mHero

What mHero does

mHero is a two-way, mobile phone-based communication system that connects ministries of health with frontline health workers. The platform integrates existing national health information systems with locally popular communication channels (such as SMS and interactive voice response) to enable real-time exchange of health information, disease surveillance, and emergency response coordination. Its core technical value proposition is interoperability rather than greenfield infrastructure — it leverages pre-existing HRHIS data and messaging channels rather than requiring new systems to be built. The platform was created in August 2014 by IntraHealth International and UNICEF, originally to support health-sector communication during the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, with initial deployment funded through the USAID Ebola Grand Challenge.

mHero is maintained and operated by IntraHealth International, a global health nonprofit headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and sits within IntraHealth's iHRIS family of open-source health workforce data solutions. It has since expanded beyond Liberia and is currently deployed in several other countries as a coordination tool for COVID-19 response, as well as for ongoing disease surveillance and health worker communication. The partner ecosystem spans UNICEF, USAID, the U.S. Global Development Lab, the World Health Organization, MEASURE Evaluation, HISP/University of Oslo, Dimagi, eHealth Africa, OpenHIE, Jembi Health Systems, mPowering Health, and Digital Square, with additional corporate funding support from Johnson & Johnson.

From a business model perspective, mHero is not a commercial SaaS product. Development and deployment are funded through USAID grants and other donor mechanisms, and pricing is not publicly disclosed because the platform is operated as a grant-funded public health program for ministries of health. The go-to-market is government-focused and sales-led, working directly with ministries of health and international health organizations. The unit operates inside a nonprofit parent (IntraHealth International) and is private by structure, with no venture funding, no commercial revenue line, and no disclosed headcount, ARR, or revenue figure.

Name

mHero

Legal name

mHero

Website

https://mhero.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

mHero is a two-way mobile communication system connecting ministries of health with frontline health workers for disease surveillance and emergency response. Operated by IntraHealth International and co-created with UNICEF in 2014 for Ebola response in Liberia, it now supports COVID-19 coordination across multiple countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Workforce Communication Software

NAICS

Ambulatory Health Care Services (621)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Omnichannel Patient Communications & Contact Center (Voice/SMS/Email/Chat) (HLACAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interoperability Standards, Profiles & Implementation (HL7/FHIR/IHE) (HLACABAA)

Keywords

• Mobile health communication
• Health workforce systems
• Disease surveillance platform
• Health information interoperability
• Government health technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Chapel Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. USAID-funded Development: mHero development and deployment is funded through the USAID Ebola Grand Challenge, indicating grant-based funding for global health initiatives rather than commercial revenue generation

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

mHero is a two-way, mobile phone-based communication system that connects ministries of health with frontline health workers by bringing together existing health information systems (such as iHRIS) with locally popular communication platforms to enable real-time exchange of health information. Originally created in 2014 to support Ebola response in Liberia, it is now also used for COVID-19 response coordination in several countries and is operated by IntraHealth International under USAID and UNICEF partnerships.

Product overview

mHero is a single unified product — a two-way mobile communication platform designed specifically for health sector coordination. It connects ministries of health with frontline health workers by integrating with existing national health information systems and popular communication channels. The platform enables real-time information exchange for disease surveillance, health worker communication, and emergency response coordination. Originally developed in 2014 for Ebola response in Liberia, it has since been deployed for COVID-19 response coordination in multiple countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• mHero mHero is a two-way, mobile phone-based communication system that connects ministries of health with frontline health workers by integrating existing national health information systems (such as iHRIS) with locally popular communication platforms, enabling real-time exchange of health information for disease surveillance, health worker communication, and emergency response coordination including Ebola and COVID-19.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IntraHealth InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIntraHealth International maintains and operates mHero as part of the iHRIS family of health workforce data solutions. As the parent organization, IntraHealth provides operational infrastructure and global health expertise.
• UNICEFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNICEF co-created mHero with IntraHealth International in August 2014 to support health-sector communication during the Ebola outbreak in Liberia. UNICEF continues as a key development partner.
• eHealth AfricaminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementation partner supporting deployment in African regions.
• World Health OrganizationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWHO is referenced as a partner in global health coordination efforts.
• Digital SquareminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital health development partner supporting mHero ecosystem.
• mPowering HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth technology partnership supporting mHero deployment.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Dimagi: Dimagi builds CommCare, a mobile data collection and service delivery platform used by frontline health workers in low- and middle-income countries — directly overlapping with mHero's frontline health worker and ministry of health use cases.
• Viamo: Viamo operates a mobile engagement platform that connects organizations to beneficiaries via SMS, IVR, and mobile channels across LMICs, serving ministries of health and development organizations — a comparable channel and customer profile to mHero.
• Medic (formerly Medic Mobile): Medic builds mobile health tools for community health workers and ministries of health, with a similar focus on two-way communication and workflow support — making it one of the closest direct comparables to mHero.
• OpenMRS: OpenMRS is an open-source electronic medical record platform widely deployed with ministries of health in LMICs, targeting similar interoperability and government health system use cases as mHero.
• iHRIS (IntraHealth International): iHRIS is the parent iHRIS family of health workforce data solutions maintained by IntraHealth — the same organization that operates mHero — making it a sister-product peer with overlapping ministry of health deployments.
• RapidPro (UNICEF): RapidPro is UNICEF's open-source platform for building mobile-based workflows and two-way communication flows — directly comparable to mHero's core SMS/mobile two-way communication functionality, and built by one of mHero's co-creators.
• DHIS2 (HISP, University of Oslo): DHIS2 is the dominant open-source health information management platform used by ministries of health globally and is a listed mHero partner (HISP/University of Oslo). It competes and complements mHero in the same digital health stack.

Others

• eHealth Africa: eHealth Africa is a listed mHero implementation partner focused on health information systems in West Africa — an adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct product competitor.
• OpenHIE: OpenHIE is a community-driven health information exchange framework and listed mHero partner — adjacent ecosystem infrastructure rather than a direct competitor, but defines the interoperability standards mHero builds on.

Emerging players

• Praekelt: Praekelt builds mobile health and engagement platforms (e.g., MomConnect in South Africa) targeting ministry of health and frontline health worker use cases with similar technology and LMIC focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/mherohealth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about mHero