He became fade up with hospital machines being frequently written-off for want of parts, So he built them!

A patient monitor stops working in a hospital in Niger. The part it needs has to come from abroad. So the machine sits idle.

Mamane Kabirou Ousseini saw this happen repeatedly during equipment maintenance and repairs. According to his profile on the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation website, he "repeatedly saw imported devices fall out of service because spare parts were hard to source." His answer was not to wait for better imports. It was to build the machines at home.

The man who fixed the machines

Mamane Kabirou Ousseini is an engineer from Niger. Before he started building hospital machines, he spent time keeping other people's equipment alive. That work taught him two things: broken parts were one problem. Price was the other. 

As a result, he co-founded Likita Care with Seydou Gnaly Ousmane in 2019, with the aim of addressing these two things. However, it was easier said than done: a hospital monitor designed and made in Niger. Driven by his desire to find solutions to challenges, he did not give up. 

What Likita Care makes

Likita Care is a monitoring kit for hospitals and clinics. It has four pieces of hardware: a bedside patient monitor, a cardiograph for the heart, a cardiotocograph that follows an unborn baby, and a thermometer read from the forehead.

Together they track 12 vital signs. That covers adults, newborns and babies still in the womb.

Every reading lands on one screen. According to the Royal Academy of Engineering, a nurse can follow 10 to 20 patients at once there. Doctors can check in remotely, and the steps of clinical care are set out digitally. AI software, which works without the internet, helps staff make sense of the signs as they come in.

The part that matters most is where it comes from. Every unit is built in Niger. The team prints parts in 3D, cuts others on CNC machines and assembles the electronics itself. When something breaks, the people who built it are nearby. If a repair on site is needed, the company says it is done within 24 hours.

Governments, aid groups and international organisations can order complete kits, with installation, training and a year of maintenance. Public and private health facilities can also subscribe instead of buying. The company calls this LikitaCare as a Service: the devices and software, with technical support that continues.

Proving it works

A home-made medical device has to earn trust. Likita Care took the slow road.

In June 2021, Medi1News reported on a monitor built by two Nigeriens and already tested in real conditions. It was presented as a cheaper, locally produced alternative to standard monitors.

In 2023 the team published a paper in the International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies. Its co-authors include doctors from Abdou Moumouni University and the General Reference Hospital in Niamey. That early version measured six signs: temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, ECG and oxygen saturation. It connected over Wi-Fi to a web platform. The paper describes it as easy to reproduce locally with 3D printing.

The founders published it under the name of their startup, YAYI MAKE.

The testing has grown since. According to the Royal Academy of Engineering, Likita Care was validated with more than 100 patients and more than 4,000 data points.

In hospitals now

As of September 2026, the team had produced more than 70 monitoring units. They are in use in five medical centres in Niger.

Hospitals have come back to order more, and they speak well of the monitors, according to the Royal Academy of Engineering. For a young hardware company, a second order says more than a first one.

In September 2026, Likita Care was named one of four finalists for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. Mamane Kabirou Ousseini is the first engineer from Niger ever selected for the programme. The finalists were chosen from a shortlist of 16. The winner will be named in Johannesburg on 28 October 2026.

On the Africa Prize website, he says what he hopes to gain: "mentorship, particularly in business scaling and manufacturing strategies."

Where to find Likita Care

Likita Care sells to hospitals, clinics, governments and aid organisations, as kits or by subscription. Prices are not published, so buyers ask for a quote.

• Website: likita-care.com
• LinkedIn: Likita Care
• Facebook: LikitaCare

What's next

The company is planning a factory in Niger to make the monitors at larger scale. It is also looking beyond its own borders, at markets in neighbouring countries.

It is a big step for a team that began by repairing other people's machines. But the idea has not changed. A monitor in a Sahel hospital should not stop working because a part has to come from abroad.

Key Takeaways

Likita Care shows what changes when the maker of a device lives near the people who use it.

• Repair is part of the product. Building the monitors in Niger lets the team offer on-site repairs within 24 hours, which imported machines often could not.
• Two ways to pay widen the market. Buyers can order full kits with training and maintenance, or subscribe instead of paying for the equipment up front.