The Swiss startup KimboCare is aiming to make quality healthcare accessible for everyone in West Africa – and soon also across the globe. As part of the Microsoft for Startups program, the company receives support on its mission through the Microsoft Cloud solutions.
The current health crisis exemplifies like no other that access to quality healthcare is crucial. However, many do not have the privilege to receive the right care – a problem that the siblings Murielle and Franck Tiambo are tackling with their startup: “KimboCare is a result of our story and desire to address personal frustration while attempting to help our loved ones back home in Cameroon to access healthcare”, says Murielle Tiambo, co-founder of KimboCare. Franck Tiambo, also co-founder, explains: “They would consistently either not use the money provided by us to visit a doctor as intended or when they did, they would not receive the right care, often getting back to us with a worsened condition. Therefore, we decided to do something to address this issue.”
KimboCare is a blockchain-enabled, mobile-based, Swiss-made technology platform that enables anyone to purchase quality care services for people who cannot afford them. The prepaid medical services, known as KimboCare’s “health credits”, are available for use near instantly. The costs and the effectiveness of the care remain transparent for all the stakeholders. Additionally, KimboCare protects the privacy and security of every user involved in the transactions: “All the data is fully encrypted at all times which is a crucial element for building the trust in our solution”, says Franck Tiambo. “Finally, we partner with a growing network of thoroughly vetted medical providers to deliver outcome-based care and outstanding patient experience in a sustainable way.”
After running a successful pilot last year, KimboCare has already enabled hundreds of patients to receive appropriate medical treatments. Murielle Tiambo exemplifies: “One woman, who was 72 years old and whom the granddaughter had bought health credits for, said that it was the best medical experience she has had in her entire life. She said the politeness and empathy shown by the staff were amazing and helped her feel more comfortable to share her medical story with the doctor.”
KimboCare has joined the Microsoft for Startups Switzerland program and is using the Azure Cloud services locally through Microsoft’s datacenters in Switzerland. “The data proximity and regulatory compliance handling sensitive patient data was one of the reasons to work with Microsoft”, explains Franck Tiambo. “But what mattered even more to us is the strong alignment of our mindsets to constantly challenge the status quo with the people working at Microsoft”, adds Murielle Tiambo. Next to Azure, KimboCare also uses Power Apps and Dynamics 365.
“As we pursue our mission, we have both an enormous opportunity and responsibility to ensure the technology we create and support benefits everyone on the planet”, says Tim Moser, Project Manager for Microsoft for Startups Switzerland. “Everything we do is driven by this deep sense of purpose and the timeless values of trust, privacy, inclusion, and transparency. This mission and purpose guide our commitment to causes and communities around the world – like KimboCare does.”
