Serial entrepreneurs have revealed the life-changing event that sparked the launch of HealthTech startups.
As part of Prolific North’s ongoing graft series, we are delving into Northern Tech to highlight local challenges and opportunities. So, meet Shain Khoja: Founders who see the potential to grow the AI business in the north.
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As a physics at which a decade-old stint works in the NHS, Khoja’s career journey was not traditional. And that includes her pioneering work in Afghanistan for Telecom Provider Roshan Community, Roshan’s social impact division founded by the Aga Khan Fund for Conumence Development Fund.
“We built the largest telecom operator that created 40,000 jobs. 20% were women, representing 6% of Afghanistan’s GDP,” Shain Khoja tells Prolific North. She soon realized that providers could make even greater impact by expanding their outreach and supporting the wider Afghan population.
“My role in Afghanistan was to use technology for social good. I built Telemedicine from 2006-2007, brought Vodafone and M-PESA into financial inclusion, and provided one laptop per child for e-learning.”
As her parents and long-distance caregiver, it was there that she discovered the power of technology and why it “doesn’t replace the human touch.”
“I told him to break the door.”
Intentional to be a significant day, Koha was on his way to Toronto to win the Lifetime Achievement Award for his groundbreaking work in Afghanistan.
The excitement was replaced by dreads as she desperately tried to get in touch with her mother between her contacts.
“When I landed, I called the concierge and said, ‘Look, I can’t grab my mother. Did you see her?’ They didn’t, so I said they could hear her, but she asked me to break the door. ”
The discovery was devastating. Her mother collapsed for nine hours alone before members of the concierge team found her.
“It changed her life and my life. No one needs to go through it.”
A few days after fall, the mother became full-time reliant on Koja and other caregivers, from her complete ability to drive, fully voluntary work, shopping, cleaning or cooking. “I can afford to do that. But for the vast majority of people with AI designed, they can’t afford it, right?”
“When I rehabilitated her to a healthy state, people kept calling me and asking me how I could do it. I was someone who knew health care and social care.
She became the “driver” behind the launch of a thriving AI when she began to consider the quality of support and care for seniors available to caregivers’ families. “I realized that there is technology and we need to change this,” she explains.
Read more: How Northern Tech is “grafting” its path to the top with global ambitions
Currently, she is developing a digital platform that offers data-driven connectivity care, social engagement, medical and daily activity monitoring. Thriving AI has built-in care plans, allowing entries and updates to improve your care experience in real time.
“We essentially build a circle of care around older people. They can communicate regularly through the platform about their mental health and general wellbeing, so we can pick up the recession so that it doesn’t get so bad that we call an ambulance, go into a hospital, or occupy a bed.”
“We hope to have an office in Manchester by the end of 2025.”
Recently, she has had epic ambitions for her business to partner with Social Sense, a social marketing and behavioral change agency, to promote the next stage of growth in AI, which all starts in Manchester.
“We hope to have an office in Manchester by the end of the year,” she says. “Manchester is a very thriving ecosystem. Not only is its investor base and startup support base very active, but it is gradually thinking about healthcare by the likes of the Manchester Foundation Trust and the Liverpool NHS.”
Recently, joining Turing Innovation Catalyst (TIC), an AI Accelerator Program based in Manchester, was a turning point in the future direction of AI’s prosperity.
“My relationship with my social sense and attendance at the Turing Innovation Catalyst Program was a stepping stone to setting up an office because it shows that we are an ecosystem that can create jobs, impact the lives of older people, and generally improve the delivery of care for this group.”
“I used some accelerators, and this accelerator was one of the best I’ve done. The mentor has real-world experience, building companies, leaving companies, failing companies.
However, she acknowledges it is a “very difficult” experience, as the Solo founder juggles the responsibility to give care.
“With constant responsibility, if something dramatic happens, everything has to be dropped. It doesn’t matter if it’s a customer’s phone or an investor’s phone. As a founder, are you constantly juggling cash?
Now, as Manchester aims to expand, Koha is looking for new sector partnerships and has made some spectacular plans to add them to the platform’s evidence base through larger trials. And with the NHS at its “turn-off” point, timing has become more important than ever.
“No matter how many beds and care homes we build, we can’t accommodate 20% of our population. They don’t want to be there. 90% of them feel aging and included in our community.
“That’s our ultimate mission and we bring everyone around older people, support them, and ensure they continue to stay healthy and independent with the data collected.”
