Sproxil CEO & Founder Dr. Ashifi Gogo Wins Inaugural Global Humanitarian Engineering Award

Sproxil CEO & Founder Dr. Ashifi Gogo Wins Inaugural Global Humanitarian Engineering Award

**UPDATE: Now with pictures! **

***************

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 22^nd 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 Authentication^TM (MPA^TM) 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.

Sproxil’s Mobile Product Authentication™ Solution Surpasses 5 Million Usage Mark in Battle Against Counterfeit Products

Sproxil^® Mobile Product Authentication™ Solution Surpasses 5 Million Usage Mark in Battle Against Counterfeit Products

Usage Rates Accelerate as Consumers and Brand Owners Partner to Combat Product Counterfeiting

Cambridge, MA (August 13, 2013) — Sproxil^®, a leading provider of world-class brand protection for emerging markets, announces that its’ Mobile Product Authentication™ (MPA™) solution has processed more than five million verifications to help consumers ensure that the products they are purchasing are genuine. Top10 global pharmaceutical companies, as well as local distributors and manufacturers in emerging markets across Africa and India have used Sproxil’s MPA solution to protect consumers from taking potentially harmful counterfeit and substandard drugs since the company launched in 2009. Compatible with any tangible good, the MPA Solution is also being used with an array of products including in automotive aftermarket parts, health & beauty products, food and beverage, bedding, and textiles & clothing.

“The 5 million mark is an incredible milestone for us and our partners. We’re very proud that we’ve been able to protect so many consumers from the threat of counterfeit products. Even more impressive is how quickly usage is accelerating. It took almost two years to reach the one million milestone, then seven months to double to two million verifications. In April we hit 4 million, and just four months later, we’ve surpassed 5 million.” states Jaime Stern, Sproxil’s Director of Sales. “In these emerging markets, consumers have high levels of access to mobile phones, and they are familiar with ‘scratch & text’ practices. This has allowed for such rapid adoption of the MPA solution. And with no cost to the consumer, we are confident adoption rates will continue to increase as we expand service to new markets.”

Before purchasing a product, consumers scratch a label that reveals a one-time use code. Next, the consumer texts the code to a secure number provided on the product package. As part of Sproxil’s MPA technology, the text message is processed to determine product genuineness. Within seconds, Sproxil notifies the end user, via text, of the result. Alternatively, consumers can call Sproxil’s consumer support desk to get results in their local language.

Welcome to Sproxil

What do you do? »

Sproxil provides mobile product authentication against counterfeit products in emerging markets and the developed world using cell phones.

We provide software and systems that capture market intelligence in emerging markets using cell phones.

Our service provides automatic protection against counterfeiters.

Why does it matter? »

Brand and product pirates in emerging markets pose a significant risk to legitimate manufacturers which leads to the following;

Brand degradation
Decrease in sales
Consumer purchasing apprehension
Exposure to lawsuits.

Over $500 billion in counterfeit products are traded yearly, depriving genuine businesses of significant revenue while compounding the job of government enforcement and regulatory bodies.

How does it work? »

The consumers purchase a product
They scratch and text a simple numeric code unique to the product to a number provided to them for free.
The consumers instantly receive confirmation of the authenticity of the product.

Brand owners can then:

Send personalized real-time offers at the point of purchase.
Lock down supply chains to prevent product diversion.
Access live market intelligence in cash-based societies.

It’s more secure than holograms: the booming multi-billion dollar mobile phone market has been using this method for the last 15 years without any major flaws.

Sproxil’s solution provides numerous benefits for;

Governments

Drug regulators

Law enforcers

Industry and professionals

Foreign donors

Foundations and non-profits

Telecom operators

Consumers