MEET HER: Maria Pedro Miala, The Founder of eWoundhelp, A Platform Aimed At Eradicating Mortality Caused By Chronic Wounds -

It’s just amazing when you get to learn what women are doing out there, not just in Kenya but Africa as a whole. So, I have been talking to different young women entrepreneurs and Women in Technology around the country, a few from outside Kenya, and so far, I can confirm that there are so many young women doing great things whose stories need to be told. I was challenged this week by one lady from beyond the Kenyan border, who believes that women don’t just need to fight for a seat at the table, but they should rather create their own tables and let other people fight for a seat.

I had the pleasure of speaking to Ms. Maria Pedro Miala, the founder of eWoundhelp. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Belgium and she’s also a Certified Reference Nurse for Wound Care with more than 10 years of experience working in the hospital and in the healthcare industry.

She wears many hats and am proud to have gone through the African Changemakers Fellowship Program with her, where she also writes for the Health section of ‘African Changemakers Online Magazine’. I am also happy because she is a woman in STEM.

Enough of the introduction, here is the interview I had with her to help you know Mara Pedro more and the work she’s doing in the community;

What More Should We Know About Maria Pedro Miala?

I was a 2016-2017 Global Champion for Change at Empower Women organized by UN Women. I am also a member of the European Wound Management Association, also an active member of the Telenursing Working Group and of the International Society for Telemedicine and e-Health. Next year I will do a Master’s degree of Wound Healing and Tissue Repair at Cardiff University in the UK.

What Does Your Company eWoundhelp Do?

eWoundhelp is a digital health solution that helps health workers who are dealing with difficult wounds. Our platform gives Teleconsultations: wound assessments, wound diagnosis and treatment advices online in real time (Telenursing) to teaching hospitals while cooperating with health workers in Kenya and Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria.

eWoundHelp also conducts training about wound care to Health workers in Africa through eLearning and we offer our expertise and our services via teleconsultations. The goal is to eradicate mortality caused by chronic wounds.

What would you consider as your most significant accomplishment so far?

My greatest accomplishment so far is fighting to implement this start-up while being able to also be there and take care of my children. Apart from that, I was a semi-finalist for African Entrepreneurship Awards, Sukuma Afrika Young Entrepreneurs Competitions and Ashoka Changemakers Health Young Champions. I was a finalist for the 6th annual CAMtech Uganda Medtech (2018).

Have you experienced any challenges running this company?

I am still experiencing many challenges: finding funds is a real problem and also finding the right partners is not easy at all. But we have to persevere because I truly believe eWoundhelp will make a difference in many lives. People do not pay attention to the mortality rate caused by chronic wounds in African countries, this is why eWoundhelp exists and we will fight to grow our organization even more.

What’s next for eWoundhelp?

So, our program in Cameroon will start on 15 November and it will last for 18 months. The next thing is to find partners in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana so we can start in those countries too. We are looking for partnerships with hospitals, health care centers, Educational institutions in the medical field, etc. I will also give lessons about wound care (This is only for health workers) as an independent consultant starting 15 November 2018: www.courseflex.com

Any advice for women who would want to pursue this kind of venture?

As somebody already said: Do not wait to sit at the table instead, build your own table and start your own brand.

How can well-wishers/partners contact you?