Cape Town-based nonprofit Tiko has been selected among more than 80 organisations globally for Melinda French Gates’ $250 million Action for Women’s Health initiative, giving the African health platform new support to expand a model that has already reached more than two million girls across the continent.
Tiko connects young women to reproductive and sexual healthcare through technologies that do not depend on smartphones or expensive internet access. Its platform uses basic SMS and QR codes to link young people with health information, referrals and services.
That approach is particularly significant in Africa, where owning a smartphone is still not a prerequisite for accessing mobile communications. By relying on ordinary text messaging, Tiko can reach young women who may have a basic mobile phone, limited internet connectivity or no reliable access to data services.
The platform is designed around another major barrier to healthcare access, cost. Young women can use Tiko to connect with services without facing financial barriers that might otherwise prevent them from seeking reproductive healthcare.
Tiko says its programmes have reached more than two million girls across Africa, giving it a substantial community footprint as it works to address interconnected health challenges affecting young women.
Its model focuses on what Tiko describes as a “triple threat” of HIV, unintended pregnancy and sexual violence. Rather than treating these challenges as isolated issues, the platform uses its network and data to connect young women with relevant services while helping providers understand where demand and risks are emerging.
The use of real-time data is central to that model. Information generated through the platform can help identify patterns and gaps in service access, allowing health programmes to target resources and interventions more effectively. The Action for Women’s Health initiative forms part of French Gates’ broader $600 million global funding push for women’s health.
Tiko’s selection places an African organisation with an established technology and community model within a global portfolio of organisations seeking to address persistent gaps in women’s healthcare. For Tiko, the opportunity is particularly relevant because its technology does not require Africa’s digital infrastructure to look like that of wealthier markets.
SMS works on basic mobile phones, requires relatively little connectivity, and can reach users excluded from smartphone-dependent digital health platforms.
That makes the Tiko potentially important for expanding healthcare access beyond urban and digitally connected populations. Its next phase will test how effectively a system that has already reached millions of African girls can scale across more communities while retaining the accessibility that defines its approach.
