Healthcare on the African continent has been a huge challenge for a long time. Every year, lack of access to basic health care results in millions of deaths and stories of pain and suffering. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), ‘a majority of Africans, mostly the poor and those in the middle-income bracket, rely on under-funded public health facilities while a small minority has access to well-funded, quality private health care.’
To solve this, Sam Baddoo, a Ghanaian immigrant in the United States of America has founded Fleri, a platform that allows family members abroad to pay for the health needs of their loved ones in Africa. According to the World Bank and the United Nations, people abroad sent about $48B to family members in sub Saharan Africa in the year 2019, with 1/4 of it spent on healthcare.
Sam was born in Ghana and lived here till he was 17. After graduating from Adisadel College, one of the best secondary schools in the country, he got a United Nations scholarship to go to school in Morocco and spent the next five years there. He volunteered for Comité d’Entraide Internationale, a nonprofit that works with stranded in Morocco, giving him his first real encounter with immigration as a global problem. From there, he moved back to Ghana for four years before moving to the US. For years, he’s worked multiple jobs and sent money home for various expenses, including health care for his daughters and parents.
The idea for Fleri was ignited by the broken health care system that played a role in the loss of his uncle and grandparents over the period of 4 years. It was launched in November 2021 and has already began making waves in the tech and insurance industries.
Fleri partners with global and local insurance companies to achieve their goals. On their marketplace, immigrants can purchase health insurance policies for their loved ones for as low as $50 a month to provide high quality, affordable health insurance plans.
Currently, a pilot is running Ghana to allow Ghanaians in the diaspora buy health insurance for their family members. Work is also underway to bring coverage to the other 53 countries on their list.
