Matibabu
Matibabu is a Uganda-based health technology company developing the Matiscope, a non-invasive hardware device that detects malaria via light scattering and magnetism in under two minutes, paired with the Yotta disease surveillance platform serving health facilities, governments, researchers, and pharma.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersKampala, Uganda
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Matibabu does
Matibabu is a Uganda-based private health technology company, headquartered in Ntinda, Kampala, that is building a non-invasive malaria diagnostic and disease surveillance platform targeting underserved communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. The company's core product, the Matiscope, is a portable hardware device that uses light scattering and magnetism to detect plasmodium parasites in a patient's blood via a finger scan, producing a result in under two minutes without needles or blood draws. Results are delivered through a companion mobile app that lets users monitor and register their health condition without visiting a health facility.
Complementing the device is Yotta, a disease surveillance ecosystem comprising a mobile app (which uses machine learning and template matching to scan paper health forms), physical Yotta Books that digitize Ministry of Health forms at the point of care, and an AI-powered dashboard for visualizing cases geographically and running prediction algorithms on disease trends. Yotta's primary users are health facilities replacing manual paper-based reporting, while the aggregated data is positioned for sale to governments, NGOs, researchers, and pharmaceutical companies. The company also produced reusable 3D-printed face masks and visors during COVID-19 in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Commercially, Matibabu is in pre-revenue stage with the Matiscope not yet available for purchase; the company operates a pre-order waitlist through matibabu.io aimed at registered health professionals in Uganda, with stated intent to expand geographically across high-burden malaria regions. Revenue is undisclosed and cumulative disclosed funding to date totals $33,000 from Villgro Kenya (2018), indicating an early R&D-stage capitalization. The team is founder-led, with Brian Gitta as CEO, Josiah Kavuma as CTO, Joshua Businge Muleesi as CFO, and Simon Lubambo as Engineer/Co-Founder.
Matibabu firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Matibabu
- Legal name
- matibabu
- Website
- https://matibabu.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Matibabu is a Uganda-based health technology company developing the Matiscope, a non-invasive hardware device that detects malaria via light scattering and magnetism in under two minutes, paired with the Yotta disease surveillance platform serving health facilities, governments, researchers, and pharma.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Matibabu industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Medical Diagnostic Devices
- NAICS
- Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)
- SIC
- Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Field Epidemiology & Contact Tracing (HLAJABAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Mobile Imaging Services (HLAFAKAC)
Keywords
Where Matibabu is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Kampala
- HQ country
- Uganda
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
Matibabu business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Hardware Device Sales: Matibabu will generate revenue through the sale of its Matiscope hardware device. Currently in pre-commercial phase with a waitlist system in place. Health facilities are the first level of users, with governments, NGOs, researchers and pharmaceutical companies targeted as paying customers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Pre-order waitlist |
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Matibabu product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Matibabu develops the Matiscope, a non-invasive portable hardware device that uses light scattering and magnetism principles to detect plasmodium parasites in blood via a red-beam finger scan, delivering malaria diagnosis in under two minutes. The device is paired with the Yotta ecosystem (mobile app, digitized books, and an AI-powered dashboard) for real-time disease data capture, visualization, and surveillance. The company also produced reusable 3D-printed face masks and visors during the COVID-19 pandemic in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Product overview
Matibabu offers a three-part technology ecosystem for malaria disease management: (1) Matiscope, a non-invasive hardware device that uses light scattering and magnetism to detect malaria in under two minutes via a finger scan; (2) the App, a mobile application that extends the device to provide health monitoring without hospital visits; and (3) Yotta, a comprehensive disease surveillance platform comprising a mobile app for data capture via photo scanning, physical Yotta Books for form digitization, and an AI-powered dashboard for real-time data visualization, prediction algorithms, and anomaly detection. The company also produced COVID-19 PPE (face masks and visors) during the pandemic response.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Matiscope: A non-invasive malaria diagnostic device that uses light scattering and magnetism to detect plasmodium in blood samples, providing diagnosis in two minutes or less.
- Yotta
- Yotta App
- COVID-19 Response
Products and services
- Matiscope A portable parasite-based hardware device that uses light scattering and magnetism principles to detect plasmodium parasites in blood samples. The device shines a red beam of light on the patient's finger and delivers screening results to a mobile phone for diagnosis in two minutes or less, providing painless and non-invasive malaria diagnosis.
- Yotta An online notebook and dashboard that collects, organizes, and visualizes disease data for real-time malaria surveillance, capturing location data and health survey information as anonymized data points in a securely managed central data store, with automated and expert analysis.
- Yotta Mobile App A mobile application powered by machine learning and template matching that scans health forms filled by practitioners, takes photos of the books, extracts data, and stores it in real time to the Yotta data repository.
- Yotta Dashboard A visual presentation dashboard with AI-powered analytics that aggregates disease data points for consumption by health facilities, pharma companies, researchers, governments, civil society, insurance companies, health solutions developers, and the general public.
- Yotta Book Digitized physical books with customized Ministry of Health forms for health centers, capturing patient demographic data, symptoms, and diagnostic kit information that feed into the Yotta data repository via the Yotta Mobile App.
- COVID-19 PPE (Face Masks and Visors) Reusable personal protective equipment including 3D printed face masks and face shields produced using locally available materials for distribution to hospitals, clinics, office blocks, construction sites, and first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Quantifiable outcome
- Diagnosis time reduced to under 2 minutes
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Matibabu
Customer profileSegments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Matibabu technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability6 records
Feature3 records
Matibabu partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Royal Academy of EngineeringminorPartnership for producing face masks and visors using locally available resources in response to COVID-19. The collaboration focused on 3D printed masks and face shields distributed to hospitals, office blocks, clinics, construction sites and first responders. The partnership demonstrated the use of 3D printing technology combined with locally available materials for rapid PPE production.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Matibabu competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- SD Biosensor: Major manufacturer of malaria rapid diagnostic tests and other infectious disease diagnostics, representing the dominant low-cost RDT supplier against which any novel diagnostic must demonstrate superiority.
- Becton Dickinson (BD): Global medical device and diagnostics incumbent with significant presence in infectious disease diagnostics and laboratory instrumentation, representing the type of large player Matibabu would eventually need to compete with or partner alongside.
- Abbott: Global diagnostics incumbent that supplies malaria rapid diagnostic tests widely through global health procurement and operates a broad infectious disease menu, setting the commercial and regulatory benchmark Matibabu would need to displace.
Direct peers
- Hemex Health: US-based developer of portable diagnostics for malaria and sickle cell disease targeting low-resource settings, the most direct comparably-positioned point-of-care malaria diagnostic hardware company.
- Fio Corporation: Developer of the Deki rapid diagnostic reader and connected health data platform for primary care, closely comparable as a combined hardware-diagnostic and data-management offering for resource-limited settings.
- Atomo Diagnostics: Australian-listed company that builds integrated rapid diagnostic test platforms for infectious diseases including malaria, serving global health and consumer health channels with a hardware-plus-strip model.
Emerging players
- QuantuMDx: Developer of portable molecular diagnostic devices for infectious diseases including malaria, offering a comparable miniaturized, point-of-care diagnostic platform with global health applications.
- Erada Technology Alliance: Developing a saliva-based rapid malaria diagnostic test for early detection in asymptomatic patients, representing a non-invasive alternative approach to malaria screening with similar target markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
Others
- Dimagi (CommCare): Provider of CommCare, a leading mobile data collection and case management platform widely deployed for community health and disease surveillance programs, comparable to Matibabu's Yotta surveillance and data-capture layer.
- DHIS2: Open-source health management information system used by ministries of health in dozens of African countries, representing the incumbent disease surveillance backbone Yotta would need to integrate with or differentiate against.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Matibabu social profiles
Digital presenceMatibabu financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Matibabu leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Matibabu funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Matibabu M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Matibabu
What does Matibabu do?
Matibabu develops the Matiscope, a non-invasive portable hardware device that uses light scattering and magnetism principles to detect plasmodium parasites in blood via a red-beam finger scan, delivering malaria diagnosis in under two minutes. The device is paired with the Yotta ecosystem (mobile app, digitized books, and an AI-powered dashboard) for real-time disease data capture, visualization, and surveillance. The company also produced reusable 3D-printed face masks and visors during the COVID-19 pandemic in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Is Matibabu a public or private company?
Matibabu is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Matibabu founded?
Matibabu was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Matibabu based?
Matibabu is headquartered in Kampala, Uganda, in the Africa region.
How does Matibabu make money?
One revenue line is on record: hardware Device Sales.
Who are Matibabu's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are SD Biosensor, Becton Dickinson (BD) and Abbott. Direct peers are Hemex Health, Fio Corporation and Atomo Diagnostics. Emerging players are QuantuMDx and Erada Technology Alliance. Others are Dimagi (CommCare) and DHIS2.
Does Matibabu have an API?
No public API is recorded for Matibabu.
What industry is Matibabu in?
Matibabu's product category is Medical Diagnostic Devices. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAJABAD, Field Epidemiology & Contact Tracing, with a secondary code of HLAFAKAC, Mobile Imaging Services. Its NAICS code is 334510 and its SIC code is 3841.