What Lion Heart Foundation does

Stichting Lion Heart Foundation is a Dutch-registered non-profit (stichting) headquartered in Utrecht that founded and operates the Lion Heart Medical Centre (LHMC), a hospital located in Yele, Gbonkolenken Chiefdom, Tonkolili District, Sierra Leone. Established in 2009, LHMC began as a small clinic and over fifteen years has scaled into the sole referral hospital for a catchment of roughly 150,000 people served through 22 peripheral health units. The hospital delivers maternal and child health services (including the voucher-funded Healthy Baby Voucher program providing 3,000+ patient admissions and 600+ deliveries per year), general and emergency care, surgery (hernia, hydrocele, C-sections, external fixation), dental screening, laboratory, pharmacy, and outreach to 17 health posts. Specialized offerings include cervical cancer screening via the Female Cancer Foundation and a water-purification social enterprise (Lion Heart Yele Pure Water).

The hospital's technology stack centers on a solar-plus-battery energy system (60 added panels with a new battery bank that more than tripled capacity in 2023, eliminating diesel-generator dependency for maternity, pediatric, and water-factory loads), a cloud-based digital X-ray with remote review by Dutch radiologists, and the Baby Checker AI-enabled mobile ultrasound from Delft Imaging under a 500-scan validation study. Training infrastructure includes ETAT, CapaCare surgical training, and placements for 30 nursing and 20 pediatric students from Ernest Bai Koroma University and Njala University.

Revenue is multi-stream and overwhelmingly donation-funded. Sources include one-off and monthly individual gifts channeled through Triodos Bank, the €7.50/month Friends of LHMC membership, corporate donations (e.g., MCS arbo), project-specific GoFundMe crowdfunding, low-priced medical service fees, and the water factory. Wilde Ganzen is the principal institutional sponsor, covering approximately one-third of every project's cost, with additional support from Schumacher-Kramerstichting, Stichting Een Helpende Hand, and several smaller Dutch foundations. Other revenue-adjacent supply comes from Insulin for Life Nederland (insulin and diabetes supplies) and Sanquin (blood-donation chairs). Steady inflows have funded Safe Care Level 3 certification (PharmAccess, 2024), ANBI and CBF Keurmerk status, and the planned 2026 transition of the hospital to a Sierra Leonean-governed Company Limited by Guarantee, following the April 2024 appointment of Elijah Charles as the first Sierra Leonean Medical Superintendent.

Name

Lion Heart Foundation

Legal name

Stichting Lion Heart Foundation

Website

https://lion-heart.nl

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lion Heart Foundation is a Dutch non-profit (stichting) that operates the Lion Heart Medical Centre in Yele, Sierra Leone, the sole referral hospital for roughly 150,000 rural inhabitants, delivering maternal, pediatric, surgical, and emergency care funded primarily by Dutch individual donors, Wilde Ganzen, and Friends of LHMC recurring memberships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rural Hospital Healthcare Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Emergency and Other Relief Services (62423)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical Missions & Global Health NGOs (BPAGACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) NGOs (HLAJAKAG), International & Local Implementing NGOs (HLAJAKAD)

Keywords

• Rural hospital services
• Maternal child healthcare
• Nonprofit surgical care
• Community health outreach
• Charitable healthcare foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time gifts, monthly gifts, and periodic donations from individuals in Netherlands and internationally. Donors can subscribe to newsletter for updates.
2. Friends of LHMC Membership: Monthly membership fees of €7.50 providing recurring revenue, annual events, community, and updates.
3. Corporate/Business Donations: Corporate partnerships and business donations, including Dutch companies like MCS arbo.
4. Medical Service Fees: Affordable healthcare services at reduced prices. Hernia surgery from 1200 NLe, with discounts available. Revenue supports operational costs.
5. Water Factory Sales: Lion Heart Yele Pure Water factory sells clean drinking water, generating revenue for hospital operations.
6. Crowdfunding Campaigns: Project-specific GoFundMe campaigns for equipment, construction, and healthcare programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Lion Heart Foundation operates Lion Heart Medical Centre (LHMC), a non-profit hospital in rural Sierra Leone providing comprehensive healthcare including maternal/child health, general medicine, surgery, laboratory, pharmacy, and 24/7 emergency services to a catchment of over 150,000 people. The foundation supports the hospital through individual donations, Friends of LHMC monthly memberships (€7.50/month), corporate grants, crowdfunding, and a revenue-generating water factory.

Product overview

Lion Heart Foundation operates Lion Heart Medical Centre (LHMC), a non-profit hospital in rural Sierra Leone, as its core product. The hospital provides comprehensive healthcare including maternal/child health, general medicine, surgery, laboratory, pharmacy, and emergency services. Supporting programs include the Healthy Baby Voucher Program for prenatal/maternal care, the Patient Waiting House accommodation, and Outreach Health Services visiting 17 surrounding communities. The organization also operates the Yele Pure Water Factory as a revenue-generating social enterprise. Partnerships enable specialized services including AI-powered Baby Checker ultrasound, cervical cancer screening via Female Cancer Foundation, telecare with Erasmus MC, and insulin provision through Insulin for Life. The hospital serves as a training institution hosting medical students and running ETAT and surgical training programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lion Heart Medical Centre (LHMC) — Hospital Services Non-profit hospital providing comprehensive healthcare in rural Sierra Leone, including maternal/child health, general medicine, surgery, laboratory, pharmacy, and 24/7 emergency services.
• Healthy Baby Voucher Program Program offering free pregnancy screening, free delivery care for complicated cases, weekly outreach to surrounding health centres, and health education for expectant mothers in the rural catchment.
• Lion Heart Yele Pure Water Water production facility selling clean, affordable drinking water to the community, with dedicated staff including a production manager, technicians, and delivery personnel. Revenue supports hospital services.
• Patient Waiting House Accommodation facility on hospital grounds with 10 basic rooms (shower, toilet, hand wash basin) for patients and pregnant women who need to stay near the hospital, particularly those with high-risk pregnancies.
• Outreach Health Services Mobile health services that visit 17 rural health posts, providing dental health education, child health consultations, and transport to hospital for sick patients.
• Cervical Cancer Screening Screening program delivered in partnership with the Female Cancer Foundation, screening women in surrounding communities toward the goal of screening 70% of women in Sierra Leone by 2030.
• Friends of LHMC Membership Network of doctors and volunteers supporting LHMC with a recurring membership at €7.50/month including annual events, community, and regular updates.

Quantifiable outcome

• Child mortality reduction through dedicated programs and outreach
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Erasmus MC/Sophia NeonatologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 October 2021Memorandum of Understanding for knowledge sharing on maternal/child healthcare. First action is 24/7 teleconsultation capability with neonatologists, pediatricians, and gynecologists supported by camera and computer systems.
• PharmAccess (Safe Care)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducts regular Safe Care reassessments of the hospital. Ghanaian staff visit to evaluate all departments against international healthcare quality standards. Provides training and protocols for quality improvement.
• Delft ImagingcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides digital X-ray systems with cloud storage capabilities and Baby Checker AI-enabled ultrasound technology. Enables remote review of X-rays by Dutch radiologists.
• Masanga HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSierra Leone hospital partnership for medical referrals, training, and joint container shipments for cost savings. Collaboration on surgical cases requiring specialized surgeons.
• Female Cancer FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCervical cancer screening project partnership. Screened over 1,300 women in first year, exceeding goals. Supported by AFAS Foundation and Sierra Leone Ministry of Health.
• Independent Energy (Peter van Zwol)coreTechnology or IntegrationSolar energy installation expert who installed the expanded solar system with 60 new panels and new battery bank. More than tripled system capacity.
• CapaCarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSurgical training program for Clinical Health Officers in Sierra Leone. LHMC serves as training site for surgical trainees who learn hernia repairs, C-sections, wound care, and skin transplants.
• German DoctorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman organization running pediatric training program. Provides pediatric trainees and training for CHO's in pediatric care.
• UMCG Global Health DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch university collaboration on research project analyzing data from Healthy Baby Voucher program with district health authorities.
• West African Civil Society Institute (WACSI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMobilising Support coaching program for organizational development. Selected LHMC for 2023 training programme focused on reducing child mortality due to malnutrition.
• Stichting Een Helpende Hand (SEHH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch foundation collaborating on 'Sustainable Workforce' project including staff training, teacher training, and science classroom construction.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Partners In Health: Partners In Health operates rural hospitals and training programs in low-resource settings (Haiti, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Liberia), combining clinical care, training, and research. It is a broad incumbent comparable to Lion Heart on mission, model, and patient population, though at significantly larger scale.
• AMREF Health Africa: AMREF Health Africa is a large African health NGO operating training hospitals, community health programs, and outreach across sub-Saharan Africa. It is comparable as an established incumbent in the rural African healthcare NGO space, with broader geographic and programmatic scale than Lion Heart.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): MSF is the largest global medical humanitarian organization, operating hospitals, surgical programs, and emergency maternal/child health services in conflict-affected and low-resource settings including Sierra Leone. It is a broad incumbent comparable to Lion Heart on healthcare delivery in low-resource African contexts.
• Health Poverty Action: Health Poverty Action is a UK-based NGO working on maternal/child health, healthcare access, and community health worker programs in low-income countries. It is comparable to Lion Heart on the MNCH mission, community health worker model, and African geographic focus.

Direct peers

• CapaCare: CapaCare is a surgical training NGO in Sierra Leone that uses Lion Heart Medical Centre as a training site for Clinical Health Officers. It is a direct peer on the surgical training and rural healthcare delivery mission in the same country.
• German Doctors: German Doctors is a German NGO that sends doctors to underserved regions and runs a pediatric training program at Lion Heart. It is a direct peer as a European-based medical NGO operating in low-resource African settings with a similar training and service delivery model.
• Masanga Hospital: Masanga Hospital is a rural Sierra Leonean hospital partnered with Lion Heart for medical referrals, joint container shipments, and surgical collaboration. It is the closest direct comparable — a Dutch-supported rural hospital operating in the same country and serving a similar low-resource population.
• Real Medicine Foundation: Real Medicine Foundation operates rural hospitals and clinics in low-resource countries, with a similar model of international partnership, capacity building, and healthcare worker training. It is comparable as a smaller NGO peer operating rural healthcare facilities in Africa and Asia.
• CUAMM Doctors with Africa: CUAMM is an Italian NGO that runs rural hospitals and training programs across sub-Saharan Africa with a long-term sustainability and local workforce development model. It is highly comparable to Lion Heart on rural hospital operations, training focus, and gradual transition to local management.
• Wellboring Foundation: Wellboring Foundation is a Dutch charity providing clean water access and healthcare support in Sierra Leone, with overlapping donor community, Dutch ANBI structure, and geographic footprint. It is a strong peer on Dutch-Sierra Leonean non-profit operations in rural communities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCb4ZKHFwT5q9JUmJlqslw5A
• Facebookfacebook.com/LionHeartMedicalCentre
• TikToktiktok.com/@lionheartmedicalcentre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lion-heart-foundation

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Lion Heart Foundation