Luyanda Mabaso

South African tech innovator who developed affordable mobile health solutions for rural Africa.

Luyanda Mabaso (b. 1978) is a South African software engineer and social entrepreneur who pioneered mobile health (mHealth) technologies for underserved populations. Emerging in the early 2000s during Africa's mobile revolution, he co-founded mHealth Africa, a platform that uses SMS and AI to deliver healthcare services to remote communities. His innovations have transformed maternal health monitoring and disease surveillance in over 20 African countries.

Mabaso's breakthrough came with the 2004 Mobile Midwife system, which provided prenatal care information via SMS to 500,000+ pregnant women in rural areas. His 2010 Outbreak Alert system used mobile networks to track disease outbreaks in real-time, reducing response times by 60%. Partnering with WHO and UNICEF, he developed the HealthHub app now used by 1.2 million users across Sub-Saharan Africa.

A MIT Media Lab fellow, Mabaso's work earned him the 2015 African Innovation Foundation Prize. His company has trained 15,000+ tech entrepreneurs in digital health solutions through the Africa Health Tech Academy. His 2018 book Code for Change inspired a generation of African developers to focus on social impact. Mabaso's vision of 'tech for the last mile' continues shaping global health innovation strategies.