The challenge
Millions of girls facing this triple threat are pushed out of school, out of opportunity and away from the futures they deserve.
Unintended pregnancy
1 in
4
girls in sub-Saharan Africa become pregnant before age 18.
HIV infections
63
%
of new infections occur among girls aged 15–24.
Sexual violence
1 in
5
girls have experienced sexual violence, a major driver of HIV infection and unintended pregnancy.
How we work
Tiko is changing the story
We connect girls to a no-cost, integrated care ecosystem designed around their lives.
Step 1
Lucy lives in multidimensional poverty.
She faces health challenges, from unintended and teenage pregnancy, HIV infection, sexual and gender-based violence and period poverty, alongside poor psychological and mental health.
Step 2
Miriam, a mobiliser working for one of Tiko’s community-based partner organizations, approaches Lucy.
Miriam, who also lives in Lucy’s community and faces the same challenges, engages with Lucy to talk about her sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and the services that are available to her. She explains that Tiko would allow her to access youth-friendly, quality-assured integrated health services at no cost to her.
Step 3
Lucy decides to seek a health service.
Miriam helps to enroll Lucy onto the Tiko platform, her digitally-enabled ecosystem of quality public and private healthcare providers and pharmacies within her community, offering integrated family planning, HIV, and sexual violence support services.
Lucy doesn’t need a phone. Miriam can onboard her through various high tech (WhatsApp-based), low-tech (SMS-based) and no-tech (QR-coded card) options.
Step 4
A public or private clinic or pharmacy within Lucy’s community has joined the Tiko ecosystem. They partner with Tiko to benefit from demand generation and the ability to reach girls aged 15-24.
The provider offers accessible and holistic services across contraception, HIV treatment and prevention, menstrual hygiene management, sexual and gender-based violence and mental health.
Step 5
Lucy visits a clinic in her community, one of a set of options she was referred to by Miriam.
Lucy receives a health service, and rates the quality of the care. For this rating, she receives rewards, called ‘Tiko miles’. Tiko recognises Lucy for her positive health seeking behaviour. She can spend these miles at local retailers to buy essential items, like sanitary pads.
The clinic is funded through Tiko to provide the service to Lucy, and is trained, rewarded and nudged to provide a quality service, and receive a good rating from Lucy.
Step 6
A retailer in Lucy’s community, such as a shop or kiosk, has joined the Tiko ecosystem. They partner with Tiko to benefit from the service uptake, as they can accept Tiko miles as currency and cash them in for real payments.
Lucy’s local economy has the opportunity to help motivate the positive health behaviours of adolescent girls and young women.
Step 7
Lucy has the agency to choose when, where and how she meets her health and wellbeing needs as part of an empowered network of young people in her community.
Mobilisers nudge her to continue accessing services, and she shares her experiences with peers, who in turn seek more information on how Tiko can serve them.
Tiko supports Lucy over the years throughout new health challenges that come her way.
Our ambition
Girls cannot wait
We must urgently tackle the crisis of the triple threat facing vulnerable girls in sub-Saharan Africa. We do this through our simple, but effective model that connects girls to the right care at the right time.
or
Connect
Community mobilisers connect girls to a wide ecosystem of healthcare using high-tech (WhatsApp), lo-tech (SMS) and no-tech (QR code) options.
Navigate
Mobilisers and community-based organizations help girls navigate the health services offered by Tiko’s healthcare partners free of fear, shame, and financial hardship.
Care
Girls can choose the care they want, from contraception and HIV testing, treatment and prevention, to menstrual hygiene management and trauma counseling for sexual violence survivors.
Earn & redeem
For every health service girls access and rate, they receive Tiko miles awards which they exchange with Tiko’s local retail partners for hygiene products and food.
Our partners
Trusted by leading organizations
ELMA
UNFPA
CIFF
EJAF
Having worked with Triggerise (now Tiko) through the design of the Development Impact Bond, we have been so impressed with their ability to track and use data to continuously innovate to deliver better outcomes for the youth they serve.
Lucia Santirso Richards
Investment Director
Bridges Outcomes Partnerships
Tiko’s innovative use of technology and data to create locally relevant, community-based healthcare solutions for youth is truly inspiring. Their commitment to working with established local networks ensures that their services are both effective, replicable, and impactful.
Shingi Nyamwanza Bimha
Head of Programmes and Partnerships
Southern Africa, Anglo American Foundation