Crowdfunding website, Medifund, now, wants to increase the number of doctors in countries with a critical shortage by helping students afford medical tuition. The site makes students sign up for donations. It uses a gaming system that encourages students to add more details about their education and achievements.
Founder Jossy Onwude, who is at present, a student at Southwestern University’s Mham College of Medicine in Cebu City, says, “I was inspired to create Medifund by Bless, who had trouble paying for her studies after her relatives ran into financial difficulty. The site is currently in public beta and has about 30 students waiting to sign up for fundraising campaigns when it goes live.
I hope Medifund will help increase the number of doctors in countries like the Philippines, Indonesia and his native Nigeria. I also want to enable more women to pursue medical training.
There is a huge shortage of doctors in Asia and Africa. In the Philippines, for example, one doctor might have to work in several hospitals.”
It is likely to further develop its platform, work with payment companies to benefit the donors from different countries. “We are currently in talks with medical schools, NGOs and scholarship programs that are interested in partnering with Medifund. We will take 5% of every fully funded project in order to keep the site running. As Medifund grows, it will also launch a peer-to-peer education loan program and a reward system that allows donors to accumulate points for services like medical consultations.” opines Onwude.
The founding team of Medifund represents a multitude of talents from different nationalities and various tech, design and medical backgrounds.