and discuss with them through the chat feature. 

Through the app, donors can access their blood donation records and check whether a blood donation appointment is scheduled. Thanks to that approach, Damu-Sasa can supply blood to hospitals, even in case of emergency. Currently, it claims a database of 44,527 donors in 38 counties, 34,161 lives touched and 179 hospitals supported. 

In 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, it received a US$20,000 grant from Villgro Africa, an incubator and impact investor operating in the health sector, to enhance its capabilities. At the time,  DSL chairman, Matunda Nuancham explained that the funding would help “improve potential blood donor numbers and hence help alleviate, to the degree possible, the perennial blood shortages.”

In June 2022, the University of Nairobi announced a partnership with DSL for a project aimed at improving the management of blood transfusion services in Kenya. Months later, in September, DSL made it to the list of the 30 African healthtech startups to participate in the first cohort of the i3 innovation program sponsored by several foundations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Adoni Conrad Quenum