Sproxil CEO & Founder Dr. Ashifi Gogo Wins Inaugural Global Humanitarian Engineering Award
**UPDATE: Now with pictures! **
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Boston, MA (October 22, 2013) – Sproxil®, a leading provider of world-class brand protection for emerging markets, announces founder Dr. Ashifi Gogo was presented with the inaugural Global Humanitarian Engineer of the Year Award on October 22nd at the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, San Jose Airport Garden Hotel, Silicon Valley, California USA. He was honored for his long-standing dedication to humanitarian engineering and ability to act on issues of social injustice.
Under Dr. Gogo’s leadership, Sproxil has developed the Mobile Product AuthenticationTM (MPATM) solution that allows consumers to verify products are genuine by using a mobile phone and a free (SMS) text message. While the solution can be used for any tangible product, the MPA solution’s first application is addressing the need to combat counterfeit medication.
Upon purchasing medication, consumers scratch a label revealing a one-time use code, then text the code to a secure number provided on the package. As part of the MPA technology, the text message is processed to determine the drug’s genuineness. Within seconds, the end user is notified, via text, of the result. Alternatively, consumers can call a consumer support desk to get results in their local language. The solution is deployed in developing regions of Africa and Asia; it is offered in Nigeria, India, Kenya (serving East Africa), and Ghana (serving West Africa).
The MPA solution is based on Dr. Gogo’s research at the Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, where he earned the first Ph.D. Innovation Fellowship. Among the recognition Dr. Gogo has received is the IEEE Gold Humanitarian Fellowship in 2009 and in 2013 he was honored by the White House Champions of Change.
His motivation to create a simple, inexpensive way to identify counterfeit products was driven by the 700,000 deaths each year due to fake malaria and tuberculosis drugs. The MPA solution has been used for over 5 million product verifications in less than 5 years.
The Global Humanitarian Engineering awards have been developed to fill a global gap in celebrating the valuable contribution that engineers make towards improving the lives of those less fortunate. In addition, they serve to recognize outstanding achievement, provide role models, and demonstrate less popularly known roles of engineering in society.
This year’s awards were judged by prominent leaders in the field of humanitarian engineering including: Simon Trace – CEO of Practical Action, Petter Matthews – Executive Director at Engineers Against Poverty, and Cathy Leslie – Executive Director of Engineers Without Borders USA. Other award recipients include Qualcomm, Tesla, Google, ReAllocate, Western Digital and the Computer History Museum.
About Sproxil
Sproxil is a venture-backed enterprise that provides world-class brand protection services in emerging markets. The Company’s Mobile Product Authentication solution helps ensure purchased goods are not stolen or counterfeit by allowing consumers to verify product genuineness within seconds through a text message. Compatible with any tangible item, Sproxil’s solution is widely used by leading pharmaceutical companies to curb the multi-billion dollar counterfeit drug industry. The Company has also penetrated non-pharmaceutical industries including personal care, automotive aftermarket and food supplements. Sproxil has won the IBM SmartCamp Boston Award and the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative Outstanding Commitment Award, as well as received regulatory endorsements in Nigeria and Kenya. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, Sproxil continues to expand across Asia and Africa.
