ETHIOPIA—Lifeline Addis, a home-based healthcare platform startup, has been picked by Mesirat, a multifaceted entrepreneurship program for gig marketplace platforms (GPMs), to receive support to grow into a premier health gig platform in Ethiopia.
Mesirat is a 5-year, US$48 million, multi-phase program to create opportunities for 1 million highly skilled workers through creating, supporting, and nurturing 100 multi-sided gig and professional marketplaces (GPMs) across Ethiopia.
The program was co-created and led by the collaboration of the Mastercard Foundation, Gebeya, and its consortium partners.
The consortium partners comprise Ace Advisors, the American College of Technology (ACT), the Centre for Accelerated Women’s Economic Empowerment (CAWEE), The Urban Centre (TUC), Shega Media & Technology plc., and Laurendeau & Associates.
Empowering Entrepreneurial Growth in Ethiopia’s Gig Economy
Mesirat has four parts to its acceleration process i.e., recruitment, vetting, upskilling, and gig matching where we use assessments, scoping studies, and mapping to find and work with TVETs, community organizations, and the gig economy.
The Ethiopian-based program also provides entrepreneur support, GPM provisioning, vetting, training, certification, onboarding of gig workers onto the GPM, link to digital jobs, digitally enabled work (gig workers), and entrepreneurship.
Additionally, Mesirat commits to helping 50 TVETs, 50 professional associations, and community organizations with GPM training and skill development.
Programs that can receive the Mesirat basket of goodies must have a registered license in Ethiopia, have tested ideas with proof of concept, must show a scalable business model, and have an experienced team that is working on their idea full-time.
Moreover, Mesirat insists that the business must have been working for at least 6 months, the business must offer professional gigs with a multi-sided marketplace matching model, and it has a disruptive or unique value proposition.
The entrepreneurship program will offer selected startups technology assistance, developing and executing marketing campaigns that reach potential customers and target groups, and access to mentorship through a network of businesses and organizations.
Importantly, Mesirat will offer financing to grow their business, skilled service providers can help you enhance your social media strategy, boost your sales, and provide tailored services.
Additionally, it will provide two-to-four hours of workshop training and consulting each week (for three months).
Startups that have also been selected to join Lifeline include YeneHealth, Mogzit, taskmoby, and Utentic.
Lifeline Addis Evolution as Ethiopia’s Healthcare Gig Platform
Lifeline Addis founders created the platform to bridge the gap between the healthcare provider and the healthcare recipient.
As one of the first home-based healthcare institutions in Ethiopia, it encompasses various services including wellness packages, medical consultations, doctor visits, nursing care, physiotherapy, laboratory service, medical equipment supply, ambulance service, and COVID-19 home treatment and follow-up.
Lifeline Addis was launched four years ago by Dr. Solomon Desalegn and his two friends, Dr. Kaleab Getache and Dr. Yonas Kifle.
Today, Lifeline Addis has three full-time general practitioners, 17 full-time nurses, and psychotherapists.
Additionally, 50 health professionals work with Lifeline as gig workers, providing service on a demand-based basis.
“In Ethiopia, there is no shortage of health professionals; however, they are often underpaid. We want to create the market first before adding a lot of other gig workers to the platform,” Dr. Desalegn said.
From humble beginnings to becoming one of the leading in-home healthcare service providers in Addis Ababa and now harbouring a vision of transforming into Ethiopia’s leading healthcare gig platform.
Lifeline Addis was picked out of the various gig marketplace platforms in Ethiopia & with the support of Mesirat, Lifeline aims to create 10,000 jobs in Ethiopia’s gig economy.
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