Check Me, the rwandan startup putting AI to work against breast cancer🎗 🇷🇼

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According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), nearly three out of four breast cancer patients in sub-Saharan Africa are diagnosed at an advanced stage — stage III or IV. That diagnostic delay is exactly what a Rwandan startup is trying to fix. Check Me, a digital health platform, is betting that technology can bring early breast cancer screening closer to African women, wherever they are.

When prevention goes digital 📲

Check Me’s pitch sounds simple: turn a smartphone into a genuine breast health tool. In practice, it’s more ambitious. The platform gives women access to a full library of educational content on breast cancer and walks them, step by step, through the screening process — instead of leaving them to figure it out alone against a disease that’s still widely misunderstood.

How does the platform work? ⚙️

Founded in 2022 in Kigali by Yuyun Francis Berinyuy and Apoh Prince Eldrige, Check Me was built as a multi-purpose digital guide. The tool lets users track their menstrual cycle, get guided through breast self-exams, and connect directly with healthcare professionals. « Through menstrual cycle tracking, monthly self-exam reminders, and personalized health advice, we’re promoting early detection and prevention, » the startup says.

Available on both web and mobile, Check Me’s ambition is clear:

« We’re building a comprehensive digital health platform, accessible on mobile and web, that gives women the knowledge and tools they need to take charge of their breast health. »

Nia, the AI assistant walking users through it all 🤖

This is where Check Me’s tech identity really comes into focus. The platform runs on a conversational AI assistant called « Nia, » designed to answer users’ questions about breast and women’s health. Nia backs up the educational library, the cycle-tracking calendar, and a system connecting users with healthcare professionals. « Nia informs, listens, and guides users through their health journey with compassion and care, » the startup explains.

Another notable piece of the tech stack: Check Me is working on an AI-assisted tool for analyzing mammography ultrasound images. The startup is careful to frame it as a clinical decision-support tool, not a replacement for medical diagnosis. Check Me is also building a separate platform for doctors and health facilities, meant to streamline consultations and patient follow-up — positioning the startup, eventually, as a tech link between patients and the healthcare system.

By betting on AI, connected tracking, and medical image analysis, Check Me shows how technology could become a real lever for improving early breast cancer detection in Africa.

Do you think AI can genuinely move the needle on early disease detection in Africa? Let us know in the comments.