Sauti Health coordinates Uganda's existing 287,000 Village Health Teams and 800,000 motorcycle taxis into a functioning emergency dispatch network - activated by any phone via USSD *977#, at $1.50–$3.00 per capita. No new ambulances. No new hospitals. The intelligence layer that was missing.
Building a Western-model EMS in Uganda would require $4–5 billion over five years - three times Uganda's entire annual health budget. Training enough paramedics at current rates would take over 50 years. Uganda's 912 emergency number was allocated in 2019 and has never rung. This is not a funding gap to be closed incrementally. It requires a fundamentally different architecture.
Uganda already has the assets to run emergency response: 287,000 trained Village Health Teams, 800,000 motorcycle taxis, 75% mobile penetration. What's missing is the coordination layer. Sauti Health provides it - via USSD *977# on any phone, any network, zero data required. A caller dials. The AI matches the nearest available VHT by skill type and sends a boda boda rider for transport. The hospital is alerted. The responder is paid via mobile money automatically on incident completion. All in under 60 seconds at approximately $1.60 per capita per year.
The proof-of-concept targets the Kampala Northern Bypass - Uganda's highest-density RTI corridor - with a $5,000 budget to handle 100 documented emergencies over approximately 60 days. At 173 projected emergencies per month in the coverage area, we need a 23% capture rate to reach 100 in two months - conservative given 3,596 active VHTs already present. The POC produces the real-world evidence base: response times, completion rates, clinical outcomes, and unit economics.
The $5,000 POC and the $406,900 pre-seed are completely separate funding asks with different timelines, uses of funds, and investor profiles. The POC runs first - over approximately 60 days - and produces the real-world data that justifies pre-seed capital. The pre-seed then funds an independent 18-month operational build. Each must succeed on its own terms before the next begins.
Five integrated layers coordinate community responders in real time. The system operates offline for up to 72 hours, dispatches via USSD on any 2G phone, and is designed to learn continuously from every real emergency. The POC deploys a lean version of Tiers 1–3. Tiers 4–5 deploy in the pre-seed phase.
Sauti Health is a B2G and B2B business. Governments contract us to provide emergency dispatch infrastructure for populations they are already responsible for. Employers contract us to meet occupational health obligations under Uganda's OHS Act for workers exposed to road risk daily. Both channels have a structural buyer incentive - and critically, the B2B employer channel generates revenue independent of government procurement timelines.
The employer OHS channel is self-sufficient. At 50 employer contracts covering 200 workers each at $40/year, annual B2B revenue reaches $400K - enough to cover field operations, the core tech stack, and a lean team. Government contracts accelerate scale and population coverage, but the business does not depend on them to survive. A Sauti Health running entirely on employer contracts is operationally viable from Year 3 onwards.
Uganda's delayed emergency response contributes to a preventable burden of disability and premature death. We calculate DALYs averted using the standard WHO/GBD methodology: DALYs = Years of Life Lost (YLL) + Years Lived with Disability (YLD). All assumptions are documented transparently. Three scenarios are presented - the pilot data will tell us which is closest to reality.
Our founding team combines Ugandan field implementation knowledge, emergency medicine expertise, and technology development. Each team member has a specific and verified role in the pilot operations structure.
Whether you're a potential investor, a clinical advisor, a potential employer partner, or someone who simply believes this matters - we want to hear from you. We are based in Kampala, Uganda.