Tubonge Plafrom

In Tanzania, like other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), young people face significant challenges in accessing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services. This lack of access exposes them to the risks of early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). According to the Africa Youth Report, in 2011, approximately 28 percent of women aged 20-24 in the SSA region gave birth before the age of 18, with almost half of them having their first sexual experience before turning 15. The main obstacles faced by our target population in Tanzania include limited availability of SRHR information, education, and services. Thus, it hampers their ability to make informed decisions about their sexual health, resulting in higher rates of teenage pregnancies and STDs. Gender inequality further compounds these challenges, as it restricts women's access to necessary information and support. Nevertheless, our organization recognizes the resilience, resourcefulness, and eagerness to learn among young people in Tanzania. We capitalize on these strengths by providing comprehensive SRHR education, facilitating access to modern contraceptive methods, and offering support services by leveraging on technology.

Our organization is developing a mobile application, a platform that serves as a comprehensive solution to address challenges of sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and gender-based issues in Tanzania. This application acts as an information center, user interaction platform, and a support center for various gender-based cases such as domestic violence, gender inequality, sexual abuse, and sexual corruption. The platform is being developed to deliver the following values which are tailored to fit our beneficiaries' needs:

1. Information Center: The platform provides curated and credible information on SRHR topics, ensuring that users have access to accurate, relevant and reliable resources and empowering them with knowledge.
2. User Interaction Forum: The application facilitates discussions and peer-to-peer support, allowing users to engage in conversations about SRHR and related issues, fostering a sense of community and empowerment as well as having a need base and different community discussion with SRHR experts.
3. Helping Center for Gender-Based Cases: The platform is directly linked to call centers and gender desks, enabling victims and individuals seeking to help women facing domestic violence to provide information. This information is received, analyzed, and appropriate actions are taken to ensure the safety and well-being of those affected, this section comes with geo-location customization to help narrow down the location of victims in order to deliver fast support by the first responders.
4. AI Integration: The application utilizes AI technology to provide users with real-time responses to their SRHR-related questions, based on curated data and credible sources the AI is built to respond in both English and Swahili language to make sure that we leave no one behind. 
5. Offline Chatbot: We are committed to leaving no one behind. Our platform includes an offline chatbot accessible via SMS, even on non-smartphones. This feature allows users to access SRHR information conveniently, regardless of their device or internet connectivity.

Our holistic solution supports young people in Tanzania aged 15 to 30, with a particular emphasis on adolescents and youth, women, and vulnerable groups that face severe hurdles to obtaining sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services. These difficulties are caused by a lack of reliable information, healthcare facilities, societal standards, stigma, and gender inequity. Our platform aims to empower this underserved population by providing accurate and reliable SRHR information via an information center, encouraging community and support via a user interaction forum, and facilitating prompt assistance for gender-based cases via direct links to call centers and gender desks. Furthermore, AI technology ensures that SRHR-related inquiries are answered in real time in both English and Swahili, breaking down language barriers. Recognizing the value of inclusivity, our platform features an offline chatbot that can be accessed by SMS, addressing the issue of limited smartphone availability. Through these efforts, we hope to directly improve the lives of young people, women, and marginalized communities by providing them with the knowledge, peer support, and easily accessible resources they need to make informed decisions about their sexual health and well-being, thereby lowering the risks of early pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and promoting gender equality and empowerment.

Our committed staff is made up of highly skilled professionals who are passionately spearheading our organization's work to address sexual reproductive health and gender-based issues in Tanzania. Our team of eight important individuals is strategically situated around Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, providing us with a deep and firsthand understanding of the local context and the challenges faced by our target population. This proximity allows us to stay connected with the communities we serve, ensuring that our solution remains relevant and responsive to their evolving needs. Our Executive Director, Joseph Mwanyika, has vast experience in project management, grant writing, and gender advocacy, while our Finance Manager & Accountant, Devotha Modest, excels in financial management and administrative support. Our Communication Lead, Jasmine Abdallah, specializes in digital marketing and effective communication techniques, and she is supported by Rehema Mkwawa, our Project Coordinator, who has a background in community engagement, social work, and reproductive health education. Feelbetter Raphael, our Technical Lead, has a great history in software engineering, and Edwin Luguku, our Medical Advisor, has vital knowledge of reproductive health and mental well-being. Prudensia Maziku, our UX/UI Designer, ensures a user-friendly experience using her design expertise. Our Innovation Advisor, Francis Omorojie, brings expertise in technology and innovation growth support, as well as technology risk assessment and evaluation. Our team members offer a diverse set of talents, expertise, and experience that is critical to the effective implementation of our transformative initiative.

To understand the needs of the communities we serve, we employ a multifaceted approach, through conducting outreach and gathering insights directly from community members. This includes conducting surveys, focus group discussions, and one-on-one interviews to ensure that we are addressing the specific challenges and priorities of our target population.

Furthermore, our commitment to community engagement is not limited to data collection. We actively involve community members in the design and development of our solution. We organize community workshops and forums where individuals can share their ideas, concerns, and priorities. These valuable inputs guide the meaningful design and implementation of our platform, ensuring that it aligns with the communities' agendas.

We have already designed and develop the first interactive user interface and user experience product (UI/UX) click here; where by we have also tested it internally and will external real users/ beneficiaries to see the validity and usability of the platform, we looked at aspects like is the platform easy to use, are the platform functions easily accessible and interactive even with non-tech savvy individuals, the color usage gender neutral that everyone can feel comfortable using it and so much more. We have received good feedbacks from the testing now we are on route to develop the front and back end of the platform as well as finalization of system integration, like Artificial Intelligence, Offline Chatbot, call centers, gender desks as well as uploading all the data (Videos, Animations, comics, audio podcasts, documents and fact sheets).

Our solution is innovative in several key ways, revolutionizing the approach to addressing sexual reproductive health and gender-based issues in Tanzania:

• Comprehensive, Accessible Information: We offer a one-stop platform that provides curated, credible, and up-to-date information on sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) topics. What sets us apart is our commitment to making this information accessible to a wide range of users. We utilize both modern smartphone technology and SMS-based communication to ensure that individuals with limited access to smartphones or the internet can also benefit from our resources. This innovative approach bridges the digital divide and reaches underserved communities, effectively expanding the impact of SRHR education.
• AI-Powered Assistance: Our integration of AI technology enables real-time responses to SRHR-related questions, a feature not commonly found in traditional SRHR support services. This innovation ensures that users can access immediate, accurate, and personalized information at any time, fostering a sense of agency and empowerment in making informed decisions about their sexual health.
• Community Engagement: Our user interaction forum serves as a digital community where individuals can engage in discussions, share experiences, and receive peer support. This approach leverages the power of technology to create a safe space for open dialogue and community-building. It fosters a sense of belonging and empowerment among users, breaking down the isolation often associated with SRHR challenges.
• Geo-Location Customization: To address the specific needs of users in Tanzania, our platform includes geo-location customization. This feature is vital for providing timely assistance in cases of gender-based violence, as it enables quick identification of the user's location, allowing for faster response and support by first responders.
• User-Centric Design: Our UX/UI Designer, Prudensia Maziku, ensures a user-friendly experience. This design thinking approach ensures that our solution is intuitive and easy to navigate, making it accessible to individuals with varying levels of digital literacy.
• Meaningful Collaboration: We actively engage with the communities we serve through workshops, forums, and feedback mechanisms, ensuring that the solution is co-created with community input. This collaborative approach not only enhances the solution's relevance but also catalyzes broader positive impacts by fostering a sense of ownership and trust among users.
• Potential to Change the Market: Our platform has the potential to change the landscape of SRHR services in Tanzania and beyond. By leveraging technology to bridge gaps in access to information and support, we set a precedent for innovative solutions in the SRHR sector. We encourage other organizations to adopt similar approaches to make SRHR education and support more inclusive and widely accessible.

Our key impact goals for the coming year will be to reach, educate, and support the people of Tanzania. We hope to reach 100,000 people across the country with comprehensive SRHR information and support. We will ensure that accurate and reliable SRHR resources are available to a large audience through targeted outreach initiatives and collaborations with local groups. Our platform will also promote community participation by supporting at least 5,000 user interactions and peer support talks, thereby creating a venue for people to share their stories and empower one another. Furthermore, we are committed to giving quick support to 500 people who are victims of gender-based violence, utilizing our platform's geo-location personalization to assure their safety and well-being.

Our aim for the next five years goes beyond Tanzania's borders. We hope to reach 1 million people in both urban and rural regions, making SRHR education and support available to a broader demographic. To do this, we will expand our efforts through marketing, user interaction, and technology advancements. Our goal is to build relationships with government agencies in order to integrate our platform into national SRHR activities, making it an essential component of the country's healthcare infrastructure. As a long-term impact, we seek to motivate neighboring Sub-Saharan African countries to adopt similar solutions to address shared SRHR and gender-based issues. Through continuous improvement and innovation, we are committed to leaving a transformative mark on the lives of individuals across the region, ultimately catalyzing positive change in the field of sexual reproductive health and rights.

Our solution is designed to create a positive impact on the problem of limited access to sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information and gender-based issues in Tanzania through a logical framework that connects our activities to short-term outputs and long-term outcomes is explained below as follows;

Some activities involved through our platform

• Information Center: We provide accurate and credible SRHR information through our platform. Users can access this information easily.
• User Interaction Forum: We foster a sense of community and peer support through our forum, allowing users to engage in discussions and share experiences related to SRHR.
• Helping Center for Gender-Based Cases: We enable users to report gender-based cases and receive prompt assistance, leveraging geo-location customization for rapid support.
• AI Integration: Our AI technology offers real-time responses to SRHR questions, ensuring users receive accurate information in English and Swahili.
• Offline Chatbot: We ensure accessibility by offering an offline chatbot accessible via SMS for users with basic phones.

Short-Term Outputs

• Users gain access to comprehensive SRHR information.
• Users actively engage in discussions, peer support, and reporting of gender-based cases.
• AI technology provides immediate responses to user queries.
• Accessible information through SMS broadens reach to users with basic phones.

Long-Term Outcomes

• Informed Decision-Making: With access to accurate information, users can make informed decisions about their sexual health, leading to reduced rates of early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
• Community Empowerment: Our user interaction forum fosters a sense of community, breaking down isolation and enabling users to support each other emotionally and practically. This empowerment contributes to improved mental well-being and resilience.
• Timely Support for Gender-Based Cases: The platform's helping center facilitates rapid response to gender-based cases, ensuring the safety and well-being of those affected. This can lead to a reduction in domestic violence incidents and improved gender equality.
• Access Equality: The inclusion of an offline chatbot ensures that even users with basic phones can access vital SRHR information, promoting inclusivity.

Evidence Supporting Our Impact

• Research: Third-party research has shown a direct link between access to comprehensive SRHR information and a decrease in early pregnancies and STDs among young populations.
• User Testimonials: Feedback from our target population highlights the positive impact of our platform, including increased knowledge, emotional support, and timely assistance for gender-based cases.
• Community Engagement: Our ongoing engagement with the community through surveys, focus groups, and workshops validates the relevance and effectiveness of our platform in addressing their needs.

Eight (8) people works on this solution, whereby 1 person works on contract, 1 Person works as parttime and 6 people works full time.

We have been working on this solution for two years now, whereby we used last year for researching, paper prototyping and learning. And are now on development, testing, updating and feedback integration. 

Diversity, equity, and inclusivity are not simply ideals at our organization; they are the driving force behind our aim to address sexual reproductive health and gender-based issues in Tanzania comprehensively. Our leadership team embodies this commitment with a diverse set of skills, experiences, and viewpoints encompassing project management, finance, communication, community involvement, software engineering, reproductive health, and innovation support. This diversity in our leadership enables us to address complicated challenges with a broad perspective, ensuring that our solutions resonate with a diverse range of people and their distinct demands.

Our unwavering dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion is evident in our clear goals and ongoing actions. We aim to expand our team with individuals who bring diverse perspectives, especially from marginalized communities, to better serve our diverse target population. Through inclusive recruitment practices, we actively seek talent from underrepresented groups. We are equally committed to fostering inclusivity through partnerships that share our values, amplifying the reach and impact of our initiatives. Moreover, we are dedicated to continuous training for our team members, raising awareness and fostering a culture of respect, openness, and understanding within our organization. Our goal is to ensure that our technology solutions are accessible to all, including individuals with disabilities or limitations, and that our team truly represents the communities we serve. Incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusivity into our work is not just a checkbox but a fundamental principle that underpins our commitment to creating a more equitable and just society, where everyone can access the resources and support they need for sexual reproductive health and gender equity.

Our business model is multifaceted and is designed to provide both value and sustainability. We prioritize serving our target populations in Tanzania by addressing sexual reproductive health and gender-based issues, while also diversifying our revenue streams.

Key Customers and Beneficiaries

• Young People (Aged 15-24): Our primary beneficiaries are young people in Tanzania who need credible SRHR information, peer support, and timely assistance to make informed decisions about their sexual health.
• Women and Girls: Women and girls in Tanzania, who are disproportionately affected by gender-based issues, seek a platform that empowers them with knowledge, support, and access to help in cases of gender-based violence.
• Vulnerable and Underserved Communities: Rural areas and marginalized communities often have limited access to healthcare facilities and SRHR services. Our platform serves these communities by bridging the information gap and providing accessible support.

Our core products and services include;

• Comprehensive SRHR Information: We provide curated, credible, and up-to-date SRHR information through our platform, accessible via mobile devices and SMS for individuals with basic phones.
• User Interaction Forum: Our user interaction forum fosters a sense of community and peer support, allowing users to engage in discussions, share experiences, and seek guidance.
• Helping Center for Gender-Based Cases: Users can report gender-based cases, and our platform ensures prompt assistance through direct links to call centers and gender desks.
• AI Integration: AI technology offers real-time responses to SRHR questions, ensuring users receive accurate information in English and Swahili.
• Offline Chatbot: Our SMS-based offline chatbot ensures that even users with basic phones can access vital SRHR information.
• One-on-One Consultations: We facilitate one-on-one consultations between beneficiaries and gender experts, such as gynecologists, through our platform. 

Our value proposition includes;

Our value proposition lies in providing accessible, credible, and comprehensive SRHR information, fostering community and peer support, ensuring timely assistance for gender-based cases, and offering advertising opportunities and expert consultations. By addressing the specific needs of our target populations, we empower them to make informed decisions about their sexual health, reduce risks, and contribute to gender equality.

Our revenue model includes:

Grants and Funding: We seek grants and funding from NGOs, and philanthropic organizations to support the development and maintenance of our platform and outreach campaigns.

Commission on Expert Consultation; We earn a commission from consultations, as we are ensuring access to expert advice by our targeted beneficiaries while creating a revenue stream. 

Corporate Partnerships: We explore partnerships with corporations and businesses that align with our mission and can provide financial support or resources.

Freemium Model: While our core services are accessible for free, we offer premium features or content that users can subscribe to for a fee, providing an additional revenue stream.

Training and Consultations: We offer SRHR training and consultation services to institutions, healthcare providers, and educational organizations, generating revenue through workshops and tailored educational programs.

Paid Ads: We offer advertising space to relevant organizations and businesses to promote their products or services to our user base, generating revenue through paid advertisements.

Our financial sustainability plan is grounded in a strategic and diversified approach, aimed at ensuring the long-term viability of our mission to address sexual reproductive health and gender-based issues in Tanzania. We recognize the importance of financial stability in sustaining our impactful work and have a devise strategy to secure the necessary funds.

Firstly, though grants and donations are crucial cornerstone of our financial sustainability. We will reduce grant dependence using our carefully thought sustainability plan while making sure we do not diverge from our vision, our curated financial sustainability plan outlines foundational sources of income, that will allow us to develop and maintain our platform, conduct outreach campaigns, and expand our reach to underserved communities as follows.

Corporate partnerships represent pivotal revenue stream. By collaborating with businesses and corporations that align with our mission, we can secure financial support, in-kind contributions, and co-sponsored initiatives. These partnerships not only provide financial resources but also enhance our visibility and credibility, reinforcing our commitment to addressing SRHR and gender-based issues.

We will also leverage a freemium model, where our core services remain accessible for free, while premium features and content are available through subscription. Users opting for premium services will contribute to our financial sustainability while enjoying enhanced platform features. Furthermore, our platform will feature paid advertisements from relevant organizations and businesses, providing a mutually beneficial revenue stream that connects advertisers with our user base.

To ensure long-term sustainability, we will maintain a delicate balance between these revenue streams and our operational expenses. By continuously diversifying our income sources and expanding our user base, we aim to create a self-sustaining financial model. Transparency and accountability will be paramount, as we demonstrate to our stakeholders how their support directly contributes to our impactful work. With this comprehensive approach, we are confident in our ability to secure the resources necessary to address critical SRHR and gender-based issues in Tanzania effectively, both now and in the future.