About us

About Tiko

Tiko is a non-profit leveraging technology to transform sexual and reproductive health for underserved girls in urban and peri-urban Africa facing the ‘triple threat’ of unintended pregnancy, HIV and sexual and gender-based violence.

Tiko uses a tech-enabled model to connect otherwise fragmented stakeholders on the ground, such as private and public medical service providers, community-based organisations (CBOs) and pharmacies, so that girls have access to high-quality health and wellbeing services and products, at no cost to them.

Tiko’s model removes social and financial barriers to care, ultimately empowering girls as agents in their sexual and reproductive health journey.

Addressing the Triple Threat of Unintended Pregnancy, HIV and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

Tiko strengthens the resilience of girls across Africa by protecting them from the “Triple Threat”: unintended pregnancy, HIV, and sexual and gender-based violence. We connect girls to free health and wellbeing services across health systems through a community driven and tech-enabled model of care. By removing barriers and acting as their companion, Tiko helps girls to shape their own futures where they thrive.

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Our story

Founded in 2014, Tiko set out to revolutionise the social impact sector by integrating technology into its core operating model, thereby tackling inefficiencies in the provision of healthcare. Traditional aid often created an unsustainable reliance on parallel distribution, fragmented service delivery systems and upstream subsidy schemes

From the start, Tiko aimed to transform this framework by building healthcare solutions from within the communities they serve, working with local actors to unify existing healthcare players into a cohesive ecosystem, leveraging their strengths and building resilience. Tiko’s model would use technology to ensure that support reached target groups, and that the impact of that support would be verified. With the ability to identify every unique user, it would be able to reach them with targeted subsidies and nudges.

Today, Tiko has delivered sexual and reproductive health impact for more than 2.5 million young people and is recognised as an up and coming African NGO in sub-Saharan Africa’s healthcare sector, driven by the core values it was founded upon.

“We remain committed to delivering community-led, girl centric solutions that adapt to the shifting realities of Africa’s youth. True equality means reversing the ripple effects of the Triple Threat so that girls can choose where and how they meet their healthcare needs. We have seen the power of choice in action, and by 2030 we aim to impact the lives of 3.5 million girls per year.”

Serah Malaba & Benoit Renard, Co-CEOs at Tiko

Our journey

2014

Incubation

Tiko, and its fundraising arm, Triggerise, are established with support from Population Services International and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The concept is an ecosystem approach designed to increase the efficiency of aid delivery using local partners and an SMS platform, called Movercado.

2015 to 2017

Prototyping and piloting multiple approaches

Triggerise partners with Population Services International across multiple countries and refines the concept of “Tiko”, a membership programme aimed at improving access to health care services. Lessons are learnt as some programmes fail, while key initiatives in Kenya and India flourish. Partnering with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Triggerise launches a flagship initiative across three counties in Kenya, to deliver free contraception via its platform.

2018 to 2019

Focusing and maturing

Ensuring that the use of technology doesn’t exclude key segments of the youth population, Triggerise develops a ‘No-tech, high-tech’ solution enabling users without a phone to access the platform benefits, while investing in high-tech solutions to impact verification processes. Seeing its approach deliver the greatest impact within the adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health space, Triggerise positions Tiko as a platform aimed at improving healthcare access for young people, through behavioural science and targeted subsidies.

2020 to 2023

Preparing for scale up

In September 2020, Triggerise and Tiko launch the world’s first Development Impact Bond (DIB) for adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health, with the support of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. This DIB, started in the middle of the COVID pandemic and awarded to Tiko’s work in Kenya, signals the organisation’s growing leadership in the SRH and innovative financing space. Triggerise clarifies its vision to be the go-to platform for verified sexual and reproductive health impact, and now focuses solely on sub-Saharan Africa, with programmes across Kenya, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.

2024

Innovating and growing

The brand Tiko was used from inception as the user-facing brand, with Triggerise as its fundraising arm. In 2024, the organisation combines both business streams under the name Tiko in a rebrand which unifies its communication and simplifies its message.   Tiko moves its headquarters to Cape Town, South Africa, and confirms a predominantly African and female-led Supervisory Board. With ambitious scale-up plans, Tiko expands its offering, broadening its impact to deliver more value to adolescent girls and young women. Tiko is an African non-profit organisation working with local, established networks to provide access to services tailored to the needs of youth in their own communities.