A health care startup company founded by two Waterloo Engineering graduate students took first place and the US $25,000 top prize in a recent pitch contest in Africa.
Folake Owodunni and Maame Yaa Afriyie Poku launched Emergency Response Africa (ERA) after meeting in the master of business, entrepreneurship and technology (MBET) program at Waterloo.
Folake Owodunni, left, and Maame Yaa Afriyie Poku of Emergency Response Africa pose with their ceremonial cheque at the Velocity Fund Finals on campus last summer.
Their goal is to use training, technology and transportation to provide medical care at emergency scenes in Nigeria, where there is only one ambulance for every 191,000 people, and facilitate access to hospitals.
Owodunni is continuing her studies part-time while also working at the University of Waterloo. Poku graduated from the MBET program last year.
The pitch competition, held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was organized by The Bulb Africa, a startup accelerator based in Nigeria, to support technology startups tackling health care problems.
Five finalists selected from dozens of entries made presentations to a panel of judges.
ERA has now won several pitch contests, including $5,000 at the Velocity Fund Finals (now called the Concept $5K Finals) last summer.